Introducing the Violence and Traumatic Stress Laboratory
Dr. Terri L. Weaver
Dr. Weaver is the director of the Violence and Traumatic Stress Laboratory. Her work broadly focuses on the inter-relationships among interpersonal violence, and physical and mental health sequelae. Her research frequently draws upon interdisciplinary approaches and she often collaborates with other healthcare professionals, including those in family medicine, pediatrics, otolarygology and public health. She is particularly interested in studying posttraumatic stress disorder, body image disturbance, depression and substance use disorders as mental health outcomes associated with intimate partner violence. She enjoys working with the team of graduate and undergraduate trainees in her lab and believes that projects are always better with a team-based approach. In her time away from work, she enjoys running, yoga, gardening, house projects and spending time with her family. Dr. Weaver can be reached at terri.weaver@health.slu.edu. 
Melissa Copeland
Melissa is currently on clinical internship at the Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center . She is from Blackstone, MA and received her B.A. in Psychology and Women’s Studies from the University of New Hampshire. After graduating, Melissa served in the AmeriCorps Victim Assistance Program and worked at a crisis center for sexual and domestic violence, advocating and supporting survivors of interpersonal violence. Her research interests include examining help-seeking among survivors, health correlates and consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV), as well as prevention and intervention efforts. Currently, Melissa is examining ways in which the intersecting stigmatized identities of sexual minority status and IPV survivor may interact to impact help-seeking. Melissa can be reached at: melissa.copeland@slu.edu. 
Annie Garofalo
Annie is a fourth-year doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at Saint Louis University. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Metropolitan State University of Denver, in Denver, Colorado. Her undergraduate research focused on PTSD symptomology, substance use, and psychological flexibility. While obtaining her undergraduate degree, Annie began working as a behavioral health technician at Denver Springs Psychiatric Hospital in Centennial, Colorado. Annie’s broad research interests lie in examining interpersonal violence prevention, stress and health, and policy. Currently, her thesis examines racial discrimination, loneliness, levels of cortisol, and cardiovascular health outcomes. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, dogs, and hiking outdoors. Annie can be reached at: anne.garofalo@health.slu.edu. 
Jacob Arett
Jacob is currently a third-year student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at SLU. He grew up in Minnesota before moving to North Carolina, where he received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. His undergraduate research focused on anxiety symptomology, spider phobia treatment, and body dysmorphia. After graduating, Jacob went on to work for Center for Anxiety, an outpatient mental health clinic in New York, where he served as a patient care coordinator. His research interests include examining trauma-related body image, post-traumatic cognitions, and sexual assault prevention and intervention efforts. Currently, Jacob is researching ways in which the process of grooming impacts survivor mental health sequalae, particularly body image concerns. Jacob can be reached at: jacob.arett@health.slu.edu. |
Rachel Hawk
Rachel is a third-year doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at Saint Louis University. She earned her B.A. in Psychology at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. While earning her undergraduate degree, Rachel worked as an advocate for survivors of sexual and domestic violence in a crisis intervention center and shelter. She also assisted with research over a wide range of topics including racial discrimination in the juvenile justice system, associations between eating behaviors and mental health outcomes, and religious coping. Her current research explores self-deprivation as a form of self-harm in survivors of childhood maltreatment. She can be reached at: rachel.hawk@health.slu.edu.
Rachel is a third-year doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at Saint Louis University. She earned her B.A. in Psychology at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. While earning her undergraduate degree, Rachel worked as an advocate for survivors of sexual and domestic violence in a crisis intervention center and shelter. She also assisted with research over a wide range of topics including racial discrimination in the juvenile justice system, associations between eating behaviors and mental health outcomes, and religious coping. Her current research explores self-deprivation as a form of self-harm in survivors of childhood maltreatment. She can be reached at: rachel.hawk@health.slu.edu.
Sydney L. Bell
Sydney is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Saint Louis University. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After graduating, Sydney worked as a research coordinator at Columbia University on a community engagement intervention study focused on reducing opioid overdose deaths. She also worked as an emergency department advocate for survivors of sexual violence, and as a crisis hotline responder. Sydney’s broad research interests include posttraumatic interventions for survivors of intimate partner violence and people involved in the criminal justice system, substance use, and the impacts of trauma on identity. She can be reached at sydney.l.bell@health.slu.edu.
Sydney is a first-year doctoral student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at Saint Louis University. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After graduating, Sydney worked as a research coordinator at Columbia University on a community engagement intervention study focused on reducing opioid overdose deaths. She also worked as an emergency department advocate for survivors of sexual violence, and as a crisis hotline responder. Sydney’s broad research interests include posttraumatic interventions for survivors of intimate partner violence and people involved in the criminal justice system, substance use, and the impacts of trauma on identity. She can be reached at sydney.l.bell@health.slu.edu.
