Researching Trauma
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Participate in ISTSS Member Research

ISTSS engages its members in advancing traumatic stress science and uses research to improve prevention and clinical care, promote resilience, and inform public education and policy.

To Participate in Research

To further this strategic goal, below is a list of links to ongoing research on traumatic stress topics. If you are interested in becoming a research participant, please follow the links below.

ISTSS provides this listing as a service to members, but we do not oversee or evaluate individual studies. It is the responsibility of the institution and the principal investigator to uphold scientific and ethical requirements. All studies listed here are IRB approved and ISTSS will not have access to data obtained in these studies.

  • Under the supervision of Nnamdi Pole of Smith College, Stefanie Carreiro of the Smith College School for Social Work is conducting a study on clinical decision-making when working with military trauma patients. You are eligible to participate in this study if you have provided psychotherapy to survivors of military trauma and you have a Master’s or Doctorate degree in Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Mental Health Counseling, Psychiatric Nursing, Psychology, or Psychiatry. The survey will take about 30 minutes of your time. Questions about the survey can be directed to Dr. Pole (npole@smith.edu).Please take the online survey.

  • Carla Sterling, M.A., a doctoral candidate in clinical Psychology at Regent University, is conducting dissertation research among trauma psychotherapists to empirically investigate the relationship between exposure to client trauma, personal spirituality, and vicarious traumatization and transformation. You are eligible to participate if you are a licensed mental health professional actively engaged in providing therapy to individuals suffering from trauma. The study entitled: “The Effects of Trauma on Psychotherapists’ Vicarious Traumatization and Spirituality” is being supervised by Dr. Donald Walker, Assistant Professor of Regent University and Director of the Child Trauma Institute (dfwalker@regent.edu). Please take the online survey.


  • In collaboration with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk of the Trauma Center at Justice Resource Institute, and Dr. Julian Ford of the University of Connecticut, Dr. Wendy D’Andrea of the New School for Social Research is conducting a study to validate the proposed diagnostic criteria for Developmental Trauma Disorder. For individuals, who work with children and adolescents exposed to trauma, please take the online survey. The survey is brief and will take about 10 minutes per case. You may report on as many cases as you would like. Your responses will be used to examine the validity of the Developmental Trauma Disorder diagnosis.

  • Shanna Jackson, MS, MA, LPC, a doctoral candidate at Fielding Graduate University, is conducting dissertation research on the topic of mitigating vicarious traumatization in psychotherapists who work with adult clients with a history of childhood abuse or neglect. The focus is on psychotherapists who also have a personal trauma history (any type, abuse or other), since trauma affects so many people’s lives in one way or another. This study explores how to buffer the effects of trauma and more effectively train therapists in treating trauma, while taking care of themselves in the process. The time commitment is approximately 30-45 minutes. If you meet the following criteria, please send the primary researcher an email at shannajackson@comcast.net with your mailing address, so I may send you a research packet of materials. A $10 Amazon.com gift card is included in each research packet in appreciation for participation. You are an eligible participant if: (a) you are a fully licensed psychotherapist, (b) you have at least one adult survivor of childhood abuse or neglect on your general caseload over time (regardless of therapeutic modality of practice), (c) you reside in the United States, and (d) you are fluent in English. This project is under the supervision of: Sherry L. Hatcher, Ph.D., ABPP, 805-687-1099.

    Submit Your Study

    ISTSS members who would like their research to be advertised on this page may submit their proposals to the Web Editor for consideration. For submissions, please include the following information: (1) Name of Primary Investigator, (2)University where the study is taking place, (3) Purpose of the study, (4) Participant inclusion criteria, and (5) Letter of IRB Approval.