About

Dr. Najwa Culver received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychobiology from UCLA in 2004. She worked at the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Research Center for two years and then went on to complete her PhD in Clinical Psychology at UCLA under the mentorship of Dr. Michelle Craske. During her graduate training, Dr. Culver’s research focused on anxiety disorders. Specifically, she investigated several methods for enhancing the effectiveness of behavioral treatments for anxiety disorders. In regards to her clinical work, she received extensive training in the treatment of anxiety disorders using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) as well as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). She also completed a 2-year training program in integrative behavioral couple therapy (IBCT) under the direct supervision of one of IBCT’s co-developers Dr. Andrew Christensen. In addition, she completed a 1-year intensive clinical placement at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where she trained in Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT) and worked with patients hospitalized for psychiatric illness.

               She completed her clinical internship at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in 2012. During internship, Dr. Culver continued to hone her skills in ACT, CBT, DBT, and IBCT. In addition, she trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE) in the treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder as well as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Brief Behavioral Therapy in the treatment of insomnia (CBTI and BBTI).

She then completed a year-long postdoctoral fellowship focused on integrative health at the West Los Angles VA Medical Center. During this fellowship, she led several mindfulness groups (including co-leading Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) and completed a 6-month training program to receive certification as a mindfulness facilitator. Across internship and postdoctoral training, Dr. Culver developed several new treatment groups for veterans including a mindfulness-based intervention for tinnitus, an ACT group, a weekly drop-in mindfulness group, and a cognitive rehabilitation group for patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.

Following her fellowship, Dr. Culver worked in the Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC) at the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center. She was an interventionist on one of Dr. Jennifer Martin’s research studies investigating CBT versus ACT in the treatment of insomnia for female veterans.

Currently, Dr. Culver is the co-director of the CBT for Psychosis Clinic and an attending psychologist in the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. In both clinics, she provides direct clinical care to veterans and supervises psychology trainees in learning evidence-based protocols in the treatment of Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders as well as insomnia and other sleep disorders. Dr. Culver also has a private practice in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles where she works with patients addressing a variety of needs including treatment for anxiety, PTSD, and insomnia as well as working with couples to enhance relationship satisfaction.

Selected Publications:

Martin, J. L, Carlson, G. C., Kelly, M. R., Song, Y, Mitchell, M. N., Josephson, K. R., McGowan, S.K., Culver, N.C., Kay, M.A., Erickson, A.J., Saldana, K.S., May, K.J., Fiorentino, L., Alessi, C.A., Washington, D.L., Yano, E.M. (2023). Novel treatment based on acceptance and commitment therapy versus cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia: A randomized comparative effectiveness trial in women veterans. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 91(11), 626-639.

Saldana, K, Revolorio K., Carlson, G, Culver, N.C., Kay, M., McGowan, S.K., Song, Y., Martin, J.L. (2022). Life values expressed by female Veterans engaged in an Acceptance and Commitment-based behavioral therapy for primary insomnia. Sleep, 45(1), A197.

Carlson, G.C., Kelly, M.R., Josephson, K., Mitchell, M., Fiorentino, L., McGowan, S.K., Culver, N.C., Kay, M., Alessi, C., Washington, D.L., Yano, E., Martin, J.L. (2020). Benefits of CBT-I for Women Veterans with and without PTSD. Sleep, 43(1), A179.

LeBeau, R.T., Izquierdo, C., Culver, N.C., Karahalios, D., & Serpa, J.G. (2020). A pilot study examining the effect of Integrative Tinnitus Management (ITM) on tinnitus distress and depression symptoms in Veterans. Psychological Services.

Culver, N.C., Stevens, S., Fanselow, M.S., & Craske, M.G. (2017). Building physiological toughness: Some aversive events during extinction may attenuate return of fear. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 58, 18-28.

Culver N, Song Y, McGowan SK, et al. (2016). Acceptability of medication and nonmedication treatment for insomnia among female veterans: Effects of age, insomnia severity, and psychiatric symptoms. Clinical Therapeutics, 38, 2373-2385.

Culver N, Vervliet B, & Craske MG (2014). Compound extinction: Using the Rescorla-Wagner model to maximize the effects of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. Clinical Psychological Science, 1-14.

LeBeau RT, Davies CD, Culver N, & Craske MG (2013). Homework compliance counts in cognitive-behavioral therapy.  Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 42(3), 171-179.

Culver N, Stoyanova MS, & Craske MG (2012). Emotional variability and sustained arousal during exposure.  Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 43, 787-793.

Culver N, Stoyanova MS, & Craske MG (2011).  Clinical relevance of retrieval cues for attenuating context renewal of fear.  Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 284-292.

Baker A, Mystkowski J, Culver N, Yi R, Mortazavi A, & Craske MG (2010). Does habituation matter? Emotional processing theory and exposure therapy for acrophobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48, 1139-1143.