About

Trauma, Anxiety, and Stress Clinical Research

The Lab broadly focuses on the etiology, pathology, and treatment of trauma, anxiety, and stress. The lab is led by Dr. Casey Straud (Principal Investigator), a board certified and licensed clinical psychologist with a background in cognitive and behavioral therapy. His research career has emphasized psychological trauma, military health, and clinical trial research. He is most notably recognized for his work in posttramatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment and biostatistics. These experiences have resulted in approximately $50 million in research funding on more than 20 projects funded through the NIH, DoD, VA, state of Texas, and private foundations and collaborations with investigators across the nation.

Current Research Areas:

PTSD Treatment Outcomes: One of the foundational research areas in the lab is the investigation of evidence-based treatments for PTSD and psychosocial factors that impact treatment response, particularly within military and first responder populations. Research has shown that military and first responder populations are at greater risk of trauma exposure and the development of PTSD. Further, these populations often do not respond as well to first-line PTSD treatments compared to civilians. Potential factors associated with this trend have been linked to chronicity of trauma exposure, the violent and morally complex nature of traumatic events, and the elevated prevalence of comorbidities (e.g., substance misuse, traumatic brain injury). The evaluation of psychosocial factors such as trauma type and comorbid problems (e.g., TBI, substance misuse) helps to better understand this phenomenon a guide treatment adaptations to better serve various clinical presentations.

Psychosocial Factors that Impact PTSD Treatments: Dr. Straud is also involved in clinical trial research with external collaborators as a part of STRONG STAR, the world’s largest research consortium for military PTSD, Dr. Straud has contributed to the development and evaluation of adapted treatment formats (e.g., teletherapy, massed sessions) and psychosocial augmentations (e.g., involving social support networks). Findings from this research have further emphasized the importance of augmenting current first-line PTSD interventions to improve treatment outcomes for individuals struggling with trauma-related psychopathology.

Biological and Pharmacological Augmentations for PTSD Interventions: More recent research has explored the integration of novel biological and pharmacological interventions with psychotherapy, including non-invasive brain stimulation (tDCS and tMS), cannabidiol, ketamine, MDMA, and stellate ganglion block. These projects aim to combine first-line psychotherapies with medications/devices associated with neurobiological PTSD pathology mechanisms that target the same psychological factors known to be effective in evidence-based PTSD psychotherapy interventions.

Coping and Resilience with Stress and Anxiety: The lab is also focused on coping and resiliency as protective factors against stress, anxiety, and psychopathology. The overarching theme of this research focuses on the identification of dispositional and behavioral factors that influence coping strategies in response to stressors. Understanding factors that promote resiliency or lead to vulnerabilities following negative events can be used to develop interventions that mitigate the negative neurobiological and psychiatric sequelae that can occur following a traumatic event.

Biostatistics and Clinical Trial Design: With a background in clinical psychology and biostatistics, Dr. Straud also collaborates on clinical trials and large-scale clinical research projects focused on trauma-related problems, mental health, and resiliency. This work includes consultation on clinical trial design and data analysis, as well secondary analysis using large scale datasets to identify predictors and mechanisms of treatment response, psychometric instrument validation, and meta-analytic research using both study-level and individual-level data.