Clinical PhD Programs Strong in Trauma and/or PTSD Research?

[attackemu]

Hello!

I'm applying to Clinical PhD Programs this fall, and I'm wondering if anyone knows of any labs that focus on any combination of trauma, anxiety, emotion regulation, memory or PTSD. I'm particularly interested in the memory and PTSD aspects.

I've already identified a few for myself: McNally at Harvard (absolute top choice! Doing EXACTLY the kind of research I'm interested in), Foa at Penn (not taking students next year ), Liberzon at Michigan, Mennin at Yale, Robins at Duke, Craske at UCLA, and Bonanno at Columbia. I'll be applying to these places, but I'm curious to know if anyone knows any other labs that focus on this type of research.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[PsychBrownBag]

I'm not as up on the trauma stuff, but in terms of emotion dysregulation folks, you might want to consider:

Joiner (FSU) - Suicide is the primary focus there, but there is an emerging and active line of emotion dysregulation research.

Lejuez (Maryland) - Very active researchers - great folks. Focused primarily on distress tolerance and substance use in urban populations

Nolen-Hoeksema (Yale) - Primary focus on cognitive emotion regulation strategies (rumination) and a lot of collaboration with Mennin folks

Fischer (Georgia) - UPPS-P based emotion regulation research with a primary focus on negative urgency in binge eating and substance use

Cyders (IUPUI) - Positive and negative urgency

Smith (Kentucky) - More negative urgency stuff

Nock (Harvard) - Functional model of NSSI touches on emotion dysregulation stuff. Developed the distress tolerance test (bx measure of distress tolerance)

Witte (Auburn) - New faculty member - Joiner lab alum. Primarily a suicide researcher, but developing a line of quality emotion regulation research.

Hope this helps!

 

[cara susanna]

Fischer is pretty much solely EDs at the moment, or so she told me when I met her.

I would also add Ahrens at American University for emotional regulation stuff.

 

[PsychApps2009]

You should look at Boston University. They have strong ties with the VA Hospital in Boston (specifically the National Center for PTSD).

 

[deleted176373]

Riggs at USUHS.

 

[GreenPsych]

Rottenberg (I think) at South Florida-- emotion regulation

PTSD

Toledo, Montana, Arkansas

 

[Applicant03]

Hello!

I'm applying to Clinical PhD Programs this fall, and I'm wondering if anyone knows of any labs that focus on any combination of trauma, anxiety, emotion regulation, memory or PTSD. I'm particularly interested in the memory and PTSD aspects.

I've already identified a few for myself: McNally at Harvard (absolute top choice! Doing EXACTLY the kind of research I'm interested in), Foa at Penn (not taking students next year ), Liberzon at Michigan, Mennin at Yale, Robins at Duke, Craske at UCLA, and Bonanno at Columbia. I'll be applying to these places, but I'm curious to know if anyone knows any other labs that focus on this type of research.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

Duke and the Durham VA is one of the best regarding PTSD research. If not for your clinical program, definitely a post-doc option. Good luck!

 

[Ollie123]

Rottenberg (I think) at South Florida-- emotion regulation

Yup, he is at USF. Also Marina Bornovalova is a new faculty member at USF who studies emotion dysregulation (as part of a larger research program). She's a graduate of Lejuez's lab.

 

[PsychBrownBag]

Wow - Bornovalova is at USF now? That's a really strong pick up.

 

[Ollie123]

Yup. She was a joint hire between the psychology department and FMHI.

 

[Wapote84]

The University of Missouri St. Louis has a great program with a possible trauma related focus, both with children and adults. I think they have AMAZING externship offerings as well as internship sites. There is a major focus on PTSD at these sites and you should check them out. Its where I did my undergrad. I worked at the Children's Advocacy Center on campus for a couple of years and their cases are generally pretty extreme cases of trauma. I would highly recommend that spot if PTSD or trauma is your interest.

 

[PrisonPsych]

Hello!

I'm applying to Clinical PhD Programs this fall, and I'm wondering if anyone knows of any labs that focus on any combination of trauma, anxiety, emotion regulation, memory or PTSD. I'm particularly interested in the memory and PTSD aspects.

I've already identified a few for myself: McNally at Harvard (absolute top choice! Doing EXACTLY the kind of research I'm interested in), Foa at Penn (not taking students next year ), Liberzon at Michigan, Mennin at Yale, Robins at Duke, Craske at UCLA, and Bonanno at Columbia. I'll be applying to these places, but I'm curious to know if anyone knows any other labs that focus on this type of research.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

If you're up for Counseling Psychology, Dr. Rubin at Texas Woman's University is a strong trauma researcher (including some PTSD components).

 

[Zen Master]

This site is so rich. This thread alone is an enormous time-saver in looking into my area of interest. Thanks all!

 

[strpsych]

Theres a helpful PDF from the APA trauma division with strong trauma programs:

BU
Case Western
Duke
Eastern Michigan
NIU
St Johns

are all on there- I think its a little outdated, but still helpful. Just google it

 

[AlaskanJustin]

The University of Missouri St. Louis has a great program with a possible trauma related focus, both with children and adults. I think they have AMAZING externship offerings as well as internship sites. There is a major focus on PTSD at these sites and you should check them out. Its where I did my undergrad. I worked at the Children's Advocacy Center on campus for a couple of years and their cases are generally pretty extreme cases of trauma. I would highly recommend that spot if PTSD or trauma is your interest.

I was going to suggest here, but decided not to go because of funding instability. Their trauma center took huge cuts.

Also hate to break it to you, but Mennin is no longer at Yale, he is now at Hunter College in NYC. Great neuroscience program.

*Bonanno at Colmbia, I had a friend work for him, a) not sure thats a clinical program I would want to go to and b) he and other students that worked under him were unhappy. Having said that I do not know Bonanno personally therefore cannot give you any first hand advice.

 

[cara susanna]

N/m

 

[AlaskanJustin]

I was going to suggest here, but decided not to go because of funding instability. Their trauma center took huge cuts.

Also hate to break it to you, but Mennin is no longer at Yale, he is now at Hunter College in NYC. Great neuroscience program.

*Bonanno at Colmbia, I had a friend work for him, a) not sure thats a clinical program I would want to go to and b) he and other students that worked under him were unhappy. Having said that I do not know Bonanno personally therefore cannot give you any first hand advice.

ALSO you have U New Mexico, they have Kathy Haaland there who just received a huge grant (and is part of another grant) studying PTSD. She just talked at Fordham, she is amazing. Great researcher and well funded for the last 25 years.

 

[Ollie123]

Threads like this cause me to have very mixed feelings about the existence of the search function and it being embedded into the system for creating new posts.

Folks, this was a random bump of a thread from last year. Pretty sure the OP already decided where to apply.

 

[AlaskanJustin]

Threads like this cause me to have very mixed feelings about the existence of the search function and it being embedded into the system for creating new posts.

Folks, this was a random bump of a thread from last year. Pretty sure the OP already decided where to apply.

Haha sure hope he didnt get in with Mennin then! But I think these lists serve a purpose, that is, IF someone is looking for this or any other type of info then they can find it.

 

[Ollie123]

No doubt, hence the "mixed"

 

[AlaskanJustin]

No doubt, hence the "mixed"

oh gee... duh on me!

 

[bcliff]

I know I'm bumping a 2+ year old thread, but are there any additional suggestions for clinical PhD programs/specific faculty that offer strong trauma/PTSD training?

 

[WisNeuro]

I did PTSD/Trauma work at Uw-Milwaukee with Shawn Cahill, former student of Foa. I was technically in an affective neuroscience lab (fMRI and EEG, plus neuro) so I looked at it from another perspective. But, great place to be, some of the best years of my life.

 

[chman]

There are the obvious big names like Foa at U of Penn. I like Craske at UCLA for her anxiety work in general (and PTSD will always be an anxiety disorder first and foremost to me). Check out Lori Zoellner's lab at University of Washington as well, and I know Case Western does exposure based therapy work for PTSD. I would maybe read some of the big names and see if you can track down their students and others in the field.

I also agree to check out BU and that area. Look at the National Center for PTSD in Boston faculty page for people like Wolf, Miller, etc. I'm not sure if they take students but I like their research.

 

[LivingOffLoans]

Jennifer Freyd at University of Oregon.

 

[ADDICTED2STATS]

While it's not a trauma program, Jon Elhai at the University of Toledo does PTSD research and he's an exceptional mentor for grad students.

 

[bcliff]

Does anyone think

There are the obvious big names like Foa at U of Penn. I like Craske at UCLA for her anxiety work in general (and PTSD will always be an anxiety disorder first and foremost to me). Check out Lori Zoellner's lab at University of Washington as well, and I know Case Western does exposure based therapy work for PTSD. I would maybe read some of the big names and see if you can track down their students and others in the field.

I also agree to check out BU and that area. Look at the National Center for PTSD in Boston faculty page for people like Wolf, Miller, etc. I'm not sure if they take students but I like their research.

Thanks for the response. Is there any information on whether Foa plans on taking any new graduate students before she retires, or if she even has plans to retire? I don't think she's taken any new students over the past few years, and I just checked her wikipedia page, and it says she's 76.

 

[cara susanna]

To echo the above poster, Craske is doing some REALLY exciting work right now.

 

[chman]

Does anyone think


Thanks for the response. Is there any information on whether Foa plans on taking any new graduate students before she retires, or if she even has plans to retire? I don't think she's taken any new students over the past few years, and I just checked her wikipedia page, and it says she's 76.

I have no idea, to be honest (it makes sense that she would be slowing down now that I think about it though,). I know someone who was an RA for her at one time, but that is the extent of my connection. Even if she doesn't take students, it is at least worth checking out her associations, etc. Everyone in the field is connected to some extent.. On that note, I would also see about attending an ISTSS conference ( I think it is in Miami next year). I'm not sure when you plan to apply, but I plan on going (even though it will be right after the application cycle, next year, when I apply).

 

[Sancho Panza]

I am fairly certain Foa will not be taking on any more grad students in her career. She has a number of junior research faculty doing work under her now, and a lot of her time at this point in her career is spent doing dissemination-related work.

Like people have mentioned, Zoellner at University of Washington, Feeny at Case Western, Cahill at UW-Milwaukee all worked under her and continue to do PTSD research while taking on grad students. A lot of the PTSD treatment research is done through the VA and DOD so it can be harder to find research faculty in that area that take on grad students (certainly not impossible though).

 

[telemental90]

University of Colorado Colorado Springs has a Trauma Health and Hazards Center headed by Dr. Chip Benight. Students interested in aging can apply to work with him through the Clinical Gero PhD program. Additionally, the center has incorporated a new training clinic specifically for treating veterans in the Colorado Springs area, with a new Clinical Veterans Health PhD program springing up fall of 2015 (I think).

 

[bcliff]

University of Colorado Colorado Springs has a Trauma Health and Hazards Center headed by Dr. Chip Benight. Students interested in aging can apply to work with him through the Clinical Gero PhD program. Additionally, the center has incorporated a new training clinic specifically for treating veterans in the Colorado Springs area, with a new Clinical Veterans Health PhD program springing up fall of 2015 (I think).

One of the labs I work with does a lot of dementia and Alzheimer's research, and this program seems like a great way to blend my experience working with elderly populations and my interest and experience working with highly traumatized populations. I did a quick search and found this press release:

http://pressreleases.uccs.edu/?p=1551

And you're correct, it does mention that the program will begin admitting students in '15 (which is the year I'm planning to apply for!) - I really appreciate the information!

 

[Lil Mick]

Ditto on the VA/DOD research emphasis. Some schools have relationships with VA hospitals doing research (Pitt comes to mind). Also try looking for programs at schools that have MSW in Veterans Health, which may offer some good opportunities, as they tend to collaborate with Psychology and Psychiatry departments...

 

[psychRA]

A lot of the PTSD treatment research is done through the VA and DOD so it can be harder to find research faculty in that area that take on grad students (certainly not impossible though).

This is a really good point. All of the VA researchers I've worked with thus far have had faculty appointments at the affiliated university, but aren't actually "professors" in the sense that they don't have labs at the university, don't typically teach, and (most importantly) don't take grad students. It's good to check this out before becoming too focused on any one program.

Other trauma-focused programs or POIs:

Multiple people at Northern Illinois
John Briere at U of Southern California (not sure if he's taking students)
Russell Jones at Virginia Tech
Anne DePrince at U of Denver PhD

 

[cara susanna]

Making sure that there are trauma-focused practica (such as VAs) is also important.

 

[chman]

But also keep in mind that most PTSD/trauma disorders aren't due to combat (although I find this area especially interesting myself). If you have the stomach for it, you may look at faculty that deal with risky and sexual behavior and assault. There is is ton of research to be done in this area, and a lot of PTSD treatment now being accepted for the treatment of veterans and combat PTSD was developed for sexual assault victims. You have to dig a little deeper to find some of these faculty, in my experience.

I also think there will be a lot of research in opportunities in health and physical trauma and PTSD.. For instance, I was able to talk to a leading psychiatrist in my area (just e-mailed him and he offered to meet me for coffee, which was awesome!) and he suggested looking at researchers that look at physical trauma victims in emergency rooms, assault units, etc. You can study things like drugs that are commonly given (eg, propranolol, etc) and their intervention/prevention potential.

I guess what I'm saying is that the study of PTSD and trauma doesn't have to be limited in scope by any means.

 

[bcliff]

But also keep in mind that most PTSD/trauma disorders aren't due to combat (although I find this area especially interesting myself). If you have the stomach for it, you may look at faculty that deal with risky and sexual behavior and assault. There is is ton of research to be done in this area, and a lot of PTSD treatment now being accepted for the treatment of veterans and combat PTSD was developed for sexual assault victims. You have to dig a little deeper to find some of these faculty, in my experience.

I also think there will be a lot of research in opportunities in health and physical trauma and PTSD.. For instance, I was able to talk to a leading psychiatrist in my area (just e-mailed him and he offered to meet me for coffee, which was awesome!) and he suggested looking at researchers that look at physical trauma victims in emergency rooms, assault units, etc. You can study things like drugs that are commonly given (eg, propranolol, etc) and their intervention/prevention potential.

I guess what I'm saying is that the study of PTSD and trauma doesn't have to be limited in scope by any means.

You're exactly right! I've worked in three labs that have each dealt extensively with different types of trauma (domestic violence/physical injury/combat experience). I really want to get involved with the VA and have really enjoyed working with combat vets, so I do see myself attending a program with strong VA ties, but I completely agree that there are countless types of PTSD/trauma research available.

 

[walte2cm]

I am fairly certain Foa will not be taking on any more grad students in her career. She has a number of junior research faculty doing work under her now, and a lot of her time at this point in her career is spent doing dissemination-related work.

Like people have mentioned, Zoellner at University of Washington, Feeny at Case Western, Cahill at UW-Milwaukee all worked under her and continue to do PTSD research while taking on grad students. A lot of the PTSD treatment research is done through the VA and DOD so it can be harder to find research faculty in that area that take on grad students (certainly not impossible though).

I am looking into PhD programs working with research directly related to veterans and PTSD; anyone know of programs with this specific interest? Thanks!

 

[WisNeuro]

I am looking into PhD programs working with research directly related to veterans and PTSD; anyone know of programs with this specific interest? Thanks!

Re-read the thread. Also, most programs will not work directly with Veterans through their programs. They will, however, have practicums at a nearby VA hospital if it is available.

 

[aly cat]

I am looking into PhD programs working with research directly related to veterans and PTSD; anyone know of programs with this specific interest? Thanks!

Look at Dr. Deborah Beidel and Dr. Sandra Neer at University of Central Florida. While both of their sites say they work with anxiety disorders, they have several multi-year grants specifically for veterans with PTSD.

 

[WisNeuro]

Also, a consideration I would make is to choose a program that looks at trauma in general for research and making sure that they have that practicum site through the VA for clinical experience and side research to become involved in. Relying on the VA and Veterans for research could make your thesis and dissertation take much longer than expected. VA IRB's are notoriously slow, and Veteran research data is.....messy.

 

[perhaps11]

Craig Bryan - U. of Utah

 

[LM02]

Surprised to see that the University of Memphis was overlooked in this thread (they have Gayle Beck AND Megan McDevitt-Murphy, both very strong in these areas). Also Frank Weathers at Auburn University is a very accomplished investigator in the areas of PTSD and trauma.

 

[smalltownpsych]

Dr. David Foy at Pepperdine does some great research on PTSD both with veterans and with disasters like Oklahoma City bombing and there are good opportunities for VA practicums. Expensive school, though.

 

[skinners-box-of-questions]

Hi everyone, I am brand new to this site (as in this thread introduced me to it) and decided to begin with this apparently resurrected one. I am also passionate about trauma/coping/ED/plasticity. Though I might be jumping the gun a bit as a rising junior double majoring in Psychology (BS) and social work.

Quick explanation: Social work has allowed me more face time/internships/interactions with the population I am interested in. Simultaneously I work as a student assistant and am interviewing to begin involvement in lab work.

I've spent the last two days looking up all of the aforementioned professors and schools (thank you!), but was wondering if you knew of any overlapping clinical/neuropsychology programs that have specialities or (longterm) research grants in this area?

 

[LAPsyGuy]

I'm near absolute certainty that Dr. Foy is in retirement, at least for the foreseeable future. Thema Bryant-Davis, Ph.D. is also doing great work on trauma in non-military populations.

 

[smalltownpsych]

I'm near absolute certainty that Dr. Foy is in retirement, at least for the foreseeable future. Thema Bryant-Davis, Ph.D. is also doing great work on trauma in non-military populations.

Well, he was getting older, but he is still listed as faculty on the Pepperdine website. I haven't been in touch with him for a few years though so you might be right.

 

[PsychFanatic1994]

I am currently working in a research lab at the VA. I plan on attending a program with strong VA ties as well. I am interested in PTSD/sexual trauma. I am not sure if you started any programs yet. Have you began graduate school?

You're exactly right! I've worked in three labs that have each dealt extensively with different types of trauma (domestic violence/physical injury/combat experience). I really want to get involved with the VA and have really enjoyed working with combat vets, so I do see myself attending a program with strong VA ties, but I completely agree that there are countless types of PTSD/trauma research available.

 

[skinners-box-of-questions]

I am currently working in a research lab at the VA. I plan on attending a program with strong VA ties as well. I am interested in PTSD/sexual trauma. I am not sure if you started any programs yet. Have you began graduate school?

No, I actually have two more years of undergraduate study, and am predominantly looking into programs that include a Masters Degree.

I have started to look into graduate programs that hold my area of focus (clinical practicals assisting and evaluating persons exposed to and afflicted by traumatic events) and that consistently have funding (or will in 2017) for an anticipatory graduate student with these interests.

If you don't mind me asking, what places and professors have you identified that fit this criteria? (Or the ones that meet your criterion, if it varies drastically)

 

[rosie712]

I'm sorry to bring this one back to life once again, but does anyone know of trauma researchers that specifically focus on children/child psychology? More than anything, my passion is to work with kids, but I would really like to be able to merge that with my interests in trauma psychology.