The Mind-Body Clinical Research Center conducts basic laboratory and applied clinical research among individuals with and without chronic illnesses. The center’s main research focus is to understand and treat mood and anxiety disorders, pain, tobacco use, and health management.
Basic laboratory research: The goal is to understand the emotional, cognitive, neurobiological, and immunological risk and resiliency factors that underlie mind-body and behavioral health problems among individuals with and without chronic illnesses.
Applied clinical research: Taking what we learn from our basic laboratory research, we then develop, test and refine mind-body behavioral health treatments that target specific risk and resiliency factors for illness prevention and intervention. We conduct this research collaboratively with national experts in anxiety and mood management, tobacco control, and mind-body treatment.
This two-pronged approach is ideal to advance science and provide optimal integrative care for patients.
Our current research studies focus on the following:
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Stress resilience
- Disaster responders
- Pregnancy
- Continuity of mental health care
- Weight-related adversity and health
- Behavioral interventions for high-risk populations
Ongoing Research
Project FiRST: First Responder Specialized Training (PI: Dr. Adam Gonzalez)
First responders—including firefighters and emergency medical personnel—regularly encounter traumatic events, life-threatening situations, and chronic occupational stress. Repeated exposure to high-stress environments places them at increased risk for mental health concerns such as depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, sleep disturbance, and burnout.
Project FiRST (First Responder Specialized Training) evaluates the effectiveness of a resilience workshop designed specifically for first responders. The workshop teaches practical coping and stress-management skills intended to strengthen psychological resilience and support emotional wellbeing in high-demand occupations.
The DBT Bridge Program (PIs: Dr. Amanda Oliva, Dr. Brittain Mahaffey)
The period immediately following psychiatric hospitalization is a particularly vulnerable time for many individuals. Patients often face delays in accessing outpatient treatment and may experience increased emotional distress while transitioning back to daily life.
The DBT Bridge Program is a brief dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)–informed skills group designed to support patients during this critical transition period. The program provides short-term skills training for individuals recently discharged from inpatient psychiatric care while they wait to establish longer-term outpatient treatment.
VRSE: Validation and Reliability of the Weight-Related Abuse Questionnaire – Spanish Edition (PI: Dr. Genna Hymowitz)
Weight-related teasing, stigma, and abuse are increasingly recognized as psychosocial factors associated with obesity, disordered eating, and psychological distress. However, research examining these experiences in Spanish-speaking populations has been limited by the lack of validated assessment tools available in Spanish.
The VRSE project focuses on validating the Spanish version of the Weight-Related Abuse Questionnaire (WRAQ), a measure designed to assess the severity, frequency, and psychological impact of weight-related verbal and physical abuse. The study evaluates the measure’s reliability and validity across multiple Spanish-speaking populations, including community participants and individuals preparing for metabolic and bariatric surgery.
Project LAST: Long Island Aggression Safety Tool (PI: Dr. Brittain Mahaffey)
The LAST project is a research initiative designed to improve safety and care for people receiving treatment in psychiatric hospitals. When patients are experiencing intense distress, anger, or emotional overwhelm, it can sometimes lead to aggressive behavior that puts both patients and staff at risk. The LAST project aims to develop and test a brief, practical tool that clinicians can use with patients to identify personal warning signs for aggression and create individualized safety plans to prevent escalation. By combining clinical expertise, patient input, and rigorous research methods, the project seeks to create an easy-to-use intervention that helps patients regulate difficult emotions, reduces incidents of aggression, and improves the safety and quality of care in inpatient psychiatric settings.