Associate Professor & Director
Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education
Dr. Davis’s clinical and research training was motivated by answering the following question: Why do evidenced-based psychotherapies fail and how can we improve them? As part of his training, he worked primarily with adults in a variety of community and clinical research settings, including academic medical centers, university clinics, community programs, and long-term acute care hospitals, delivering a variety of evidenced-based and experimental psychotherapies to individuals diagnosed with substance use, trauma-related, mood, and anxiety disorders. Grounded in a humanistic and process-oriented approach, such interventions included motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, harm reduction, acceptance and commitment therapy, cognitive processing and prolonged exposure therapies, and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy. These clinical approaches were complemented by extensive research training, wherein he had broad exposure to different research methodologies and advanced statistical techniques. Consistent with his clinical interests, his research interests and expertise focus on contributing to the knowledge of and ability to help those suffering with substance use and mental health problems. Understanding how to improve clinical outcomes through examining novel treatments and developing ways to conceptualize substance use and mental health problems through a strengths-based approach have been the guiding framework of his professional career.
