Patricia T. Spangler, PhD

Clinical Research Psychologist, Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress
Research Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Uniformed Services University

Patricia T. Spangler is a Research Assistant Professor and Research Psychologist at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress. She earned a BA in English Language and Literature and an MA and PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Maryland College Park. Her postdoctoral fellowship in the Laboratory for the Treatment of Suicide-Related Ideation and Behavior at Uniformed Services University was focused on suicide prevention in military personnel exposed to trauma and on revising the U.S. Air Force Guide for Suicide Risk Assessment, Management, and Treatment. Other postdoctoral work included research on the use of dreams in psychotherapy at the Maryland Psychotherapy Clinic and Research Lab at the University of Maryland. Dr. Spangler's research is focused on investigating interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder and comorbid disorders in military personnel and veterans, with a particular focus on treating nightmares and sleep disturbance. Her current research includes a pilot trial of Nightmare Deconstruction and Reprocessing (NDR), a novel exposure treatment for trauma-related nightmares. This pilot study is investigating NDR’s feasibility as a treatment and potential molecular and physiologic markers as factors in exposure treatment process and outcome.

Visit ResearchGate for a list of Dr. Spangler’s publications.