Matt Kushner, PhD

After receiving my BA in Psychology from the University of Nebraska (1983), I completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Missouri (1984-1991), and did a Clinical Psychology Internship from the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute housed within the Medical College of Pennsylvania (1990-1991). I have been a faculty member in the University of Minnesota's  Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences since 1991 and retired as full time Professor in 2026.  I am Professor Emeritus as of May, 2026.

My clinical practice has primarily focused on the cognitive and behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders, with an emphasis on the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) using exposure-based therapy.  I have provided direct clinical supervision to graduate students, psychiatry residents and pre-licenced psychologists.

In addition to clinical supervision, my teaching and mentoring responsibilities have included serving as: Program Director of a NIDA T32 Postdoctoral Training Program; Program Director of a recurring grant writing program (P3) for early career faculty that is sponsored by the Medical School Office of Faculty Affairs; and Academic Mentor to undergraduate psychology honors students, clinical psychology graduate students and early career faculty members.

My research program, which has been continuously funded by the NIH for the past 30 years, focuses on alcohol-related problems that co-occur with anxiety and depression disorders.  I work with a team of investigators and staff to identify the causes and most effective treatments for these co-occurring disorders, including digital CBT based treatments.
 

Expertise

• Alcohol use disorders with co-occurring anxiety disorders

Administrative Assistant

(for academic support only)
Teneshia Collins
[email protected]

In the Media

• 2023: Research is highlighted in this Yahoo!Life article titled, “Study: People With Anxiety Are More Likely to Experience Symptoms of Alcohol Use Disorder.”