Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
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drrobynaellis.bsky.social
Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
@drrobynaellis.bsky.social
Clinical Psychologist • Clinician Investigator, McLean Hospital & Instructor, Harvard Medical School • Trauma/PTSD & SUD • treatment mechanism/efficacy • She/Her• Views are my own
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robyn-A-Ellis?ev=hdr_xprf
Pinned
Lots of new followers - welcome!! I'm an ECR interested in the intersection of PTSD & addiction, esp treatment mechanisms and sex/gender diffs. I'm an avid lover of gifs, so much I gave a semi-professional consult on them in grad school...def some of my most impactful work, lab culture 📈
a man and a woman are standing next to each other and the man is asking the woman to introduce himself .
ALT: a man and a woman are standing next to each other and the man is asking the woman to introduce himself .
media.tenor.com
ICYMI (bc I did)- the NIH Women's Health Research NOSI (NOT-OD-24-079) is now ending 9/5/2025 (previously 11/5/2027)

Wayback machine suggests change was in the last month (July 8 snap has the orig date)

Was surprised it lasted this long given (gestures wildly) & yet still disheartening to see
NOT-OD-24-079: Notice of Special Interest: Womens Health Research
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Notice of Special Interest: Womens Health Research NOT-OD-24-079. ORWH
grants.nih.gov
August 19, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
What better time than now to do a survey on the experiences of inequity among academics? Please share! ~20 min.
rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
IDEA Experience of Researchers in Academia
We are seeking the experiences of researchers in academia.
rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com
February 24, 2025 at 9:34 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
Amplifying this blog in @psychologytoday.com about the impact of funding freezes and general chaos on the field of clinical psychology, especially in hospital settings, by Training Director of the McLean Hospital Clinical Psych Internship Program, Courtney Beard.
Federal Funding Chaos: What It Means for Psychology
Federal funding for psychological research is in chaos. Here's one lab's story of the impacts of this funding confusion and what it means for the future of treatment development.
www.psychologytoday.com
March 19, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
Defunding SAMHSA won’t make mental health and substance use challenges magically disappear. This isn’t peekaboo. It’s real people with real problems and in a country without other social and health safety nets they are cutting it to provide tax cuts to billionaires.
"By the end of this week, the staff of the agency, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, could be cut by 50 percent, according to senior staff members at the agency and congressional aides who attended briefings by Trump officials."
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/h...
Federal Agency Dedicated to Mental Illness and Addiction Faces Huge Cuts (Gift Article)
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has already closed offices and could see staff numbers reduced by 50 percent.
www.nytimes.com
March 13, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
Stand up for Science, on March 7th, in Boston. Please help spread this widely.
Boston, MA
Location: Massachusetts State House 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA, United States Address: 24 Beacon St., Boston, MA, 02133 Time: 12-4 PM Important information: Please do not fully block the sidewalk, st…
standupforscience2025.org
February 24, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
NIH cuts are getting the press, but VA research is getting slashed too. What do we lose when VA research goes away? Here's some greatest hits: The nicotine patch, invention of the cardiac pacemaker, first successful liver transplant, development of the CAT/CT scan

prospect.org/health/2025-...
VA Research Funding Slashed
Though not as prominent as the NIH, VA researchers play a major role in advancing basic health science. Hundreds of projects have been cut.
prospect.org
February 25, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Congratulations to all the clinical psych students who matched to internship today!! 🎉 It might be hard to feel the accomplishment amidst so much uncertainty, but I hope everyone makes time to celebrate this important milestone!
February 21, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
I just called my reps with @5calls.org, you should too: 5calls.org

Make your voice heard!
Today I discussed NIH and NSF cuts with my lawmakers. I shared my unique story, as well as talked about the health and economic impacts of these cuts.
5 Calls
Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.
5calls.org
February 21, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
🧪Here's the script for your senators. If you're in WI, like I am, that's Johnson www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/office_locat... and Baldwin www.baldwin.senate.gov

Data by state on NIH impact: www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...
January 23, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
If you are ready to advocate to your representatives (or friends and families) about the economic value of NIH funded research, you can check your state at www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...
January 22, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
I'm hoping to hire a postdoc this year to join our growing lab at Yale! Looking for someone interested in EMA/digital phenotyping, formal theories, complex systems, & computational psychiatry.

If this sounds like you, please reach out! Official ad coming soon.
January 7, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
I think over the next few years the evidence will continue to accumulate that the majority of mental disorders are best treated with short, highly intensive therapies. This will challenge many assumptions on how therapy works.
November 22, 2024 at 8:28 AM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
NIH funding generated $2.46 for every $1 funded in 2023.

Important info for scientific advocacy in the years ahead- science is a quantifiable investment, not just a cost.

H/t to @nicolecrust.bsky.social for sharing!

#AcademicSky
#PsychSciSky
#NeuroSkyence

www.fiercebiotech.com/research/rep...
Report: Every dollar of NIH research funding doubles in economic returns
Research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) generated $2.46 in economic activity for every $1 of funding in 2023, a total of $92.9 billion, according to an
www.fiercebiotech.com
November 17, 2024 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
Sharing over here as well! I’ll be reviewing applications for the UNM clinical psych PhD program this cycle. More here: bonessaddictionslab.wordpress.com/prospective-...
November 18, 2024 at 1:55 AM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
November 17, 2024 at 2:21 PM
Does anyone know if an R61/R33 is R01- equivalent?

Asking for a friend trying not to accidentally disqualify themselves from the K they just resubmitted 😅
November 14, 2024 at 1:33 PM
Lots of new followers - welcome!! I'm an ECR interested in the intersection of PTSD & addiction, esp treatment mechanisms and sex/gender diffs. I'm an avid lover of gifs, so much I gave a semi-professional consult on them in grad school...def some of my most impactful work, lab culture 📈
a man and a woman are standing next to each other and the man is asking the woman to introduce himself .
ALT: a man and a woman are standing next to each other and the man is asking the woman to introduce himself .
media.tenor.com
October 25, 2024 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
Let’s bring #followfriday to Bluesky. What early career folks should I be following doing research on trauma/PTSD?
February 23, 2024 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
New study on iCBT for PTSD in Arab-speaking individuals! Promising 46% remission rate and high treatment satisfaction. No differences between the exposure-based and cognitive groups. Important to note >30% dropped out, which is common in this population. mental.jmir.org/2023...
Exposure Versus Cognitive Restructuring Techniques in Brief Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Arabic-Speaking People With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Randomized Clinical Trial
Background: Cognitive behavioral interventions delivered via the internet are demonstrably efficacious treatment options for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in underserved, Arabic-speaking populations. However, the role of specific treatment components remains unclear, particularly in conflict-affected areas of the Middle East and North Africa. Objective: This study aims to evaluate 2 brief internet-based treatments in terms of efficacy, including change in PTSD symptom severity during treatment. Both treatments were developed in line with Interapy, an internet-based, therapist-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy protocol for PTSD and adapted to the specific research question. The first treatment comprised self-confrontation and social sharing (exposure treatment; 6 sessions); the second comprised cognitive restructuring and social sharing (cognitive restructuring treatment; 6 sessions). The 2 treatments were compared with each other and with a waitlist control group. Methods: In total, 365 Arabic-speaking participants from the Middle East and North Africa (mean age 25.49, SD 6.68 y) with PTSD were allocated to cognitive restructuring treatment (n=118, 32.3%), exposure treatment (n=122, 33.4%), or a waitlist control group (n=125, 34.2%) between February 2021 and December 2022. PTSD symptom severity, posttraumatic maladaptive cognitions, anxiety, depressive and somatoform symptom severity, and quality of life were assessed via self-report at baseline and after treatment or waiting time. PTSD symptom severity was also measured throughout treatment or waiting time. Treatment satisfaction was assessed after treatment completion. Treatment use and satisfaction were compared between the 2 treatment conditions using appropriate statistical tests (eg, chi-square and Welch tests). Multiple imputation was performed to address missing data and evaluate treatment-associated changes. These changes were analyzed using multigroup change modeling in the completer and intention-to-treat samples. Results: Overall, 200 (N=240, 83.3%) participants started any of the treatments, of whom 123 (61.5%) completed the treatment. Treatment condition was not significantly associated with the proportion of participants who started versus did not start treatment (P=.20) or with treatment completion versus treatment dropout (P=.71). High treatment satisfaction was reported, with no significant differences between the treatment conditions (P=.48). In both treatment conditions, PTSD, anxiety, depressive and somatoform symptom severity, and posttraumatic maladaptive cognitions decreased, and quality of life improved significantly from baseline to the posttreatment time point (P≤.001 in all cases). Compared with the baseline assessment, overall PTSD symptom severity decreased significantly after 4 sessions in both treatment conditions (P<.001). Moreover, both treatment conditions were significantly superior to the waitlist control group regarding overall PTSD symptom severity (P<.001) and most other comorbid mental health symptoms (P<.001 to P=.03). Differences between the 2 conditions in the magnitude of change for all outcome measures were nonsignificant. Conclusions: Internet-based cognitive behavioral treatments for PTSD focusing primarily on either self-confrontation or cognitive restructuring are applicable and efficacious for Arabic-speaking participants. Trial Registration: German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00010245; https://drks.de/search/de/trial/DRKS00010245
mental.jmir.org
January 2, 2024 at 5:30 PM
Plugging our blog post ISTSS news circulated around the bad place™️ - we summarized our recent prelim work in JTS comparing WET to trauma-focused expressive writing and offered suggestion discussion points ✏️ bit.ly/46WUG6V
November 21, 2023 at 2:10 AM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
1/ @craiganthonyrs.bsky.social and I wrote this for the
"the Behavior Therapist" SI on harms of CBTs. We discuss the ABCT Apology on "conversion therapy" and ensuing debate. Our aim is NOT to create drama, but use this as a case study on apologies and allyship t.co/Kr8nWTUX35
t.co
November 13, 2023 at 10:18 PM
Reposted by Robyn A. Ellis, PhD
✨I will be reviewing applications for UNM's clinical psych PhD program this cycle!

Those w/ interests in addiction etiology and precision medicine, mixed method approaches (including advanced statistical methods), measurement, and community engagement would be a good fit.
November 8, 2023 at 7:59 PM
I can't believe this day came 🚨 I am SO excited to share results of my dissertation!! In college students with PTSD we compared WET via telehealth to trauma-focused expressive writing to isolate changes made in the process of developing WET. Check it out⤵️
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author...
October 3, 2023 at 10:09 PM
Show me your pet and what they're named after

Been waiting for this one to show up on this app 😂
September 28, 2023 at 12:56 PM