Publications by authors named "Katie B Thomas"

Objective/purpose: Historically, psychology trainees from marginalized communities have been underrepresented both as researchers and as participants in research on trainee experiences and outcomes. The current research can be used to develop evidence-based strategies to understand and improve the recruitment, retention, advancement, and overall training experiences of trainees with marginalized identities.

Method: We review the existing literature on the experiences of psychology trainees, particularly that focused on trainees from marginalized backgrounds.

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Dropout or treatment discontinuation from evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) has been a concern for clinicians as it is thought that such discontinuation prevents patients from achieving a full course of therapy and obtaining maximum benefit. Recent studies, however, suggest that treatment discontinuation may sometimes be due to symptom improvement. The purpose of the current evaluation was to examine change in self-reported symptoms in participants who completed versus did not complete treatment in a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic offering EBPs for both depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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Research has shown that rates of domestic violence generally increased during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, likely related to mitigation efforts that promoted staying at home and lockdown protocols. However, the link between pandemic-related domestic violence victimization and mental health outcomes has been less explored. The present study examined the possible association between exposure to domestic physical and psychological violence during the COVID-19 pandemic and depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in an online sample of American adults recruited in December 2021.

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Although the phenomenon of disability-related abuse has been well-documented in adults with disabilities, the occurrence of disability-related abuse in childhood has not been studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish proof of concept for childhood disability-related abuse. American adults ( = 485) retrospectively report on physical, sexual, and disability-related abuse that they experienced before the age of 18.

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Numerous studies attest to the prevalence and complex negative consequences associated with military sexual trauma (MST). However, relatively less is known about male survivors and about the interaction of psychological problems such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and emotion management difficulties following MST. The current study examined the path of psychological distress following MST in both male and female veterans.

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Despite evidence regarding the impact of childhood abuse perpetrated by close others, or high betrayal trauma, a number of barriers continue to impede research efforts, including concerns that research may do more harm than good. Research conducted with Western samples has indicated that contrary to such concerns, participants rate the benefit of participating in trauma research as outweighing costs, even when they have a history of high betrayal trauma. Certain non-Western values, such as interpersonal harmony, could play a role in perceptions regarding trauma research participation.

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