If you could develop a treatment to improve the care of millions of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), where would you start? For doctoral students like Laurel Meyer, with a passion for serving this community, the answer begins with funded clinical research opportunities and faculty mentorship. 

In 2020, Rebecca Schacht, clinical psychologist and associate professor of psychology, and Kevin R. Wenzel, a clinical psychologist and director of research at Baltimore-based Maryland Treatment Centers, welcomed Meyer into the human services psychology doctoral program as a research coordinator in their study. Schacht and Wenzel were conducting a randomized trial of written exposure therapy (WET) for people with PTSD in residential OUD and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment settings. WET is an evidence-based treatment for PTSD in which patients process their trauma by writing an in-depth narrative about a specific traumatic event in five sessions. 

“At the start of the project, I contributed to research design and protocol development. I then collaborated with clinical staff at the treatment facility to identify and recruit eligible patients,” says Meyer, who, along with fellow research assistant Samantha Berg, a fifth-year human services psychology doctoral student, had the opportunity to share the findings as co-authors on the article “A pilot test of Written Exposure Therapy for PTSD in residential substance use treatment” in the American Journal on Addictions. 

“Throughout the trial, I worked directly with participants in several capacities, including assessing eligibility for the study, providing Written Exposure Therapy as a study therapist, and conducting follow-up interviews to understand participants’ experiences,” says Meyer.

Thanks to the team’s rigorous research, Schacht and Wenzel, the co-principal investigator, are scaling up their research with a grant of over $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to develop and test Written Exposure in Substance Treatment (WEST), an adapted version of WET for use with people with OUD in residential SUD treatment.

“One of the most exciting aspects of grants like this one is that they include funding for Ph.D. students. This project will support at least two doctoral students throughout the six years of the project, including summer funding,” says Schacht, the director of the UMBC Psychology Training Clinic. “Most doctoral students serve as either research assistants or teaching assistants. These positions provide students with mentored professional development and include tuition, health insurance, and stipends to support living expenses.”

The research cycle

Now a sixth-year doctoral student, Meyer is passing the baton to the next generation of researchers in the human services psychology doctoral program, one of whom is second-year doctoral student Alexis Alfano. This summer, Alfano has been preparing assessments by programming measures in Qualtrics, an online survey tool to build and distribute surveys, collect responses, and analyze response data. Because the research involves human participants, Alfano is assisting in developing a detailed plan for participant involvement to submit to the Institutional Review Board for review and approval. She also contributed to the development of the procedure manual and materials used during interviews and focus groups, and assisted with programming forms, transcribing qualitative data, and data entry. 

“I had the opportunity to become involved in Project WEST by being a student in Dr. Schacht’s lab and receiving her mentorship,” says Alfano. “For the last two years, I have participated in a variety of tasks, including recruiting and interviewing both patients and staff at the Maryland Treatment Centers to gather feedback on Written Exposure Therapy.”

Maryland Treatment Centers have a longstanding history of conducting clinical research trials to improve patient care and treatment delivery, with the support of patients and staff, as well as researchers and universities. The seven-year partnership between Schacht and Wenzel offers students a real-world clinical setting to develop hands-on clinical skills essential for treating patients, collaborating with center staff and fellow researchers, and gaining the experience needed to become clinical psychologists and conduct clinical research.

“Patients are at the center of the research. Their experiences, insights, and feedback help us identify which aspects of the treatment are most effective and which need to be adjusted for maximum impact,” says Schacht. “We consider people to be the experts of their own experience, and their perspectives are essential to designing an intervention that’s aligned with their needs.” Schacht hopes that, by the end of the project, the team will have an effective intervention that can be widely implemented, making WEST the gold-standard treatment for PTSD available in residential and other SUD treatment contexts.

The long game

Doctoral training is a years-long process. In the coming year, Meyer is completing her predoctoral internship in an integrated healthcare setting where she is receiving further clinical training in evidence-based treatment for PTSD. She is excited to move closer to her career goal to combine both clinical practice and clinically focused research. 

“My role as research coordinator in Dr. Schacht’s research on Written Exposure Therapy has deepened my passion for clinical research and has been instrumental in shaping my long-term career goals,” says Meyer. “Being part of research that has such a direct impact on clinical care has inspired me to pursue a career in which I can use science and clinical practice to enhance treatment outcomes and quality of life for individuals who have experienced trauma and substance use.”

Learn more about UMBC’s psychology graduate programs.