President-Elect
Diane Castillo
I am honored to be nominated for president of Division 56, Trauma Psychology. I am committed to continuing the strong leadership tradition psychologists have made in the field of trauma and would appreciate your support. I have dedicated my career to the field of trauma for 28 years as a clinician, researcher, educator, leader, and administrator. I was the Division 56 Diversity Member at Large Chair for 4 years and Co-Chair in 2015, as well as served on the Board of Directors for ISTSS, which has given me experience in governance. My clinical, research, and administration experience has been in the VA, where I developed programming for the treatment of PTSD in male and female Veterans using Evidence-Based Psychotherapies (EBPs) and as one of 18 national trainers for Prolonged Exposure therapy through the National Center for PTSD. My PTSD research includes the clinical application of EBPs as PI on randomized controlled trials and Site Investigator in national PTSD studies. I am an Associate Editor for Psychological Trauma and served as Guest Editor on a special PTSD issue in the journal Behavioral Sciences. I have provided PTSD trainings locally and nationally and have presented professionally at APA, ISTSS, and IVAT. I have supervised trainees at all levels and assisted in the development of national training videos on the treatment of PTSD in special populations/issues (Hispanic, women, PE). I believe I have the governance experience and trauma background to continue the advancements as president of Division 56. Thank you for your consideration.P
Treasurer
Lisa Rocchio
I am honored to run for a second term as Treasurer of Division 56, where I am a founding member and liaison to APA’s Committee on Women and Psychology. In my role as your Treasurer, I bring my expertise as a clinical and forensic psychologist who specializes in the areas of interpersonal violence, traumatic stress and ethics. In addition, I am highly experienced with organizational financial management. Specifically, I am the founder and Director of Lisa M. Rocchio, Ph.D. & Associates, Inc., an inter-professional practice providing services to adults, adolescents, children, and families. As a business owner, I supervise clinical and administrative staff, create and manage financial, business, and clinical policies and procedures, and collaborate with other professionals, hospitals and agencies throughout the state. In addition, I am the current APA Council representative and former president of the Rhode Island Psychological Association and have served as Chair of the APA Committee for State Leaders. In my various positions, I have consistently proven myself to be a fiscally responsible and dynamic leader. I am active within local, national and international Trauma Psychology organizations, was selected to participate in the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology, and am an executive member of the Board of Trustees of an independent Quaker school.
I am strongly committed to the field of Trauma Psychology, and have published, presented, and taught on topics related to trauma, ethics, forensic psychology, and professional practice. I welcome the opportunity to continue my service to Division 56.
Council Representative
Steve Gold
I am honored to be currently serving Division 56 on the APA Council of Representatives (COR) and to have been nominated to continue in this capacity. My support of Division 56 dates back to the first meeting of APA members interested in forming a trauma psychology division. I served as the Division’s APA Convention Program Chair, as Division 56 president, and from 2008 through 2014 as the first editor of the Division’s journal, Psychological Trauma. It has been tremendously exciting to see the Division grow into a vibrant and highly respected home for professionals interested in trauma.
Serving on COR has taught me a great deal about APA system-wide and about Division 56’s potential role in the larger organization. It takes time to become familiarized with the workings of COR. My current term has taught me a great deal in this regard.
This is a pivotal time for APA. While the organization is strong in many ways, its reputation has been marred by the circumstances surrounding the Hoffman report. In addition, APA membership has been steadily shrinking; APA is not adequately attracting the full range of diversity represented by psychologists. I see these trends as being related to a drift by APA away from a sufficiently strong emphasis on core values such as ethics, human rights and social justice. If re-elected I promise to continue to be a strong voice on COR for support of these values and of the interests of Division 56.
Member-at-Large
Divya Kannan
I received my doctorate in clinical psychology in 2012 from the University of Memphis and completed my pre and post-doctoral training at Vanderbilt University. As Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, my interest in working with trauma survivors, being involved in trauma-focused research and writing, and assuming leadership positions in this area has inspired much of my work as a psychologist. I enjoy my role as leader of the trauma team at the Vanderbilt Psychological & Counseling Center and have worked on our team’s development and implementation of an evidence-based, trauma-focused program of care and meeting the acute needs of students after trauma exposure. Additionally, I am glad to have the opportunity to be a member of the editorial team for the developmental traumatology column for the ISTSS Stress Points newsletter, an experience that has been fulfilling as I share my thoughts and interact with professionals within this community.
My interest in the Member-At-Large position would help me continue to grow professionally and to contribute to the aims of the Division 56 executive committee. One specific way I would like to contribute, is a project idea that I am excited about, which is to examine existing treatment models of trauma-informed care within universities across the nation. Through qualitative methods of inquiry, this research can produce important guidelines around the barriers and facilitative agents to psychological care for students impacted by sexual assault, particularly in the context of the current campus climate.
