Joel Sprunger, PhD, is an Assistant Professor and Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the Addiction Sciences Division of the UC Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience in the UC College of Medicine.
Dr. Sprunger’s clinical focus involves applying evidence-based assessment and treatment toward the complex intersection of substance use disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His primary research interests include a) cognitive mechanisms for alcohol-facilitated aggression and intimate partner violence; b) mechanism-informed interventions for substance-related aggression; and c) the intersection of substance use, intimate partner violence, and PTSD.
Dr. Sprunger completed his postdoctoral training at the UC Health Stress Center under the mentorship of Kathleen Chard, PhD. While on fellowship in the Stress Center, Dr. Sprunger gained expertise in methods of gold-standard PTSD assessment and evidence-based intervention. He completed his predoctoral internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson, Mississippi under the mentorship of Julie Schumacher, PhD and Scott Coffey, PhD. There, Dr. Sprunger developed his expertise with treating co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorders across inpatient and outpatient settings. For his work on these rotations, Dr. Sprunger earned the Excellence in Clinical Award from the UMMC Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior.
Dr. Sprunger earned his doctorate from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, under the mentorship of Christopher Eckhardt, PhD. There, he was awarded a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award F31 predoctoral fellowship funded by the National Institute for Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to support his dissertation investigating an intervention for intoxicated intimate partner violence perpetration. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Purdue University Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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