Morning Light Treatment for Traumatic Stress
Funding: NIH R61 Grant
In collaboration with: Dr. Helen Burgess, University of Michigan
Exposure to trauma can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. Although therapies exist for traumatic stress, many individuals fail to receive treatment or remain symptomatic despite treatment. New treatments are needed for traumatic stress that target underlying mechanisms of the pathology and offer a safe and acceptable alternative. Morning bright light has good potential as a novel non-invasive, low risk treatment for traumatic stress. Morning bright light treatment may reduce traumatic stress by reducing amygdala reactivity. The present study aims to: (a) establish a significant dose response relationship between duration of daily morning light pulse and reduction from baseline in amygdala reactivity, and (b) establish change in amygdala reactivity as a predictor of traumatic stress symptom improvement. This project will be the first to establish if anatomical links between the retinal circadian photoreceptors and amygdala translate into clinically meaningful changes in amygdala reactivity using morning bright light therapy.
Military Families Study
Funding: Brain and Behavior Research Foundation NARSAD Grant
In this study we explore the relationships between parent traumatic stress, offspring psychopathology, offspring biological aging, and important psychological and biological risk factors that have been implicated in the intergenerational transmission of trauma including parenting style, attachment, fear conditioning, and stress system neuroendocrine dysregulation. We aim to identify the key psychological and biological processes that contribute to or buffer against the intergenerational transmission of traumatic stress in military families that would facilitate the development of effective prevention programs for these at-risk youth.
To participate in this study, more information can be found here.
Experiences of Moral Injury in a Civilian Sample
Individuals exposed to events which violate one’s deeply held moral beliefs or expectations may experience psychological distress or functional impairment known as moral injury (MI). While many individuals experience moral frustrations or distress, fewer experience clinically significant symptoms due to moral injury. While MI appears to be clinically relevant to mental health care providers, MI is not yet a clearly defined construct. Furthermore, little work has been done to evaluate the process by which potentially morally injurious events (PMIES) lead to MI. Additionally, MI research has largely focused on military personnel and veterans, while little work has been done to examine how MI affects other populations. In the current study, we aim to explore the prevalence of morally injurious experiences and their consequences in an undergraduate sample.
Examining the Nature and Consequences of Moral Injury in Frontline Nurses During COVID-19
Funding: UCI Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS)
In collaboration with: Candace Burton, Danisha Jenkins
The COVID-19 pandemic has created fertile ground for morally injurious events to occur among frontline nurses, particularly in under-resourced areas due to the outstripping of medical resources, and risk of fatality for patients and exposed medical providers. The proposed study will use a longitudinal mixed-methods approach to determine what kinds of nursing experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic contribute to moral injurious experiences among frontline nurses and the psychological and occupational sequelae of moral injurious experience among frontline nurses.
Evaluating the Impact of Critical Incident Exposure Among Child Protective Service Workers
In collaboration with: The Los Angeles Department of Child and Family Protective Services
Child Protective Services Social Workers routinely experience occupational exposures to potentially traumatizing events (PTEs) and potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs). PMIEs involve exposure to an event that violates ones deeply held values or moral beliefs. These events may qualify as a PTE or may not qualify as a PTE. PMIEs have largely been explored in the military context, but little work has been done examining how PMIEs affect other populations. In this study, subjects will be drawn from a pool of Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services (LAC DCFS) employees who have had a documented occupational critical incident exposure or have taken part in the Peer Support Program. This study will examine the impact of PMIEs and PTEs on psychological well-being (PTSD symptoms) and physiological well-being (telomere length as a marker of biological aging) in this population. We will also examine psychological and biological risk and resilience factors that may predict these outcomes.