CPS Professor New President of APA Trauma Division

Steven Gold, Ph.D., Center for Psychological Services professor, and founder and Director of the Trauma Resolution Integration Program (TRIP) at NSU, has been inducted as the 2009 president of the American Psychological Association (APA) Division of Trauma Psychology (Division 56).

Division 56, the newest division of the APA, has already exceeded the median among APA divisions in membership. Gold is also the inaugural editor of the Division’s professional journal, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice and Policy.

Gold has established a Committee for Collaborative Endeavors, chaired by Constance Dalenberg. The role of this committee will be to receive requests for consultation and collaboration from outside the division, to assess whether it is feasible and appropriate for Division 56 to participate in these projects, and to identify members of the Division who by virtue of their expertise and geographic location are particularly well suited to respond to each request.

In addition, he created a Task Force on Dissemination, chaired by Joan Cook to examine how the Division can reach out to various constituencies – such as other APA divisions, psychologists in general, graduate training programs, and the general public – to increase awareness and understanding of trauma psychology.

At the 117th annual APA Convention, Gold’s graduate assistant, Yenys Castillo, exhibited a poster presentation of a study she conducted as a member of his research team entitled, Alexithymia and Symptom Profile in Clients with a Trauma History. Alexithymia, a condition in which an individual is unable to express feelings with words, has wide ranging effects on trauma and mental health.

Trauma Resolution Integration Program is a clinic for adults who have been exposed to a traumatic situation and who currently experience problems functioning as a result of trauma, including childhood abuse, rape, physical assault, or a life threatening accident or injury. TRIP also treats adults with dissociative experiences that are disturbing to them and/or which are interfering with their ability to function effectively.