Research Interests
Dr. Putnam is primarily involved in three areas of research:
- Pathologicial Dissociation and Alternate States of Consciousness – This long-standing area of interest explores the nature, mechanisms, and clinical implications of dissociative experiences and altered states of consciousness.
- See The Way We Are (2016) for an account of Dr. Putnam’s research on the contribution of discrete states of consciousness to personality and behavior.
- See The Way We Are (2016) for an account of Dr. Putnam’s research on the contribution of discrete states of consciousness to personality and behavior.
- Psycholobiological Effects of Sexual Abuse and the Intergenerational Transmission of Childhood Maltreatment — In 1987, Dr. Putnam – alongside the late Penelope Trickett, PhD, and later joined by Jennie Noll, PhD – initiated a prospective, longitudinal study examining the lifelong psychobiological effects of sexual abuse on girls. This research project, the Female Growth and Development Study (FGDS), continues to this day.
- See Old Before Their Time for a history of the FGDS and its landmark contributions to understanding the biological embedding of trauma and its manifestations across the lifespan – and impacts on future generations.
- See Old Before Their Time for a history of the FGDS and its landmark contributions to understanding the biological embedding of trauma and its manifestations across the lifespan – and impacts on future generations.
- The development and dissemination of large-scale treatment and prevention programs in community settings . Examples include:
- Co-developing with Dr. Robert Ammerman an in-home treatment program for post-partum depression in low income first-time mothers in home-visiting programs. See MovingBeyondDepression.org
- Collaborating with colleagues to validate a multi-site PTSD prevention program in acutely traumatized children, a joint inmate-staff intervention for incarcerated adolescents in juvenile justice settings, and a relationship enhancement program for non-clinical adults (e.g., teachers, residential staff, foster parents) working with traumatized children. See Child-Adult Relationship Enhancement (CARE)