Prof. Timothy J. Strauman, Recipient of the Klaus Grawe Award 2007 for the Advancement of Innovative Research in Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy 2007

Timothy Strauman is a Clinical and Social Psychologist whose research interests center upon psychological processes of self-regulation, conceptualized in terms of a cognitive/ motivational perspective, as well as the relation between self-regulation and affect. Particular areas of emphasis include: (1) conceptualizing self-regulation in terms of basic self/brain/behavior motivational systems; (2) the role of self-regulatory cognitive processes in vulnerability to depression and other disorders; (3) the impact of psychotherapy vs. antidepressant medication on self-regulatory function and dysfunction in depression; (4) how normative and non-normative socialization patterns influence the development of regulatory systems; (5) the contributory roles of self-regulation, affect, and psychopathology in determining immunologically-mediated susceptibility to illness; (6) development of a brief structured psychotherapy for depression targeting self-regulatory dysfunction; and (7) using brain imaging techniques to test hypotheses concerning self-regulation, including the nature and function of hypothetical regulatory systems and characterizing the breakdowns in self-regulation that lead to and accompany depression.

Professor Strauman’s clinical interests follow from his research program. Specifically, he is interested in learning how psychotherapy remediates disorders such as depression and whether psychotherapy is effective at reducing risk for relapse and recurrence of emotional disorders. Ongoing studies include the development of a new self-regulation-based therapy for depression, a group exercise program for women with breast cancer, and using neuroimaging techniques to examine the effects of brief structured psychotherapies on individuals with depression.

Selected Publications

Strauman, T.J., Costanzo, P.R., Jones, N.P., McLean, A.N., & Merrill, K.A. (in press). Contributions of social psychology to clinical psychology: Three views of a research frontier. In E.T. Higgins & A.W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles (2nd Ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

Strauman, T. J. (2002). Self-regulation and depression. Self & Identity, 1(2), 151-157.

Strauman, T.J., Kolden, G., Davis, N., Stromquist, V., Kwapil, L., & Heerey, E. (2001). The effects of treatments for depression on failure in self-regulation. Cognitive Therapy & Research, 25, 693-712.