Brett Litz, Ph. D

Professor

• Ph.D., SUNY Binghamton

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Litz earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton and did his clinical internship at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and the Psychology Department at Boston University as well as the Associate Director of the Behavioral Sciences Division of the National Center for PTSD at the VA Boston Health Care System.

Research Interests

Dr. Litz is the Principal Investigator on several research studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the US Department of Defense, and the Canadian Ministry of Veterans Affairs to explore the efficacy of early intervention strategies for survivors of trauma. Two of these studies are testing a novel Internet-based self-management approach to the treatment of PTSD.

Dr. Litz also has two NIMH grants to study the psychophysiology of emotional behavior abnormalities in PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder. Dr. Litz is studying adaptation to traumatic loss as a result of 9-11.

Finally, Dr. Litz conducts research on the mental health adaptation of US military personnel across the lifespan, including prospective studies of the effects of exposure to combat in the Iraq War. In his capacity as Associate Director of the National Center for PTSD, Dr. Litz is responsible for overseeing educational activities pertaining to clinical care and research.

Selected Publications

• Maguen, S., Papa, A., & Litz, B.T. (2007).  Coping with terror.  Anxiety, Stress, & Coping: An International Journal, 21, 15-35.
• Suvak, M., Maguen, S., Litz, B.T., Silver, R.C., Holman, E.A. (2008). Indirect Exposure to the September 11 Terrorist Attacks: Does Symptom Structure Resemble PTSD?  Journal of Traumatic Stress, 21, 30–39.
• Adler, A.B., Litz, B.T., Castro, C.A., Suvak, M., Thomas, J.L., Burrell, L., McGurk, D., Wright, K.M., Bleise, P. (in press).  A Randomized Controlled Trial of Critical Incident Stress Debriefing Provided to Groups of US Peacekeepers.  Journal of Traumatic Stress.
• Bryant, R. & Litz, B. T. (2006). Intermediate interventions. InM. Friedman, P. Watson, & C. Ritchie (Eds.), Interventions following mass violence and disasters: Strategies for mental health practice (pp.  155-173). New York: Guilford Publications.
• Litz, B.T. & Bryant, R. (in press). Early Intervention for Trauma in Adults: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. In E. Foa, M. Friedman, T. Keane, J. Cohen (Eds) Effective treatments for PTSD: Practice guidelines from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (Second Edition).  New York: Guilford Press.
• Litz, B.T., Engel, C.C., Bryant, R., & Papa, A. (2007) A Randomized Controlled Proof of Concept Trial of an Internet-based Therapist-assisted Self-management Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 1-8.
• Litz, B. T. & Gibson, L. (2006). Conducting research on early interventions. InM. Friedman, P. Watson, & C. Ritchie (Eds.), Interventions following mass violence and disasters: Strategies for mental health practice (pp.  387-404). New York: Guilford Publications.
• Litz, B. & Maguen, S. (2007). Early intervention for trauma in adults and children. In Friedman, M., T. Keane, & P. Resick (Eds.) PTSD: Science and Practice: A Comprehensive Handbook. New York: Guilford Press, pp. 306-329.
• Litz, B.T., Williams, L., Wang, J., Bryant, R., & Engel, C.C. (2004). The development of an Internet-based program to deliver therapist-assisted self-help behavioral treatment for traumatic stress. Professional Psychology: Science and Practice, 35, 628–634.
• Miller, M.W. & Litz, B.T. (2004). Emotional-processing in posttraumatic stress disorder II: Startle reflex modulation during picture processing. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 451-63.
• Litz, B.T. (2007). Research on the Impact of Military Trauma: Current Status and Future Directions, Military Psychology, 19, 217-238.
• Maguen, S., Schumm, J.A., Norris. R., Taft, C., Litz, B.T., King, L.A., & King, D.W. (2007). Predictors of mental and physical health service utilization among Vietnam veterans. Psychological Services, 4, 168–180.
• Maguen, S., Vogt, D.S., King, L.A., King, D.W., & Litz, B.T. (2006). Posttraumatic growth among Gulf War I veterans: The predictive role of predeployment, deployment and postdeployment factors. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 11, 373-388.
• Bonanno, G. A., Neria, Y., Mancini, A. D., Coifman, D., Litz, B. & Insel, B.  (2007). Is there more to complicated grief than depression and PTSD? A test of incremental validity. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116, 2, 342-351.
• Neria, Y. & Litz, B. (2004). Bereavement by Traumatic Means: The Complex Synergy of Trauma and Grief.  Journal of Loss and Trauma, 9, 73-87.

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