Anthony Spirito

Anthony Spirito is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at Brown University's Alpert Medical School. His work focuses on treatment research with depressed, suicidal, and substance-using adolescents and their families. Key research areas include adolescent mental health, suicidality, substance use disorders, and depression. He has led multiple clinical trials evaluating interventions for co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders in adolescents.

His research emphasizes translational approaches, integrating clinical practice with behavioral interventions. He has collaborated on national initiatives like the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) to improve screening for substance use and suicide risk in emergency departments. Notable contributions include studies on psychosis-risk screening in adolescents, brief interventions for alcohol and cannabis use, and family-based parenting interventions (e.g., Parent SMART).

Dr. Spirito has authored over 224 peer-reviewed publications, with recent focus on:

• Psychosis-risk screening in psychiatric inpatients
• Longitudinal trajectories of suicidal ideation and substance use
• Technology-assisted interventions for families

His work bridges clinical care and public health, addressing critical gaps in adolescent mental health service delivery, particularly for marginalized populations in juvenile justice systems.