Emily Edwards, Ph.D.
Dr. Emily Edwards is the Director of the Clinical Core at the VISN 2 MIRECC and a licensed clinical psychologist in New York State. She received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from CUNY Graduate Center at John Jay College and completed postdoctoral training with the VA from 2019-2021. As a scientist practitioner, Dr. Edwards embraces integration of clinical practice and research. Her research focuses on themes of justice-involvement, suicide, and personality disorders, particularly among military Veterans, and on transdiagnostic interventions to reduce risk for individuals affected by these difficulties. She has led development and evaluation of several novel interventions to mitigate risk for suicide, including interventions tailored to the needs of Veterans experiencing criminal-legal involvement, homelessness, and/or substance use disorders. Dr. Edwards is a Research Affiliate of various VA groups, including the National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans (NCHAV), Veteran Employment and Economic Security Research Consortium (SERVES CORE), and Suicide Prevention REsearch Impact NeTwork (SPRINT). She is also heavily involved in training junior colleagues through mentorship of predoctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and early career investigators and as the Director of the VISN 2 MIRECC externship training program. In addition to her research and clinical work, Dr. Edwards has also provided consultation services to local problem-solving courts, the Veterans Benefits Association, VA Office of General Counsel, and NYC Department of Corrections, among others.
Positions
Director, VISN 2 MIRECC Clinical Core
Training Director, VISN 2 MIRECC Externship Program
Director, DBT for Justice-Involved Veterans
Clinical Research Psychologist, James J Peters VAMC
Research Affiliate, VA National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans
Research Affiliate, Veteran Employment and Economic Security Research Consortium
Research Affiliate, Suicide Prevention REsearch Impact NeTwork
Research Interests
Suicide; criminal-legal involvement; homelessness; personality disorders; treatment development; program evaluation
Current Projects
Development and evaluation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Justice-Involved Veterans
Development and validation of machine learning-based suicide risk prediction models for at-risk Veteran subgroups
Understanding the role of economic insecurity in Veteran suicide risk
Grants
Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Justice-Involved Veterans: A Randomized Clinical Trial (2023-2027)
Role: Principal investigator. Funding source: VA RR&D
Westchester County Drug Treatment Court Evaluation Services (2023-2026)
Role: Co-Principal Investigator. Funding source: NY State Unified Court System
VA/STARRS Researcher in Residence Program (2023-2025)
Role: Researcher in Residence. Funding source: VA CSR&D
Suicide Prediction Modeling for Veterans Experiencing Homelessness or Criminal-Legal Involvement (2024-2025)
Role: Principal Investigator. Funding Source: VA NCHAV
Developing an Integrative, Recovery-Based, Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome (PACS) Psychotherapy (2022-2024)
Role: Co-Investigator Funding Source: VA SPiRE
Partnered implementation evaluation of a national sponsorship program for transitioning service members. (2021-2024)
Role: Co-Investigator. Funding source: VA Queri
Westchester County Veterans Treatment Court Evaluation Services (2021-2023)
Role: Co-Principal Investigator. Funding source: NY State Unified Court System
Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Justice-Involved Veterans: Assessing Preliminary Efficacy (2021-2022)
Role: Principal investigator. Funding source: VA NCHAV
Publications (Selected)
A full list of Dr. Edwards’s publications can be found here.
Edwards, E. R., Smith-Isabell, N., Epshteyn, G., Greene, A. L., Gorman, D., Osterberg, T., Hubay, D., Losieniecki, R., Appelt, C., Walker, M., Geraci, J. C., & Goodman, M. G. (2026). Veteran suicide thoughts and attempts during the transition from military service to civilian life: Qualitative insights. Death Studies, 50, 116-128. http://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2024.2414283
Edwards, E. R., Anderson, G. N., Fonseca, E. M., Reed, A. L., Chan, C., Hazlett, E. A., Geraci, J. C., & Goodman, M. (2025). Suicide risk assessment and management protocol for research within the Department of Veterans Affairs. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 134(3), 217–227. https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000968
Edwards, E. R., Geraci, J. C., Houtsma, C., Holdcraft, J. A., Kennedy, C., King, A. J., Luedtke, A., Marx, B., Naifeh, J., Sampson, N. A., Stein, M., Ursano, R., & Kessler, R. C. (2025). Improving explainability of post-separation suicide attempt prediction models for transitioning service members: Insights from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers — Longitudinal Study. Translational Psychiatry, 15, 37. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-025-03248-z
Edwards, E. R., Epshteyn, G., Connelly, B., Redden, C., El Hage Moussa, C., Blonigen, D., Stimmel, M., Holliday, R., & Osterberg, T. (2024). Understanding criminogenic risk factors among United States military veterans: An updated literature review. Criminal Justice Review, 49(4), 495-518. https://doi.org/10.1177/07340168231160862
Edwards, E. R., Dichiara, A., Epshteyn, G., Snyder, S., Linzer, S., Riglietti, K., Weishoff, N., Lee, A., Tsai, J., Marcano, E., Geraci, J., & Goodman, M. (2023). Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Justice-Involved Veterans (DBT-J): Feasibility and acceptability. Psychological Services, 20(Suppl 2), 108–121. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000691
Edwards, E. R., Epshteyn, G., Snyder, S., Gorman, D., Coolidge, B., Marcano, E., Tsai, J., & Goodman, M. (2023). Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Justice-Involved Veterans: Changes in treatment targets in a small, pre-post design clinical trial. Psychological Services, 20(Suppl 2), 98–107. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000766
