Bethany A. Teachman

Bethany A. Teachman is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia, where she serves as Director of Clinical Training and co-Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Department of Psychology. She leads the Program for Anxiety, Cognition and Treatment (PACT) Lab, which focuses on cognitive processes underlying anxiety disorders and emotion dysregulation. Her work bridges clinical psychology with digital health innovation to increase access to evidence-based mental health interventions.

Dr. Teachman's research centers on cognitive processes that contribute to anxiety disorders and emotion dysregulation, with particular emphasis on automatic thinking patterns outside conscious control. Her lab investigates how digital technologies like mobile apps and web-based cognitive bias modification programs can shift anxious thinking and overcome barriers to treatment access including cost, transportation, and stigma. Recent work explores dynamic monitoring approaches using mobile sensing to identify anxiety moments and deliver timely interventions.

Her publication trends reveal a strong focus on digital mental health innovations for anxiety disorders, particularly cognitive bias modification techniques. She examines emotion regulation diversity, social anxiety mechanisms, and implementation challenges in real-world settings. Her work increasingly integrates cultural considerations, with recent studies on Spanish-language adaptations of interventions and culturally informed engagement strategies for Latinx populations.

• American Psychological Association Division 12 Society of Clinical Psychology Invited Speaker for the APF Spielberger EMPathy Symposium (2023)
• Featured Woman of the Month by the Committee on Women in Medicine and Science at UVA (2023)
• Inaugural Psychology Dept. Excellence in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Award (2020)
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2019)
• Public Voices Fellowship with the Op-Ed Project (2019)
• American Psychological Association Presidential Citation (2019)
• University of Western Australia Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellow (2019)
• Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology Lawrence H. Cohen Outstanding Mentor Award (2018)

Dr. Teachman actively mentors graduate students and has developed innovative approaches to support underrepresented students in psychology doctoral programs. Her grant-funded research focuses on developing and testing digital interventions for anxiety disorders, with recent projects examining culturally adapted interventions and implementation strategies for real-world settings. She serves as Director of the MindTrails public website for cognitive bias modification research.

The PACT Lab maintains a strong commitment to anti-racism in psychological science, with explicit goals to recruit and support marginalized scholars, integrate sociocultural considerations into anxiety research, and increase access to digital mental health interventions across diverse communities. The lab actively works to create inclusive spaces for all members to contribute ideas and receive feedback about bias and privilege.