Symposia
Disaster Mental Health
Skye Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.
Professor
York University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Alexander O. Crenshaw, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ryerson University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Robert Valela, BCom
Research Coordinator
Ryerson University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Kristen M. Whitfield, PhD
Masters Student
Ryerson University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
sonya Varma, BSc
MA Student
York University
Toronto, ON, Canada
Alexis Collins, B.S.
Research Assistant
Ryerson University
Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Desiree H. Mensah, B.S.
Research Assistant
York University
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Elizabeth A. Earle, PhD
Research Coordinator & Lab Manager, TULiP Lab
York University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Victoria L. Donkin, PhD
Research Assistant
Ryerson University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Christina Samonas, PhD
Lab Manager and Research Assistant
Ryerson University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sophie Goss, MA
Research assistant
York University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Caitlin Martin-Newnham, MJ
Research Assistant
York University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Meredith Landy, Ph.D., Psy.D.
Psychologist
Ryerson University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Ashley N. Siegel, Other
Student
York University
Thornhill, Ontario, Canada
Jennifer Ip, M.A.
Graduate Student
Ryerson University
Toronto, ON, Canada
Julianne Bushe, None
Research Assistant
Ryerson University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Angela Xiang, PhD
Student
Ryerson University
Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada
Jeremiah Schumm, PhD
Professor
wright State Univeristy
Dayton, Ohio
Leslie Morland, PsyD
Professor
University of California-San Diego/San Diego VA
la Jolla, California
Brian Doss, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
University of Miami
Coral Gables, Florida
Anne C. Wagner, Ph.D.
Founder
Remedy + Remedy Institute
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Candice M. Monson, Ph.D.
Professor
Ryerson University
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Up to one third of young adults are experiencing elevated posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the pandemic, which is individually debilitating and related to intimate relationship dysfunction and partner distress. Accordingly, Cognitive Behavioural Conjoint Therapy for PTSD (CBCT), is delivered to people with PTSD and their partners to simultaneously target PTSD, relationship functioning, and partner mental health. Studies support the efficacy of CBCT, but such face-to-face therapies are not suited to a pandemic that exacerbates existing access barriers (e.g., limited healthcare resources) and introduces new ones (e.g., social distancing). Our team developed Couple HOPES (Helping Overcome PTSD and Enhance Satisfaction)– an online guided self-help adaptation of CBCT for couples wherein one member has PTSD– to surmount such barriers. A case series and uncontrolled trial support the efficacy of Couple HOPES in improving PTSD symptoms and relationship satisfaction, but were not conducted in individuals with COVID-related PTSD. An important next step will thus be to determine if Couple HOPES is a viable means of addressing rising mental health needs related to the pandemic. Our team is therefore conducting a randomized controlled trial comparing Couple HOPES to a waitlist control in couples wherein one member has COVID-related PTSD (target N = 70 couples). Couples where one member has experienced a trauma related to COVID-19 and has clinically-significant levels of PTSD symptoms are randomized to either Couple HOPES or a waitlist. Assessments of PTSD, relationship satisfaction, and secondary outcomes are completed at pre-, mid-, post-intervention, as well as at a one- and three-month follow-ups. Multilevel modelling with an intent-to-treat philosophy will indicate whether Couple HOPES is more efficacious than the passage of time in improving these outcomes. Data collection for this trial is underway and results will be presented at the convention. Study findings will indicate whether Couple HOPES is a viable and efficacious means of intervening to facilitate individual and relational recovery for those experiencing PTSD related COVID-19 and their partners.