For clinical student applicants, Dr. Newman is searching for students (2021-2022) interested in Journalism and Trauma. Competitive applicants will have experience in research (abstracts, papers presented at national meetings, publications), have excellent writing skills, and a strong background with data. Students from various underrepresented backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
Elana Newman, Ph.D., established the Center in Fall of 2002, although it has been operating loosely since September 1996. The Center’s mission as well as previous, current, and future projects are outlined below. Students at the Center have presented at local and national conferences, won awards for scholarship, and co-authored publications.
MISSION: The mission of the Center is to conduct research on the assessment, treatment, and prevention of the subsequent effects of traumatic stress injury. Besides research, members are involved in educating the community on issues regarding trauma and mental health. The lab values and endorses high ethical integrity and the need to combine scholarship with practice.
PREVIOUS PROJECTS: Substance abuse and trauma among emergency rescue workers, minorities, battered women, and college students; participants’ responses to trauma-related research; ethical conduct of trauma research; disaster mental health; trauma-informed interventions; evaluation of adolescent mental health programs in partnership with Center for Community Research and Development; cultural idioms of distress and PTSD in India; and prenatal exposure to methamphetamine.
CURRENT PROJECTS: Effectiveness of training for journalists, educational needs of journalists, PTSD, moral injury and occupational dysfunction among journalists, harassment of journalists, and disaster mental health.
Dr. Newman continues to work on issues related to trauma-informed interventions for individuals and organizations, ethics and trauma research, and disaster mental health projects. Some of this work continues to involve students.
FUTURE PROJECTS: Dr. Newman continues to have interests in ethics of trauma, trauma-focused interventions, and mass disaster but the TACTS lab is moving toward a specialty in understanding various aspects of trauma and journalism. Specifically, lab members are examining PTSD and resilience among journalists, workplace issues for journalists, the impact of trauma-related news on sources, harassment of journalists, trauma and safety training needs and effectiveness, and other related topics. Further, we are developing methods to assess the impact of trauma news on consumers.
Being a part of the TACTS lab was an extremely valuable experience for me. If you are interested in trauma, or just familiarizing with the research process, I highly recommend applying to work in Dr. Newman’s lab as an undergraduate. Being involved in the lab allowed me to have a closer relationship with my faculty mentor, Dr. Newman. This was a very valuable relationship for me when I was trying to figure out what I would do post-graduation and as I was applying to graduate school. The graduate students in the TACTS lab are also wonderful mentors. Over my time in the lab, my involvement in research projects increased. After being involved with the lab for about a year, I was able to attend and present a poster at the ISTSS conference. Conferences are a major networking opportunity, so this was very valuable as I was applying to graduate school. Throughout the process of applying to graduate school, Dr. Newman and the lab were very helpful and supportive. We spent lab time reviewing my personal statements and CV, which was so helpful to me. I would recommend applying to work in the TACTS lab if you have an interest in trauma psychology, and especially if you intend to pursue some type of graduate school.
– Julia Richardson, 2020 Graduate