Psychology Alumni Profile
Craig Bryan
Class of 2001
It was during Craig Bryan's senior year at the University of Evansville that he began to fully develop his career path. "Dr. Kopta encouraged me to apply to graduate school and helped me determine which graduate degree to pursue. I'm grateful for his proactive interest and investment in my continuing education. I often say that I learned 'about' psychology at UE, which paved the road for me to learn how to 'do' psychology in graduate school."
After earning a Doctor of Psychology from Baylor University, Craig served as an active duty psychologist in the U.S. Air Force for four years. As the chief of primary care psychology at Kelly Family Medicine Clinic on Lackland Air Force Base, Craig provided consultation regarding psychological and behavioral aspects of health (e.g., depression and anxiety, fibromyalgia, diabetes, chronic pain). He also trained psychologists and social workers to integrate their services into family medicine clinics, served as a suicide prevention program manager, and was a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Wilford Hall Medical Center. During his military career, Craig deployed to Iraq for six months to assist with Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he ran a traumatic brain injury clinic, responsible for cognitive assessment and treatment for all service members sustaining concussions secondary to battle and non-battle injuries. "Psychologists play a significant role in deployed locations not only for combat stress support but also for neuropsychological screening and dispositional decisions. We use testing to measure attention deficits, memory impairment, and other functional problems associated with mild traumatic brain injuries that do not show up on MRIs or other imaging devices." His innovative work in the area of PTSD prevention while deployed has garnered widespread recognition, and has significantly impacted mental health service delivery within the military.
In his position as assistant professor of research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Craig focuses on researching suicidal behaviors and treatment outcomes. Currently, he is conducting a clinical trial to test new cognitive-behavioral treatments to reduce suicide attempt rates among military members, as well as identify reliable short-term indicators of suicide risk. His research and work has established him as a leader in understanding military suicide. In collaboration with UE faculty member Mark Kopta, Craig continues to research primary care behavioral health outcomes, which has contributed to improved understanding of the effectiveness of brief behavioral interventions in medical settings.
