Position
Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry (primary appointment), College of Medicine; Department of Health Behavior & Health Education, College of Public Health (secondary appointment), University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Adjunct Professor, Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Contacts
- Email: MJZielinski@uams.edu
Clinical Experience
Melissa J. Zielinski, Ph.D., is an associate professor and clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. She leads the Health and the Legal System (HEALS) Lab, which brings together a diverse team of researchers and clinical trainees focused on the intersection of trauma, mental illness, addiction, and the legal system.
Dr. Zielinski’s work centers on reducing the impact of traumatic stress, especially among people who use drugs, have PTSD, or are involved in the criminal justice system. She has extensive experience working in legal settings such as prisons, drug treatment courts, jails, and reentry centers, where she helps implement evidence-based therapies for trauma and PTSD.
Much of her research focuses on justice-involved women, many of whom are survivors of sexual or domestic violence. However, her work also includes both men and women in legally relevant contexts, such as community corrections and treatment courts.
In addition to her applied research, Dr. Zielinski enjoys training the next generation of addiction science researchers as the co-director of the T32 Addiction Research Program.
Dr. Zielinski studies emotion-related processes that influence trauma-related mental health conditions, such as emotion dysregulation, distress intolerance, rejection sensitivity, and emotion invalidation. Her research pays particular attention to PTSD and borderline personality disorder (BPD). Clinically, Dr. Zielinski specializes in evidence-based treatments for PTSD, major depressive disorder, and BPD.
Dr. Zielinski received her master’s in psychology and doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology as a National Institute of Drug Abuse-sponsored T32 trainee in the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute (PRI) Brain Imaging Research Center.
Research Experience
My research includes the study of the implementation and effectiveness of cognitive processing therapy groups with people who are incarcerated and have comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorder. The project is being conducted in collaboration with two community corrections centers in Arkansas, and internal counselors will receive training required to deliver cognitive processing therapy.
The GUIDES study (Growing Understanding of Formerly Incarcerated Women’s Post-Release Decisions, Experiences, and Health Services) involves finding and following up with women who were formerly incarcerated approximately three to five years post-release. One goal of the study is to define women’s health care utilization and access after incarceration. A second goal is to compare the outcomes of women who did and did not receive therapy for trauma while incarcerated.
I am also studying the implementation of Survivors Healing from Abuse: Recovery through Exposure (SHARE), an exposure-based group treatment for women survivors of sexual violence who are incarcerated.
The Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Study is a longitudinal cohort study of 200 adults who have received services at the Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit. The study is following participants for a 12-month period to gain an in-depth understanding of outcomes following crisis services, including challenges/barriers to long-term recovery.
Recent Publications
Zielinski, M. J., McLaughlan, C. L., Jahangir, T., Bull, C. E., Reece, S., & Allison, M. K. (2025). Community-driven strategies for implementing suicide prevention education in jails. Psychological services, 22(3), 477–492. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000927
Fradley, M. F., Stanley, J., Han, X., McLaughlan, C. L., Zaller, N., Evans, L., & Zielinski, M. J. (2025). Arkansas crisis stabilization unit guests: Baseline characteristics from a longitudinal cohort study. Psychological services, 22(2), 304–311. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000893
Bull, C., Steely-Smith, M., Bossard, M., Karlsson, M. E., Bridges, A. J., & Zielinski, M. J. (2025). To SHARE or not to SHARE: Exploring incarcerated women’s decisions about enrolling in exposure-based group therapy. Psychological services, 22(1), 81–91. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000861
Walsh, W. A., Allison, M. K., Zielinski, M., & Searcy-Lyle, S. (2025). Emergency Nurses’ Experience Providing Care and Perceptions About Using Telemedicine for Sexual Assault Patients. Violence against women, 31(8), 2000–2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012241247189
Stahman, A., Steely Smith, M. K., & Zielinski, M. J. (2024). Hospital Restrictions Experienced by Women who Give Birth While Incarcerated. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 35(4), 1053–1067. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2024.a943977
Steely Smith, M. K., Hinton-Froese, K. E., Scarbrough Kamath, B., Virmani, M., Walters, A., & Zielinski, M. J. (2024). Characteristics and Outcomes of Women and Infants Who Received Prenatal Care While Incarcerated in Arkansas State Prison System, 2014-2019. Maternal and child health journal, 28(5), 935–948. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-023-03875-2
Zielinski, M. J., Jahangir, T., Praseuth, A., Wilson, S., & McLaughlan, C. L. (2024). Mental Health, Drug Use, and Programming: Applying a Needs Assessment Framework in Arkansas’ Largest Jail. Journal of correctional health care : the official journal of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, 30(3), 206–215. https://doi.org/10.1089/jchc.23.12.0098
Zielinski, M. J., Smith, M. S., & Stahman, A. (2024). Custodial and perinatal care patterns of women who received prenatal care while incarcerated in the Arkansas state prison system, 2014-2019. Health & justice, 12(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-024-00268-7
Zielinski, M. J., Alkov, D., McCauley, E., Aminawung, J. A., Shavit, S., & Wang, E. A. (2024). Characteristics of recently incarcerated primary care patients with and without a positive posttraumatic stress disorder screening upon clinic intake. Psychological trauma : theory, research, practice and policy, 16(4), 692–700. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0001427
Zielinski, M. J., Allison, M. K., Smith, M. K. S., Curran, G., Kaysen, D., & Kirchner, J. E. (2023). Implementation of group cognitive processing therapy in correction centers: Anticipated determinants from formative evaluation. Journal of traumatic stress, 36(1), 193–204. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22898
Van Deinse, T. B., Zielinski, M. J., Holliday, S. B., Rudd, B. N., & Crable, E. L. (2023). The application of implementation science methods in correctional health intervention research: a systematic review. Implementation science communications, 4(1), 149. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-023-00521-4
Steely Smith, M. K., Zielinski, M. J., Sufrin, C., Kramer, C. T., Benning, S. J., Laine, R., & Shlafer, R. J. (2023). State Laws on Substance Use Treatment for Incarcerated Pregnant and Postpartum People. Substance abuse : research and treatment, 17, 11782218231195556. https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218231195556
Fradley, M. F., Kathryn Allison, M., Steely Smith, M. K., Bossard, M., & Zielinski, M. J. (2023). Justice-Involved, Sexually Victimized Women’s Perspectives on the Acceptability of Receiving Trauma-Focused Therapy in Prison. Violence against women, 29(14), 2964–2985. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012231200480
Swindle, T., Baloh, J., Landes, S. J., Lovelady, N. N., Vincenzo, J. L., Hamilton, A. B., Zielinski, M. J., Teeter, B. S., Gorvine, M. M., & Curran, G. M. (2023). Evidence-Based Quality Improvement (EBQI) in the pre-implementation phase: key steps and activities. Frontiers in health services, 3, 1155693. https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2023.1155693
Steely Smith, M. K., Wilson, S. H., & Zielinski, M. J. (2023). An integrative literature review of substance use treatment service need and provision to pregnant and postpartum populations in carceral settings. Women’s health (London, England), 19, 17455057221147802. https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057221147802