Research

Our lab studies traumatic stress and women's health across the reproductive lifecycle. 

 

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is twice as common in women as men, and women are overrepresented in exposure to certain trauma types (e.g., sexual violence). These gender differences underscore the need for health research and interventions specific to women.

Most of our lab's work focuses on the perinatal period--a particularly important life stage for those who become pregnant. We believe that pregnancy and postpartum are optimal times during which to screen for and intervene on trauma and related psychopathology (e.g., depression, anxiety, and PTSD).

Areas of emphasis

When examining the impact of traumatic stress on women's health, our lab adopts a transdiagnostic, dimensional view. This enables us to better identify potential mechanisms linking trauma exposure with adverse health outcomes--in service of then targeting these mechanisms through more personalized intervention approaches.

Representative publications:

Labor and delivery can be medically complex, and complications can arise that threaten maternal health. To advance maternal mental health during the perinatal period, we study the psychological aspects of adverse events that occur during the course of pregnancy (e.g., delivering preterm or via an emergency cesarean).

Representative work:

  • Associations between potentially traumatic childbirth-related events and postpartum psychopathology in women veterans, presented at ISTSS 2025

Our research is ultimately in service of ensuring effective clinical care and outcomes for women. Thus, one branch of our work focuses on treatments--including both mental health-specific care and integrative healthcare interventions--for women's health.

Representative publications: