Our research investigates psychological adjustment to trauma with a particular focus on the following questions:

1. How do threat-related and moral-related aspects of traumatic experiences intersect in compounding difficulties in adjusting to trauma?
2. What is the relationship between trauma exposure and developmental history in increasing a person’s risk of Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD)?
3. What is the role of sleep in promoting helpful adjustment to trauma?

We also conduct research on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), including the nature of obsessional thoughts and the ways in which people with OCD manage their distress.

Our research uses experimental methods, prospective observational studies, secondary analyses of population-level datasets and systematic reviews and meta-analyses to explore these questions.

We are also involved in a number of research and program evaluation collaborations with hospital and treatment services.

Help inform our research

We are excited to collaborate with people with lived experience of psychological trauma. Please email David.Berle@anu.edu.au if you would like to help co-design our future research projects.

Please click here if you would like to find out more about participating in our Growing Beyond Trauma research project.