Professor
Clinical Psychology
Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics

Health 1, Room 484
mwgallagher@uh.edu
713-743-4863
Google scholar profile

Dr. Gallagher will be reviewing graduate student applications for the 2025-2026 academic year. Application deadline is Dec 1, 2024. Interested students are encouraged to contact Dr. Gallagher at mwgallagher@uh.edu.  Please also see Student Admissions, Outcomes, and Other Data for details.

Research Interests

• Transdiagnostic treatments (e.g. the Unified Protocol) for PTSD and anxiety disorders
• Mechanisms of change of empirically supported treatments
• How positive thinking (e.g., hope, optimism, self-efficacy) promotes well-being and provides resilience to PTSD and other anxiety disorders
• Identifying the causes and components of positive mental health and how mental health relates to mental illness
• Measurement, methodology, meta-analysis, and modeling longitudinal trajectories of change

Teaching Interests

• Clinical Research Methods
• Meta-Analysis
• Structural Equation Modeling
• Anxiety Disorders
• Positive Psychology
• Abnormal Psychology

Selected Publications

• Gallagher, M. W., Payne, L. A., White, K. S., Shear, K. M., Woods, S. W., Gorman, J. M., & Barlow, D. H. (2013). Mechanisms of change in cognitive behavioral therapy for panic disorder: The unique effects of self-efficacy and anxiety sensitivity. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51, 767-777. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2013.09.001
• Farchione, T. F., Fairholme, C. F., Ellard, K. K., Boisseau, C. L., Thompson-Hollands, J., Carl, J. R., Gallagher, M. W., & Barlow, D. H. (2012).The unified protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders: A randomized controlled trial. Behavior Therapy, 43, 666-678. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2012.01.001
• Gallagher, M. W., Lopez, S. J., & Preacher, K. J. (2009). The hierarchical structure of well-being. Journal of Personality, 77, 1025-1050.doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00573.x
• Gallagher, M. W., & Lopez, S. J. (2009). Positive expectancies and mental health: Identifying the unique effects of hope and optimism. Journal of Positive Psychology, 4, 548-556. doi: 10.1080/17439760903157166.
• Gallagher, M. W., Lopez, S. J., & Pressman, S. D. (2013). Optimism is universal: Exploring the presence and benefits of optimism in a representative sample of the world. Journal of Personality, 81, 429 – 440. doi:10.1111/jopy.12026
• Gallagher, M. W., Naragon-Gainey, K., & Brown, T. A. (2014). Perceived control is a transdiagnostic predictor of recovery from anxiety. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 38, 10-22. doi: 10.1007/s10608-013-9587-3
• Gallagher, M. W., Thompson-Hollands, J., Bourgeois, M. L., & Bentley, K. H. (in press). Cognitive behavioral treatments for adult Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Current status and future directions. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy.
• Gallagher, M. W., Bentley, K. H., & Barlow, D. H. (2014). Perceived control and vulnerability to anxiety disorders: A meta-analytic review. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 38, 571-584. doi: 10.1007/s10608-014-9624-x
• Gallagher, M. W., Thompson-Hollands, J., Bourgeois, M. L., & Bentley, K. H. (in press). Cognitive behavioral treatments for adult Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Current status and future directions. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy.
• Gallagher, M. W. & Resick, P. A. (2012). Mechanisms of change in cognitive processing therapy and prolonged exposure therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Preliminary evidence for the differential effects of hopelessness and habituation. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36, 750-755. doi: 10.1007/s10608-011-9423-6
• Sloan, D. M., Marx, B. P., Bovin, M. J., Feinstein, B. A., & Gallagher, M.W. (2012). Written exposure as an Intervention for PTSD: A randomized clinical trial with motor vehicle accident survivors. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50, 627-635. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2012.07.001
• Gallagher, M. W., Sauer-Zavala, S. E., Boswell, J. F., Carl, J. R., Bullis, J. R., Farchione, T. F., & Barlow, D. H. (2013). The impact of the unified protocol for emotional disorders on quality of life. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 6, 57-72. doi: 10.1521/ijct.2013.6.1.57