Match tier
Listed
Presence
Current · Arkansas
Last published
2026
Sources
OpenAlex · ORCID
Refreshed
2026-10-09
Melissa J. Zielinski
Federal Grant PI
Associate Professor
Also affiliated: University of Miami (2020); Brown University (2020); The College of New Jersey (2011–2015); Columbia University (2020)
PSY Psychiatry, College of Medicine
19 h-index
88 pubs
1,174 cited
Research Areas
Biomedical Subjects
Links
Biography and Research Information
OverviewAI-generated summary
Melissa J. Zielinski’s research focuses on the connections between trauma, mental health, substance use, and engagement with the criminal legal system. As the director of the Health and the Legal System Lab (HEALS Lab) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, she leads a team dedicated to expanding access to trauma recovery services within correctional facilities, drug courts, and crime victim services. The lab's work investigates effective intervention strategies, treatment implementation in legal settings, and the promotion of sustained recovery.
Dr. Zielinski has secured significant funding for her research from agencies including the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Arnold Ventures, and the Department of Justice. Her federal grant portfolio totals over $2.8 million, with awards supporting translational research in addiction, implementation science for trauma treatment in correctional settings, and the development and testing of care pathways for opioid use disorder and PTSD in jails. Her scholarly contributions are reflected in an h-index of 18, with over 1,100 citations across 88 publications. She actively collaborates with researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, evidenced by numerous shared publications.
Research Overview
Dr. Zielinski’s research centers on the intersections between trauma, mental health, substance use, and involvement with the criminal legal system. She directs the Health and the Legal System Lab (HEALS Lab), a diverse group of scholars and clinical trainees that are dedicated to making trauma recovery services available in legal settings like prisons, jails, drug courts, and crime victim service settings. HEALS Lab’s cutting-edge science is helping to identify how to best intervene, how to get treatments that work in to these systems, and how to promote long-term recovery. This work has been supported by a variety of funders including the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Arnold Ventures, and the Department of Justice. Our clinical trainees and director also provide evidence-based therapy groups directly to maximize our immediate impact.
Metrics
- h-index: 19
- Publications: 88
- Citations: 1,174
Positions
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Associate Professor 2015–presentUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences PSY Psychiatry, College of Medicine Institutional directory
Selected Publications
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Stakeholder Perspectives on Long-Acting Injectable PrEP and MOUD: A Descriptive Qualitative Study (2026)
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Centering the client in PTSD treatments: Commentary on Rubenstein et al. (2024). (2026)
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Gatekeeping Wellbeing: Healthcare Copayments While Incarcerated as a Barrier to Good Health (2025)
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Increased risk of non-fatal overdose associated with broad adverse childhood experiences among people who use drugs in New York City: a latent class analysis (2025)
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Health service needs, use, and barriers among formerly incarcerated women survivors of sexual violence (2025)
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A qualitative analysis of formerly incarcerated women’s perspectives on a prison-based perinatal support program (2025)
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Treatment Works, Behaviors Change: Investigating the Impact of Trauma Focused Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder on Disciplinary Infractions Among Women in Prison (2025)
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The Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Study: Health Service Utilization and Jail Booking Outcomes of a Longitudinal Cohort (2025)
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256 Identifying causes of parenting stress among postpartum mothers receiving medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) (2025)
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Community-driven strategies for implementing suicide prevention education in jails. (2025)
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The COVID Shift: Comparing Hybrid Telehealth to In-Person Group Therapy for Incarcerated Women Survivors of Sexual Violence Victimization (2025)
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A Novel Exploration of Women’s Pathways Through Prison and the Roles of Trauma, Addiction, and Mental Health (2025)
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Is Sharing One’s Personal Story of Victimization Preferred? Incarcerated Women’s Perspectives on Group Treatment for Sexual Trauma (2024)
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Arkansas crisis stabilization unit guests: Baseline characteristics from a longitudinal cohort study. (2024)
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Mental Health, Drug Use, and Programming: Applying a Needs Assessment Framework in Arkansas’ Largest Jail (2024)
Federal Grants 5 $2,823,707 total
NIH
Contact PI
Sep 2024 - May 2029
Effectiveness, Implementation, and Cost of Cognitive Processing Therapy in Prisons
NIH
Contact PI
Sep 2023 - Aug 2025
Developing and Testing Innovative Care Pathways for Screening and Treatment of OUD/PTSD in Jails
NIH
Contact PI
Sep 2023 - Jul 2029
Developing and Testing Innovative Care Pathways for Screening and Treatment of OUD/PTSD in Jails
NIH
Contact PI
Apr 2019 - Mar 2025
Leveraging Implementation Science to Increase Access to Trauma Treatment for Incarcerated Drug Users
NIH
Contact PI
Jul 2009 - Jun 2029
Grants & Funding
As listed on this researcher's institutional profile. Federal awards with verified records are shown above.
- NOTRE: optimiziNg long-acting prep and mOud inTerventions in caRceral sEttings NIH/Nat. Inst. on Drug Abuse via Duke University Principal Investigator
- Determination of antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory and chymase inhibitory efficacy of sweet potato and rice bran extract US Department of Agriculture via University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Principal Investigator
- ABI P. Prather NIH T32 FY26 Y3 State of Arkansas Principal Investigator
- Parents and Children Together (PACT) Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration Principal Investigator
- The Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Study Arnold Ventures Principal Investigator
- Arkansas Building Capacity for Women’s Justice-Health PCOR/CER Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Principal Investigator
- Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Network for Evidence-based Telemedicine (SAFE-NET) US Dept of Justice - Office for Victims of Crime Co-Investigator
- ABI C. OBrien NIH COBRE FY26 Y4 State of Arkansas Principal Investigator
- Lifespan/Brown Criminal Justice Research Training Program on Substance Use and HIV NIH/Nat. Inst. on Drug Abuse via Miriam Hospital Principal Investigator
- Rural Stakeholders Building Competence and Capacity to Mitigate Pressing Mental Health Issues through CER Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute via Northern Neck Health, Inc. Principal Investigator
- Arkansas Center for Health Disparities (ARCHD): An NIMHD COE NIH Co-Investigator
- Pregnancy and Postpartum Support Programs for Women in Prison: Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes NIH/Nat. Inst. of Child Health & Human Development via University of Minnesota Co-Investigator
- A Preliminary Economic Evaluation of the Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit (PCRCSU) NIH/Nat. Inst. on Drug Abuse via Weill Medical College of Cornell University Principal Investigator
Collaboration Network
Top Collaborators
Marie E. Karlsson
Sexual Health Clinic (FI)
12 shared publications
- Sexual Victimization and Mental Illness Prevalence Rates Among Incarcerated Women: A Literature Review
- Interpersonal vs. Non-Interpersonal Cumulative Traumas and Psychiatric Symptoms in Treatment-Seeking Incarcerated Women
- Expanding Research on a Brief Exposure-Based Group Treatment with Incarcerated Women
- Replicating outcomes of Survivors Healing from Abuse: Recovery through Exposure (SHARE): A brief exposure-based group treatment for incarcerated survivors of sexual violence.
- “I’m not alone, my story matters”: Incarcerated women’s perspectives on the impact and acceptability of group psychotherapy involving imaginal exposure to sexual assault memories
Showing 5 of 12 shared publications
Mollee K. Steely Smith
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
12 shared publications
In database
- An integrative literature review of substance use treatment service need and provision to pregnant and postpartum populations in carceral settings
- A participant-randomized pilot hybrid II trial of group cognitive processing therapy for incarcerated persons with posttraumatic stress and substance use disorder symptoms: study protocol and rationale
- Implementation of group cognitive processing therapy in correction centers: Anticipated determinants from formative evaluation
- Characteristics and Outcomes of Women and Infants Who Received Prenatal Care While Incarcerated in Arkansas State Prison System, 2014–2019
- A Novel Exploration of Women’s Pathways Through Prison and the Roles of Trauma, Addiction, and Mental Health
Showing 5 of 12 shared publications
Ana J. Bridges
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
11 shared publications
In database
- Interpersonal vs. Non-Interpersonal Cumulative Traumas and Psychiatric Symptoms in Treatment-Seeking Incarcerated Women
- Expanding Research on a Brief Exposure-Based Group Treatment with Incarcerated Women
- Replicating outcomes of Survivors Healing from Abuse: Recovery through Exposure (SHARE): A brief exposure-based group treatment for incarcerated survivors of sexual violence.
- “I’m not alone, my story matters”: Incarcerated women’s perspectives on the impact and acceptability of group psychotherapy involving imaginal exposure to sexual assault memories
- Implementing and Sustaining SHARE: An Exposure‐Based Psychotherapy Group for Incarcerated Women Survivors of Sexual Violence
Showing 5 of 11 shared publications
Jennifer C. Veilleux
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
9 shared publications
In database
- Multidimensional Assessment of Beliefs About Emotion
- A short-term longitudinal examination of the relations between depression, anhedonia, and self-injurious thoughts and behaviors in adults with a history of self-injury
- The Perceived Invalidation of Emotion Scale (PIES): Development and psychometric properties of a novel measure of current emotion invalidation.
- Behavioral Assessment of the Negative Emotion Aspect of Distress Tolerance: Tolerance to Emotional Images
- Facets of mindfulness mediate behavioral inhibition systems and emotion dysregulation
Showing 5 of 9 shared publications
M. Kathryn Allison
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
9 shared publications
In database
- Making change happen in criminal justice settings: leveraging implementation science to improve mental health care
- ‘You’re setting a lot of people up for failure’: what formerly incarcerated women would tell healthcare decision makers
- Factors Affecting Telemedicine Implementation in Emergency Departments and Nurses’ Perceptions of Virtual Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Consultation for Sexual Assault Survivors
- Implementing and Sustaining SHARE: An Exposure‐Based Psychotherapy Group for Incarcerated Women Survivors of Sexual Violence
- Implementation of group cognitive processing therapy in correction centers: Anticipated determinants from formative evaluation
Showing 5 of 9 shared publications
Nickolas Zaller
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
8 shared publications
In database
- Making change happen in criminal justice settings: leveraging implementation science to improve mental health care
- Barriers to linking high-risk jail detainees to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis
- Screening for Opioid Use Disorder in the Largest Jail in Arkansas: A Brief Report
- A participant-randomized pilot hybrid II trial of group cognitive processing therapy for incarcerated persons with posttraumatic stress and substance use disorder symptoms: study protocol and rationale
- An Economic Analysis of the Cost of a Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit
Showing 5 of 8 shared publications
Lauren Brinkley‐Rubinstein
Duke University (US)
6 shared publications
- Making change happen in criminal justice settings: leveraging implementation science to improve mental health care
- Barriers to linking high-risk jail detainees to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis
- Screening for Opioid Use Disorder in the Largest Jail in Arkansas: A Brief Report
- Policy and public communication methods among U.S. state prisons during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Gatekeeping Wellbeing: Healthcare Copayments While Incarcerated as a Barrier to Good Health
Showing 5 of 6 shared publications
Geoffrey M. Curran
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
5 shared publications
In database
- Making change happen in criminal justice settings: leveraging implementation science to improve mental health care
- Factors Affecting Telemedicine Implementation in Emergency Departments and Nurses’ Perceptions of Virtual Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Consultation for Sexual Assault Survivors
- Evidence-Based Quality Improvement (EBQI) in the pre-implementation phase: key steps and activities
- A participant-randomized pilot hybrid II trial of group cognitive processing therapy for incarcerated persons with posttraumatic stress and substance use disorder symptoms: study protocol and rationale
- Implementation of group cognitive processing therapy in correction centers: Anticipated determinants from formative evaluation
Chelsey Bull
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
5 shared publications
In database
- Policy and public communication methods among U.S. state prisons during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 highlights the pitfalls of reliance on the carceral system as a response to addiction
- Community-driven strategies for implementing suicide prevention education in jails.
- COVID-19 highlights the pitfalls of reliance on the carceral system as a response to addiction
- To SHARE or not to SHARE: Exploring incarcerated women’s decisions about enrolling in exposure-based group therapy.
Marley F. Fradley
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
5 shared publications
In database
- Recommendations for conducting longitudinal studies with people who are justice involved
- Justice-Involved, Sexually Victimized Women's Perspectives on the Acceptability of Receiving Trauma-Focused Therapy in Prison
- Arkansas crisis stabilization unit guests: Baseline characteristics from a longitudinal cohort study.
- Health service needs, use, and barriers among formerly incarcerated women survivors of sexual violence
- The COVID Shift: Comparing Hybrid Telehealth to In-Person Group Therapy for Incarcerated Women Survivors of Sexual Violence Victimization
Morgan A. Hill
University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
4 shared publications
In database
- Behavioral Assessment of the Negative Emotion Aspect of Distress Tolerance: Tolerance to Emotional Images
- Interpersonal vs. Non-Interpersonal Cumulative Traumas and Psychiatric Symptoms in Treatment-Seeking Incarcerated Women
- Is the first cut really the deepest? Frequency and recency of nonsuicidal self-injury in relation to psychopathology and dysregulation
- How Does Timing Affect Trauma Treatment for Women Who Are Incarcerated? An Empirical Analysis
Debra Kaysen
Palo Alto University (US)
4 shared publications
- Comparison of Teleintegrated Care and Telereferral Care for Treating Complex Psychiatric Disorders in Primary Care
- Study to promote innovation in rural integrated telepsychiatry (SPIRIT): Rationale and design of a randomized comparative effectiveness trial of managing complex psychiatric disorders in rural primary care clinics
- A participant-randomized pilot hybrid II trial of group cognitive processing therapy for incarcerated persons with posttraumatic stress and substance use disorder symptoms: study protocol and rationale
- Implementation of group cognitive processing therapy in correction centers: Anticipated determinants from formative evaluation
Lisa Evans
4 shared publications
- An Economic Analysis of the Cost of a Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit
- Recommendations for conducting longitudinal studies with people who are justice involved
- Arkansas crisis stabilization unit guests: Baseline characteristics from a longitudinal cohort study.
- The Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Study: Health Service Utilization and Jail Booking Outcomes of a Longitudinal Cohort
Cassandra L. McLaughlan
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
4 shared publications
In database
- Community-driven strategies for implementing suicide prevention education in jails.
- Mental Health, Drug Use, and Programming: Applying a Needs Assessment Framework in Arkansas’ Largest Jail
- Arkansas crisis stabilization unit guests: Baseline characteristics from a longitudinal cohort study.
- The Arkansas Crisis Stabilization Study: Health Service Utilization and Jail Booking Outcomes of a Longitudinal Cohort
Kathryn M. Nowotny
University of Miami (US)
3 shared publications
- Policy and public communication methods among U.S. state prisons during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Training the Next Generation of Researchers Dedicated to Improving Health Outcomes for Justice-Involved Populations
- Gatekeeping Wellbeing: Healthcare Copayments While Incarcerated as a Barrier to Good Health
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