Membership
It's a really exciting time for Division 56, with many opportunities to be directly involved in shaping the Division. Be part of transforming trauma's image in psychology. Membership is open to any Member, Associate Member, or Fellow of APA. We also offer Professional Affiliate membership to non-APA members who are professionals in the field of trauma psychology and related disciplines, and Student Affiliate membership to any matriculated student. If you need more information, please contact the various membership committee chairs directly.
Show Your Membership Proudly
Show your affiliation with Division 56! You can now purchase mugs, magnets, and bags at our Zazzle store with our Division logo on them, with proceeds benefiting the Division.
Member Spotlight
Please join us in celebrating the current Division 56 member spotlight, Dr. Angela Narayan!
Dr. Angela Narayan, Div56 Member since 2013,was co-recipient of our 2015 Outstanding Dissertation Award and recipient of our 2018 Early Career Award for Ethnic Minority Psychologist.
Currently an Assistant Professor on the tenure-track in the Clinical Child Psychology PhD Program at the University of Denver, her research is broadly focused on the long-term effects of early adversity and stress, and pathways to risk and resilience.
Dr. Narayan combines her interests in resilience-promoting processes in disadvantaged families and infant mental health. Her work has identified the perinatal period as a transformative, opportune developmental window to assess resilience and to promote wellbeing.
Her recent research on the “BCEs,” Benevolent Childhood Experiences, scale (Narayan et al., 2018, Child Abuse and Neglect), has shown that positive early experiences and resources, such as love, support, and predictability, can counteract the long-term effects of adverse childhood experiences (“ACEs”) on lifespan and Initially developed for use with ethnically-diverse pregnant women, the BCEs scale was designed to be culturally inclusive, assessing experiences and resources relevant to immigrants and individuals reared in rural, underdeveloped regions of the world. The BCES scale has already been translated into Spanish and is also being used internationally in countries such as South Africa, Serbia, Canada, and Iran.
In addition, Dr. Narayan’s research currently focuses on fathers-to-be. Her team has learned that assessing their early experiences, mental health, relationships, and resources enriches understanding of family resilience and enables fathers to share their untold stories. Directly reaching out to fathers has led to 75% father enrollment in her ongoing prospective pregnancy study and high postnatal retention of both parents!
Dr. Narayan noted the benefit of her involvement in Division 56, especially regarding the listserv and Division journal. She regularly encourages her doctoral students to join.
Please check out Dr. Narayan’s great work on how resilience is promoted in diverse families.
Narayan, A. J., Rivera, L. M., Bernstein, R. E., Harris, W. W., & Lieberman, A. F. (2018). Positive childhood experiences predict less psychopathology and stress in pregnant women with childhood adversity: A pilot study of the benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) scale. Child Abuse and Neglect, 78, 19-30
Narayan, A. J. et al., (2017). Between pregnancy and motherhood: Identifying unmet mental health needs in pregnant women with lifetime adversity. Zero to Three Journal, 37, 4-13.
Narayan, A. J. (2015). Personal, dyadic, and contextual resilience in parents experiencing homelessness. Clinical Psychology Review, 36, 56-69.
