Shannon Sauer-Zavala

Dr. Sauer-Zavala is Licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 15 years of experience working with people struggling with anxiety and depression. She is also an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Kentucky (UK) where she develops new treatments for common mental health conditions and tests them in rigorous clinical trials. Dr. Sauer-Zavala is the lead developer of a short-term intervention for personality difficulties – COMPASS (a loose acronym for cognitive behavioral modules for personality symptoms). Dr. Sauer-Zavala is also the Founder and Director of Compass Mental Health Training & Consulting, through which she has been invited all over the country and the world (Ireland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, South Africa, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Canada) to train therapists in her potent, parsimonious interventions.

Reputation. Dr. Sauer-Zavala received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from UK in 2011; she completed her predoctoral residency at Duke University Medical Center and her postdoctoral fellowship at Boston University. Dr. Sauer-Zavala is well-regarded in her field. She has authored over 120 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, along with three books (two treatment workbooks and one academic text on personality). Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Canadian Institute of Health Research, and the Templeton Foundation. Her work is internationally respected – in 2023 alone, Dr. Sauer-Zavala was invited to give keynote talks at mental health conferences in Sydney, Australia and Cambridge, UK. She has also worked closely with the Canadian government to develop a mental health prevention program for cadets training to become Royal Canadian Mounted Police (i.e., “Mounties”) officers. Dr. Sauer-Zavala has also held leadership roles in national regarded professional societies (e.g., the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies; American Psychological Association, North American Society for the Study of Personality Disorders).

Why talk about personality change? In light of the professional accomplishments described above, it might be surprising to learn that Dr. Sauer-Zavala was a lazy and messy child (she actually failed a high school match course because she skipped so many classes). Overtime, she gradually shaped the traits she’d need to be successful in the life she wanted, rather than letting her personality dictate or limit what she could become.  Dr. Sauer-Zavala intertwines relatable personal experiences with her expertise in evidence-based behavior change and personality science.