Faculty and Research

Psychology

Biography

Deborah C. Beidel, Ph.D., ABPP is Trustee Chair and Pegasus Professor of Psychology and Medical Education and Executive Director of UCF RESTORES at the University of Central Florida. UCF RESTORES is a clinical research center dedicated to changing the way that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is understood, diagnosed, and treated. Dr. Beidel received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in clinical research at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. She holds Diplomates in Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science. She is the author of over 350 scientific publications including journal articles, book chapters and books on the treatment of anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and has been the recipient of over $31 million dollars in research funding throughout her career. Her recent work focuses on utilizing technology to develop, translate and disseminate efficacious treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder into standard clinical practice. Currently, she is the principal investigator of a Department of Defense funded research program conducting a randomized controlled trial for the treatment of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorders with active duty military personnel on three military installations, and a Department of Defense funded research program developing a new virtual reality tool to provide treatment for veterans, active duty personnel, and first responders with PTSD. Along with her faculty colleagues in UCF RESTORES, Dr. Beidel leads “bench to bedside” clinical and research initiatives that impact the lives of veterans, active duty military personnel, first responders, survivors of sexual assault, and survivors of mass shootings.

Publications

* indicates a graduate student author from the UCF Anxiety Disorders Clinic.

Beidel, D.C., Frueh, B.C., Neer, S.M., & Lejuez, C.W. (2017). The efficacy of Trauma Management Therapy: A controlled pilot investigation of a three-week intensive outpatient program for combat-related PTSD. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 50. 23-32.

*Gramlich, M.A., Neer, S.M., Beidel, D.C., Bohil, C.J., & Bowers, C.A. (2017). A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study of trauma-related auditory and olfactory cues: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or Combat Experience? Journal of Traumatic Stress, 30, 656-665.

*Ragsdale, K.A., *Gramlich, M.A., Beidel, D.C., Neer, S.M., *Kitsmiller, E.G., & *Morrison, K.I. (2018). Does traumatic brain injury attenuate the exposure therapy process? Behavior Therapy, 49, 617-630.

*Trachik, B., Bowers, C., Neer, S.M., Nguyen, V., Frueh, B.C., & Beidel, D.C. (2018). Combat-related guilt and the mechanisms of exposure therapy. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 102, 68-77.

*Bunnell, B.E., *Mesa, F., & Beidel, D.C. (2018). A two-session hierarchy for shaping successive approximations of speech in selective mutism: Pilot study of mobile apps and mechanisms of behavior change. Behavior Therapy, 49, 966-980.

Beidel, D.C., Frueh, B.C., Neer, S.M., Bowers, C.A., *Trachik, B., Uhde, T.W., Grubaugh, A. (2019). Trauma Management Therapy with virtual-reality augmented exposure therapy for combat-related PTSD: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 61, 64-74.

*Morrison, K. I., Beidel, D. C., & Bowers, C. A. (2020). How much is enough? Trauma recall and the exposure therapy process. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 208(3), 215-221.

*Willis, E., Beidel, D.C., Bowers, C., & Neer, S. (2020). Using a mobile application to address stress-related symptoms in emergency dispatchers. Annals of Emergency Dispatchers and Response, 8, 9-15.

Frueh, B.C., Madan, A., Fowler, J.C., Stomberg, S., Bradshaw, M., Kelly, K., Weinstein, B., Luttrell, M., Danner, S.G., & Beidel, D.C. (2020). “Operator Syndrome”: A unique constellation of medical and behavioral healthcare needs of military special operations forces. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 55, 281-295 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0091217420906659.

*Stout, J.S., Beidel, D.C., & *Brush, D., & Bowers, C.A. (2021). Sleep disturbance and cognitive functioning among firefighters. Journal of Health Psychology, 26, 2248-2259. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1359105320909861.

*Morrison, K., Su, S., *Keck, M., & Beidel, D.C. (2020). Psychometric properties of the PCL-5 in a sample of first responders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102339

Beidel, D.C., Tuerk, P.W., Spitalnick, J., Bowers, C.A., & *Morrison. K.I. (2021). Treating childhood social anxiety disorder with virtual environments and serious games: A randomized trial. Behavior Therapy, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2021.03.003

Current federally funded research programs include:

Beidel, D.C., Bowers, C.A., Neer, S.M., & Newins, A. (Principal Investigator). Effectiveness of Trauma Management Therapy and Prolonged Exposure Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in an Active Duty Sample: A Comparison Study. Joint Warfighters Medical Research Program (JWMRP), $10,572,866, 2018-2023.

Beidel, D.C., Bowers, C.A., Neer, S.M., & Newins, A. (Principal Investigator). Increasing PTSD Efficacy Using Innovative Technological Tools. U.S. Army Medical Research & Materiel Command-Military Operational Medicine Research Program (USAMRMC-MOMRP), $3,000,000, 2018-2022.

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