Research published in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy

Nightmares, insomnia, and suicide within a trauma-exposed sample.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy May 21, 2026

Nightmares, insomnia, and suicide within a trauma-exposed sample.

Hallucinations as sensory-perceptual intrusions from traumatic memory: Empirical investigation of a phenomenologically important subgroup.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy March 1, 2026 Jessica O'Connell, Michelle H Lim, Ilias Kamitsis et al.

Past research has identified links between experiences of trauma and the content of hallucinations. There has not been an investigation of differences between those with trauma who do and do not have hallucinations with trauma-related content. This study explored the phenomenology and clinical correlates of hallucinations that contain matching sensory-perceptual elements to trauma. 64 young...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001902 Full text

Clinical benefits of self-guided mindfulness coach mobile app use for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: A pilot randomized control trial.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy July 1, 2025 Joseph Wielgosz, Robyn D. Walser, Eric Kuhn et al. 8 citations

Mindfulness training can relieve posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in military veterans and others but is inconsistently accessible. Self-guided mobile apps could improve access but their acceptability, feasibility, and benefits for veterans with PTSD have not been established. We conducted a pilot randomized trial of Mindfulness Coach (MC), a free, publicly available,...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001736 Full text Service members' well-being Veteran support Veteran care Veteran wellness +4

Ayahuasca in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: Mixed-methods case series evaluation in military combat veterans.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy December 1, 2024 Brandon Weiss, Lê-Anh Dinh-Williams, Nick Beller et al. 16 citations

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy on Jul 25 2024 (see record 2025-07042-001). In the original article, there was an error in the calculations that led to the overstatement of the symptom severity of the veteran sample. Specifically, sum scores for the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001625 Full text PTSD-Treatment Psychedelic-therapy Veterans-health Trauma-recovery +1

Adaptation of a mindfulness-based intervention for trauma-exposed, unhoused women with substance use disorder.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy December 1, 2024 Dana Rose Garfin, Alexandra Amador, Jessica Osorio et al. 8 citations

Women experiencing homelessness (WEH) report exceedingly high rates of trauma exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorder (SUD). Mindfulness-based interventions including Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) may help lower traumatic stress-related symptoms and reduce SUD, but have been underexplored in community-based settings serving WEH with symptoms of...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001486 Full text

Treating psychological trauma: Special populations, symptoms, and innovative models of care.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy December 1, 2024 Kathleen Kendall-Tackett 1 citation

Trauma treatment continues to evolve, with a wider range of options than ever before. In recent years, trauma treatments have become more holistic and now include yoga, mindfulness, and the arts. Treatment may also include animals, physical activity, and even psychedelics. The move toward more integrative approaches was largely consumer driven; clients wanted approaches that healed both mind...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001847 Full text Trauma care Holistic healing Mind-body therapies Resilience

Correction to "Ayahuasca in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: Mixed-methods case series evaluation in military combat veterans" by Weiss et al. (2023).

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy December 1, 2024 correction

Reports an error in "Ayahuasca in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder: Mixed-methods case series evaluation in military combat veterans" by Brandon Weiss, Lê-Anh L. Dinh-Williams, Nick Beller, Ian M. Raugh, Gregory P. Strauss and William K. Campbell (Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, Advanced Online Publication, Dec 07, 2023, np). In the original article,...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001730 Full text Psychedelic therapy Veterans mental health Ayahuasca treatment Trauma recovery +1

Evaluating the mobile Mantram Repetition Program for veterans with PTSD: A multimethod randomized feasibility trial of self-directed versus text support delivery.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy October 31, 2024 Caitlin L Mclean, Ashley Faytol, Gage Chu et al. 1 citation

While mobile delivery can help increase access to evidence-based treatment for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), feasibility and acceptability are of concern with the potential for high attrition rates and limited participation. The Mantram Repetition Program (MRP), a meditation-focused approach with documented efficacy for reducing symptoms of PTSD and insomnia, was adapted...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001811 Full text

The impact of mindfulness training on posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, subjective sleep quality, and objective sleep outcomes in police officers.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy August 31, 2023 Theodore P Imhoff-Smith, Daniel W Grupe

Objective: Sleep disturbances cooccur with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and are often correlated with PTSD severity. Previous research has shown that sleep problems mediate the relationship between PTSD and negative physical and mental health outcomes but has relied on self-reported sleep quality. We tested the effects of mindfulness training-previously shown to improve sleep quality...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001566 Full text Mindfulness Humans Stress disorders, post-traumatic Police +5

Testing the nightmare cognitive arousal processing model.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy July 31, 2023 Westley Youngren, N. Hamilton, Kristopher J. Preacher et al.

OBJECTIVE Posttrauma nightmares are recurring nightmares that begin after a traumatic experience. Research has only recently begun to identify variables that predict posttrauma nightmare occurrences. Research has identified presleep arousal-cognitive (PSA-C) and presleep arousal physiological (PSA-PHYS), sleep onset latency (SOL), and sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) as potential predictors of...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001542

Primary care-based mindfulness intervention for posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms among Black adults: A pilot feasibility and acceptability randomized controlled trial.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy July 2023 Abigail Powers, Emma C Lathan, H Drew Dixon et al.

There is support for the use of mindfulness-based approaches with trauma-exposed adults. However, limited data are available on feasibility and acceptability of group-based mindfulness interventions in urban medical clinics serving primarily Black adults with low socioeconomic resources, where rates of trauma exposure are high. The present randomized pilot study evaluated the feasibility and...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001390 Full text

The impact of participation in a mindfulness-based intervention on posttraumatic stress symptomatology among Black women: A pilot study.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy August 26, 2021 Elizabeth M Waldron, Inger Burnett-Zeigler

Objective: Women, racial/ethnic minorities, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups experience trauma and PTSD at a rate of up to four times the U.S. national average. The aim of the present study is to assess the association between participation in a mindfulness-based intervention delivered in a community health center and posttraumatic stress symptoms among socioeconomically...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0001107 Mindfulness Humans Pilot projects Stress disorders, post-traumatic +1

Mindfulness as a mediator between trauma exposure and mental health outcomes: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy January 21, 2021 Lorig K Kachadourian, Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, Jack Tsai et al.

Objective: Exposure to traumatic life events is associated with increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health problems such as suicidal ideation (SI), alcohol use disorder (AUD), and decreased quality of life (QOL). Mindfulness, which involves attending to the present moment, may help individuals cope with traumatic events by increasing acceptance of...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000995 Full text Mindfulness Humans Alcoholism Health surveys +10

Meditating in virtual reality: Proof-of-concept intervention for posttraumatic stress.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy November 1, 2020 Divya Mistry, Jenney Zhu, Paul Tremblay et al.

Objective: We investigate the potential therapeutic application of virtual reality (VR) technology as an aid to meditation practice among persons varying in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Method: In this within-group mixed-methods study, 96 young adults practiced both VR- and non-VR-guided meditations and reported on their experience of positive affect (PA), negative affect...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000959 Full text

The relationship between mindfulness, PTSD-related sleep disturbance, and sleep quality: Contributions beyond emotion regulation difficulties.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy March 23, 2020

The relationship between mindfulness, PTSD-related sleep disturbance, and sleep quality: Contributions beyond emotion regulation difficulties.

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000572

The impact of prolonged exposure on sleep and enhancing treatment outcomes with evidence-based sleep interventions: A pilot study.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy February 1, 2020 Elizabeth M Walters, Melissa M Jenkins, Carla M Nappi et al.

Insomnia and nightmares are central features of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, often they are inadequately assessed and ineffectively resolved following gold-standard PTSD treatment. Here we: (a) evaluate effects of prolonged exposure (PE) on subjectively measured sleep and (b) present pilot results of an examination of whether adding sleep interventions (imagery rehearsal...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000478 Full text

Direct and indirect effects of mindfulness, PTSD, and depression on self-stigma of mental illness in OEF/OIF veterans.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy December 5, 2019 Nicholas Barr, Jordan P Davis, Graham Diguiseppi et al.

Objective: Two of the most common and costly mental health diagnoses among military veterans who served in the post-9/11 conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq are posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, but over half of veterans who screen positive for these problems do not seek treatment. A key barrier is self-stigma of mental illness. Mindfulness has shown promise as an explanatory...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000535 Full text Mindfulness Humans Stress disorders, post-traumatic Veterans +3

Perceived social support mediates the relationships of dispositional mindfulness to job burnout and posttraumatic stress disorder among chinese firefighters.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy November 21, 2019 Jing Chen, Wen Li, Yuanyuan An et al.

Objective: The present study investigated the ways in which dispositional mindfulness is related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and job burnout among firefighters by considering the role of perceived social support. Method: A total of 409 Chinese firefighters completed the PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition, the Maslach...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000534 Full text Mindfulness Humans Burnout, professional Stress disorders, post-traumatic +5

Addressing measurement issues in electroencephalography studies of meditations as alternative interventions of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy October 3, 2019 Seung Suk Kang 1 citation

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental disorder affecting numerous U.S. citizens, but conventional interventions have shown limited success in treating PTSD symptoms (e.g., high dropout rates). Various meditative techniques have been used as alternative interventions to treat PTSD, demonstrating that these interventions have strong potential to improve symptoms and...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000519 Posttraumatic stress Electroencephalography Psychological intervention Psychotherapist +1

Temporal and spatial characteristics of meditation EEG.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy July 8, 2019 Frederick Travis 20 citations

OBJECTIVE: This article discusses the importance of decisions made about the temporal and spatial characteristics of EEG during recording and analysis of meditation practices. ISSUE: A recent meta-analysis averaged EEG in the alpha1 and alpha2 bands to characterize mindfulness practices. This ignored known differences in cognitive processing associated with these two bands, and so confounded...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000488 Meditation Electroencephalography Cognitive psychology

Contributing factors predicting nightmares in children: Trauma, anxiety, dissociation, and emotion regulation.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy January 2019 Marie E Secrist, Constance J Dalenberg, Richard Gevirtz

There is little research in the current literature regarding contributing factors to nightmares in children. This study aimed to test potentially overlapping predictors of nightmare distress and severity, including anxiety, dissociation, trauma history, vagal tone, and parental processing of emotions. Sixty parent-child dyads (children ages 6-11) filled out a variety of child-report and...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000387 Full text

Transcendental meditation for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy November 1, 2018 Seung Suk Kang, Christopher R Erbes, Greg J Lamberty et al.

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a mental technique using a mantra to facilitate meditation. TM has a potential for treating symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but its clinical efficacy remains to be clarified. This pilot study evaluated the acceptability, preliminary effectiveness, and neurophysiology of TM for veterans with PTSD. Twenty-nine veterans (20.7% female) were...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000346 Full text

Predictors of treatment noninitiation, dropout, and response for cognitive behavioral therapy for trauma nightmares.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy July 19, 2018 Katherine E Miller, Rachel L Micol, Joanne L. Davis et al.

Objective: This report aims to extend previous findings on predictors of treatment dropout and response within nightmare treatment. Method: Factors predicting treatment noninitiation, dropout, and response were examined in 70 trauma-exposed individuals treated in a randomized controlled trial of 2 conditions (exposure [EX] and nonexposure) of a therapy for trauma nightmares. Results: Together,...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000389 Full text Humans Treatment outcome Dreams Sleep +8

Association of Posttraumatic Nightmares and Psychopathology in a Military Sample

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy October 9, 2017 T. de Dassel, Lutz Wittmann, Sonja Protic et al.

Objective: Nightmares are among the most frequent and disturbing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, basic research questions regarding key associations between certain nightmare characteristics, especially replicativeness, and posttraumatic psychopathology need further empirical elaboration. Method: Sixty-two German soldiers (mean age 33.8 years, 17.7% females) admitted...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000319

Relating dispositional mindfulness, contemplative practice, and positive reappraisal with posttraumatic cognitive coping, stress, and growth.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy September 1, 2017 Adam W. Hanley, Eric L Garland, Richard G Tedeschi

A growing body of theoretical and empirical work suggests that mindfulness may support more positive posttraumatic outcomes by reducing posttraumatic stress (PTS) and encouraging posttraumatic growth (PTG). Positive reappraisal (PR), a cognitive coping correlate of dispositional mindfulness (DM) has also been linked with greater PTG. However, neither DM nor PR have been modeled in relation to...

DOI: 10.1037/tra0000208 Full text

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