Posttraumatic Stress Research Unit

It has been a little while since we posted - we got a bit busy with a flurry of activity at the end of 2024. We'll have more news during 2025, but I wanted to congratulate Alex Canty again - who graduated in December and is now Dr Alex Canty.
Reg

Congratulations to our Alex Canty who received her PhD examination reports last week - no corrections required - well done Alex!

Some of you might be aware that Alex has been 'the face' of doing a PhD at Flinders (check out https://youtu.be/PXd1nJVc4QY) - maybe a new video is required Alex (the face of someone who has made it to the end 😀)?

Again, congratulations from the Flinders Trauma Team.

Challenge the future Study a Higher Degree by Research

Happy Men’s Mental Health week!
To celebrate we would like to share a little update on our ongoing PEREI program which is partly funded by the Movember foundation. With the fantastic uptake from the first responding community we have now completed the recruitment stage of the study! A majority of the members assigned to engage in the program immediately have completed it and we are now steadily running members who were put on our waitlist through the program. So far we have observed high completion rates and heard a lot of positive feedback! We have also passed on some of our early data to the University of Canberra who are running a fantastic project evaluating the broad range of research funded by the Movember foundation. We are excited to continue coaching the remaining first responders, supervisors, and their significant others through this wellbeing program and will continue to update you all on any exciting developments!

Protecting Emergency Responders with Evidence-Based Interventions (PEREI) - Flinders University PEREI delivers targeted wellbeing and resilience programs aimed at preventing the onset and severity of mental health conditions linked to trauma exposure and organisational stressors in first responders.

Putting money where our mouth is! The Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation is currently raising funds (and awareness) to launch a new Su***de Prevention Fellowship in Men’s Mental Health. Our labs very own Reg Nixon will be attending the Breakthrough’s Men’s Meals and Mental Health Dinner on May 23rd and has already raised $3000 with the Flinders University team on their way to their $5K goal! There is just one week to go so if you would like to chip in with a donation, or even just learn a bit more about the cause, please go to https://mensmeals2024.raiselysite.com/reg-nixon. Every little bit counts!

https://mensmeals2024.raiselysite.com/reg-nixon

Reg Nixon - THE BIGGEST MEN'S MEALS AND MENTAL HEALTH DINNER THE BIGGEST MEN'S MEALS AND MENTAL HEALTH DINNER : Make a donation today to support Men's Mental Health

Congratulations to our own Alex Canty who submitted her PhD this week. Alex studied intrusive memories after trauma exposure, using some pretty sophisticated methodology and statistical techniques. She already has one publication from this work under belt (see https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2023.101921) and has come along way since her award winning three-minute thesis presentation in 2020 (https://www.flinders.edu.au/study/articles/out-of-the-comfort-zone). Alex is now taking on a Masters in Psychology (Clinical) here at Flinders, and no doubt will reach great heights there too. Well done Alex!

Redirecting

With 2023 about to wrap up we have a celebratory update on our lab member Ashleigh Connor who has recently submitted her Master’s thesis! Ashleigh’s research falls within our larger Protecting Emergency Responders with Evidence Based Interventions (PEREI) project, with her thesis specifically exploring the efficacy of the PEREI program in current paramedicine students. She is now looking forward to a big holiday before starting her clinical psychology career in private practice. Congratulations Ash!

Do you work or volunteer for an emergency service in SA? Are you a family member, partner, or close friend of someone who does? Do you supervise others in an emergency service?

If so - the PEREI program is for you!

The mental health of our emergency service workers goes beyond the workplace so PEREI offers three separate resilience and wellbeing programs tailored to help our early career emergency members and supervisors as well as the significant others who support them.

The program is free, confidential and evidence-based - using the most up to date research to prevent mental health conditions linked to trauma exposure and stress at work, as well as providing information, practical skills, and strategies to minimise the impact of the job on families and empower supervisors to support emergency responders early in their careers and beyond.

We have successfully recruited almost 70% of our target members and over 80% of our target supervisors so time is running out for you to take part. Don't miss this opportunity to be involved!

For more information or to sign up, go to our website (flinders.edu.au/PEREI); email ([email protected]) or leave a message on (08) 8201 5978

Protecting Emergency Responders with Evidence-Based Interventions (PEREI) - Flinders University PEREI delivers targeted wellbeing and resilience programs aimed at preventing the onset and severity of mental health conditions linked to trauma exposure and organisational stressors in first responders.

Research Update!

Another one of our brilliant PhD lab members Alex has recently published the findings from an innovative study exploring post-trauma intrusions alongside co-authors Reg Nixon and Tim Windsor. The article “Using experience sampling methodology (ESM) to improve our understanding of day-to-day intrusion frequency and related distress in survivors of trauma” included participants recruited through this very page and is now available to view through the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry!

To read the article:

Using experience sampling methodology (ESM) to improve our understanding of day-to-day intrusion frequency and related distress in survivors of trauma Cognitive models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggest that appraisals of traumatic sequelae and subsequent distress drive the development a…

Victorian veteran research!
Are you a veteran, a family member of a veteran, or someone involved in veteran welfare? One of our colleagues Dr Richard Evans is currently running a project to get a better understanding of the veterans who currently, or have in the past, resided in Victoria to guide improvements to ex-service support organisations.
This project is looking to independently and confidentially interview and survey a broad range of people in the veteran community with the hopes of providing better services for past service members.

For more information:

Dr Richard Evans, ACU, researching military veterans Dr Richard Evans is an experienced researcher with interests in veteran wellbeing, policing, and Australian history. He is the author of eight books.

Research participation opportunity!

The Flinders University Posttraumatic Stress Research Unit is currently seeking Australian adults who have been involved in or witnessed a potentially traumatic event to help investigate a new online self-help approach to guide recovery following a traumatic event. This research study will compare an online Guided Self-help version of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) with standard CPT.

This study offers the opportunity for participants to engage in either online guided therapy sessions or individual therapy with a trained therapist - all free of charge.

For more information or to schedule a screening call – reach the Posttraumatic Stress Clinic by email [email protected] with your best contact number.

Posttraumatic Stress Clinic - Flinders University The Posttraumatic Stress Clinic offers treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD following a range of traumatic events. This includes childhood trauma, exposure to family violence, interpersonal assault including physical assault, sexual assault and/or domestic violence, an...

Research participation opportunity!

The Flinders University Posttraumatic Stress Research Unit is currently seeking Australian adults who have been involved in or witnessed a potentially traumatic event to help investigate a new online self-help approach to guide recovery following a traumatic event. This research study will compare an online Guided Self-help version of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) with standard CPT.

This study offers the opportunity for participants to engage in either online guided therapy sessions or individual therapy with a trained therapist - all free of charge.

Participants will be asked to complete:
• A brief phone screening interview
• Three assessment interviews: Before therapy, After therapy, and 3-months later
• Questionnaires about life experiences, beliefs, and symptoms

For more information or to schedule a screening call – reach the Posttraumatic Stress Clinic by email [email protected] or call 8201-5995