What we do

We study the mental health impact of traumatic events, aiming to understand the factors that underlie the emergence, maintenance, and recovery from PTSD. These factors may be related to the nature of the traumatic event, individual coping mechanisms, the post-trauma environment, daily life triggers, the availability of social support, and access to appropriate and effective treatment.

We are particularly interested in the response to mass trauma events, such as natural disasters, war, terror, and the COVID pandemic. We aim to improve the ways in which we can identify those people at higher risk, and provide them with right interventions for them at the earliest possible stage. We also conduct research with specific professional groups that have been identified as being at increased risk of trauma exposure, such as healthcare professionals and religious leaders, who are often at the frontline of disaster response work.

We believe that daily life studies provide valuable insights into symptom dynamics and threat reactivity, and may enable us to clarify the psychological mechanisms driving PTSD and other post-trauma mental health problems. We often use Ecological Momentary Assessment to collect intensive longitudinal data from people in their daily life context.

We also use a wide range of additional research methods including prospective studies with multiple assessment waves, survey data, and qualitative approaches to answer our research questions.