Katie Ferguson

Ms. Ferguson attended The College of William & Mary, where she received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology and a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Government. She was previously a research assistant for the Social Networks and Political Psychology Lab at her university, where she studied the effects of Facebook usage on political polarization. After growing up outside of Baltimore, she returned to the area in 2019 to serve at-risk populations. She is passionate about studying the ways in which burgeoning technology can impact social problems such as wealth and education inequality, justice involvement, and substance use issues.

At FRI, Ms. Ferguson is currently working as a Project Coordinator for Drs. Carswell and Gordon on two studies that use technology to aid in the treatment of substance use disorders. The first study entitled “Continuing Care App for Probationers and Parolees with Substance Use Disorders” seeks to complete the development of a continuing care mobile app and conduct a randomized controlled trial to assess efficacy among clients on probation or parole who are enrolled in outpatient substance use treatment. The app is designed to meet the recovery and personal support needs of probationers and parolees with substance use disorders. The second study entitled “The Daily Progress System – A Recovery Support Tool to Reduce Health Disparities in Outpatient Substance Use Treatment” seeks to develop a mobile-friendly, web-based software program designed to obtain information from substance use disorder treatment clients on a daily basis in order to assess treatment needs and tailor treatment services.

Selected Publications

Carswell, SB, Gordon, MS, Gryczynski, J, Taxman, FS, Schadegg, M, Ferguson, KN, & Maher, KM (in press). Continuing care app for probationers and parolees with substance use disorders. Journal of Drug Education.