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Trauma Research Consortium

The Trauma Research Consortium (TRC) focuses on trauma and the psychological conditions resulting from trauma.

The TRC  brings together the efforts of experienced researchers who are experts in the area of trauma. The three founders of the TRC, which began in 2021, are investigators from the Baylor Scott & White Research Institute’s Warriors Research Institute (WRI) in Waco, Texas, and the Trauma Research Center in Dallas.

Our Research

Mission

The TRC mission is to increase resilience and enhance the quality of life in trauma survivors across Texas via scholarly collaboration between researchers, treatment providers and community stakeholders.

Vision

The vision of the TRC is to mitigate the consequences of trauma exposure through effective early intervention and evidence-based treatment.

Focus

Trauma can be defined as an emotional response to a terrible event or series of events. Trauma can be caused by humans, such as through violence, war, and abuse. It can result from vehicle accidents, other mechanical accidents, natural disasters, technological disasters, and other life events.

Our Research Team

Suzy Bird Gulliver, PhD

Research Center Director

Mark Powers, PhD

Research Center Director

Ann Marie Warren, PhD, ABPP

Research Center Director

Show all staff

Current Projects

Treatment Studies

Statewide Evidence-Based Telehealth Treatment

This project includes the following goals: 1) Deliver high-quality, accessible, evidence-based mental health treatment to veterans and their beneficiaries via telehealth that leads to meaningful improvements in quality of life; 2) commit to providing treatment that is culturally competent, for both veterans and veteran family members; 3) make expert referrals to alternate services, based on our thorough clinical assessments, in cases in which our treatment services are not a good match for veterans or their beneficiaries; 4) reach and positively impact veterans across Texas through our statewide marketing campaign which utilizes our internal communication channels as well as social media marketing; and 5) increase the pool of culturally competent, evidence-based treatment providers by training current graduate-level trainees in mental health fields.

Treatment is provided at no-cost to the client and is available for any veteran, regardless of discharge status.

This program is supported by a grant from the Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. The Fund for Veterans’ Assistance provides grants to organizations serving veterans and their families. https://TVC.Texas.gov


Project ACCESS: Expanding Evidence-Based Treatment via Telehealth to Fire Service

The intended objective of this study is to improve the behavioral health of firefighters by developing a telehealth clinic that provides protocol driven, evidence-based treatment for firefighters with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Substance Use Disorder, Depression, and their combination.

There were four phases to this study. In the first phase, we adapted the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic treatment for emotional disorders and developed a firefighter cultural awareness training. Next, we refined the cultural awareness training by conducting a focus group. Following that, we piloted a telehealth clinic and serve five eligible firefighters. Now, we have a telehealth clinic offering this service to firefighters nationwide.


Virtual Reality as Nonpharmacologic Pain Management Among Hospitalized Inpatients. A randomized control trial of Virtual Reality vs standard of care

This randomized control trial seeks to replicate and extend our previous studies by testing the efficacy of the EaseVRx in reducing pain in hospital inpatients across all services as compared to standard of care treatment.


Targeted Plasticity Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

The purpose of this open-label pilot study is to provide an initial assessment of the safety of using a new device to deliver vagus nerve stimulation to reduce symptom severity in participants with PTSD.  Additionally, the study will assess the prospective benefit of the system and garner an initial estimate of the effect size for a subsequent trial.


Targeted Plasticity Therapy for Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Spinal Cord Injuries

The study will provide an initial evaluation of the use of the ReStore implanted stimulator in the context of spinal cord injuries. The study will help to assess the prospect that VNS coupled with rehabilitation in participants suffering from upper extremity paresis after a spinal cord injury is a potentially effective treatment to improve recovery of upper limb motor function.


Wireless Nerve Stimulation Device to Enhance Recovery After Stroke

The study will provide an initial evaluation of the use of the ReStore implanted stimulator in the context of spinal cord injuries. The study will help to assess the prospect that VNS coupled with rehabilitation in participants suffering from upper extremity paresis after a spinal


Prevention of Posttraumatic Stress: A RCT of Modified Brief Prolonged Exposure Therapy (Brief PE) During Inpatient Rehabilitation Post Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)

The overall goal of this project is to test a brief intervention (three 60-minute sessions) to reduce psychological distress after SCI and to mitigate long-term post-SCI distress including PTSD.

Assessment Studies

COMBUST: COVID Occupational Measures of Burnout and UnderStaffed Teams

A Cross-sectional survey was sent out to the membership of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to measure burnout, overtime, family life satisfaction, and occupational stress.


The Psychological Impact of COVID-19

The goal of this survey is to understand the psychological impact of COVID-19 on the general population. Participants are being followed up with for 2 years. The last follow-up will take place in May of 2024.


Mental Health Research Network III: Administration Core and Methods Core

This study aims to support population-based research to evaluate and improve delivery of mental health care


TAPS-ESP Phase 2: Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription drug, and illicit Substance use Electronic Spanish Platform, grant application submitted to the National Institutes on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

This study aims to validate the Spanish version of the Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription medication, and other Substance Use (TAPS) of the TAPS tool.


Assessing opioid use, tapering, and prescribing for pain and opioid use disorder across diverse health systems

This data analysis project aims to answer key questions regarding the opioid crisis by using data from a registry of 10 health systems with electric health records.


A Policy Relevant US Trauma Care System Pragmatic Trial for PTSD and Comorbidity (Trauma Survivors Outcomes and Support)

The primary aim of the project is to conduct a pragmatic randomized effectiveness trial of a collaborative care intervention targeting PTSD and comorbid conditions after acute care injury hospitalization. The investigation aims to determine if injured patients receiving the collaborative care intervention demonstrate significant reductions in PTSD symptoms when compared to control patients receiving care as usual. The study also aims to determine if the intervention patients when compared to control patients will demonstrate significant reductions in depressive symptoms and alcohol use problems, and improvements in physical function. An exploratory aim of the investigation is to assess whether the intervention is equally effective in injury survivors with and without pre-existing chronic medical conditions and with and without TBI. Exploratory analyses will also assess whether the intervention successfully reduced enduring symptom development for other co-morbid presentations (e.g., physical pain, drug use problems


Knowledge and Perceptions of Women Veteran Cardiovascular Risk Among Primary Care Providers

The goal of this project is to evaluate BSWH primary care providers on their knowledge of cardiovascular disease risk, their knowledge of women veteran-specific risk, and their comfort with suggesting lifestyle changes to their patients to reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

Education and Dissemination Studies

Developing Emotional Regulation Skills for Peer Support Specialists

This FEMA funded project aims to develop a peer-instructed, online Emotion Regulation Skills Training for active Firefighter Peer Support Specialists.


EMPOWER: Building the World's Mental Health Workforce: Formative Research with Non-Specialist Providers in Texas

This study aims to evaluate if digital technology can support the training and development of clinical skills among non-specialist providers.


The Role of Social Determinants in Cardiovascular Health and Vascular Function

The goal of this study is to identify the influence of social determinants of health domains on vascular function in a low income, racial and ethnic minority population at risk for disparities.


Big Bend Mental Health Initiative

The first purpose of the Big Bend Mental Health Initiative is to conduct focus groups with staff to 1) learn staff perceptions of the utility and function of current behavioral health programing; 2) define barriers to successful programming, and 3) assess national park service employees' suggestions for means to improve access and use of the program. By better understanding the NPS employees’ perspectives of the problem, we will be more equipped to reduce the burden of mental health problems. The second purpose is to train staff in an evidence-based technique for response to suicide risk that staff can employ: Suicide Safety Planning. Unlike many commercially available suicide prevention interventions, this training is evidence-based and teaches participants how to respond when interacting with an individual evidencing suicidal ideation or intention.

Learning objectives for the training portion of the proposal:

  1. Participants will be able to list at least two protective factors of suicide.
  2. Participants will be able to list the steps to create a suicide safety plan.
  3. Participants will be able to describe at least one challenge in creating a suicide risk assessment.