Lauren Wadsworth

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Founding Director at Genesee Valley Psychology

Co-occurring psychiatric problems can be conceptualized through their shared connectivity, such as whether there is a functional connection between them (dynamic) or not (static). This conceptual approach has been applied to case studies describing patients with co-occurring obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS...

Justice-based exposure and response prevention (ERP) has been touted as an alternative approach to (mis)uses and “Fear Factor” overcorrection applications of ERP for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with identity-related themes (i.e., sexual orientation, gender identity, racism, age, disability/diagnostic status, and economic-themed.). Justice-b...

The obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) field is undergoing an important and timely cultural shift in how identity-related symptom themes (e.g., obsessions about racism, sexual orientation, disability, poverty, etc.) are conceptualized and addressed using justice-based exposure and response prevention (ERP). Justice-based treatment is defined as an...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) share overlapping features for which similar cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) strategies can be employed. However, the comorbid presence of these conditions poses unique clinical considerations, and a nuanced approach to assessment, conceptualization, and treatment is...

Prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) appears to be higher in sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals compared to cisgender, heterosexual individuals. Although existing self-report measures for OCD (i.e., Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale Self-Report-II-Self Report [Y-BOCS-II-SR], Dimensional Obsessive Compulsive Scale [DOCS],...

The obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) field is undergoing an important and timely cultural shift in how identity-related symptom themes (e.g., obsessions about racism, sexual orientation, disability, poverty, etc.) are conceptualized and addressed using justice-based exposure and response prevention (ERP). Justice-based treatment is defined as an...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently co-occur, and phenotypic and functional similarities between the disorders necessitate assessment and treatment considerations by providers. To date, no research has reported on mental health treatment providers’ approach to, and barriers associated with, assess...

The synergistic epidemics of COVID-19, racial injustice, and health inequities sparked an unprecedented commitment from US hospital systems and treatment settings to address health disparities by increasing access to care for historically oppressed and underserved communities. However, the inability of hospital systems to actually provide multicult...

Cancer screening is recommended for select cancers worldwide. Cancer screening has become increasingly effective and accessible and often increases overall survival. However, the mental health effects of cancer screening, such as its impact on depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, are largely unknown. Conflicting available litera...

Individuals who are transgender and gender diverse (TGD) are more likely to suffer from and to seek mental health services for mood disorders. Some literature suggests that TGD individuals, because of pervasive and systemic minority stress, may have more complex clinical presentations (i.e., psychiatric conditions and severity of symptoms) and may...

Estimated rates of co-occurrence between obsessive and compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder (PD) are notable, but vary considerably, with rates from epidemiological and clinical studies ranging from 1.8% to 22% (Rector et al., 2017). We reviewed the current empirical literature on the etiology, treatment, diagnostic assessment, and differen...

Perfectionism, especially the evaluative concerns domain, correlates positively with mental health distress. The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (F-MPS) is one of the most widely used measures of perfectionism, but has not been validated in children or as a measure of parent-report of child perfectionism. The present study aimed to valid...

Historically, intensive obsessive-compulsive and related disorder (OCRD) treatment settings have been underrepresentative in terms of patient race and ethnicity. The present study piloted a novel technique to measure multiple marginalized identities and assess their impact on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms and treatment response acros...

Background Limited perceived control has been theorized and measured to be a cognitive aspect of anxiety disorder development and maintenance. The goal of the present study was to investigate perceived internal and external control as transdiagnostic features of anxiety in a diverse urban sample. Methods We explored the relations between anxiety,...

Background Perceived internal and external control have long been theorized to relate to development and maintenance of anxiety (Barlow, 2002) and depression (Seligman, 1975). Experimental research studies investigating perceived control have largely focused on anxiety within cross-sectional samples and have shown that low levels of perceived inter...

Objectives We examined types of discrimination encountered by transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals and the associations with symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as the mediating and moderating effects of coping responses. Method This online study included 695 TGD individuals ages 16 years and over (M = 25.52; standard deviation...

Addressing and integrating social and cultural identities (e.g., ADDRESSING categories) into treatment improves the quality of treatment, especially for individuals of historically marginalized groups. The process of not just aspiring for, but actually enacting culturally-responsive care, is complex, often emotionally activating for both providers...

Positive aspects of self-compassion (i.e., self-kindness and nonjudgmental acceptance of personal experiences) as well as negative aspects (i.e., high self-criticism and self-coldness) are strong predictors of anxiety, depression, worry, and quality of life. To date, however, relatively little is known about (a) how both aspects of self-compassion...

Objective: Despite a greater need for mental health treatment in individuals identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and other sexual minority identities (LGBQ+), no prior study has examined mental health treatment outcomes for LGBQ+ populations receiving standard care. We compared individuals identifying as LGBQ+ or heterosexual on treatmen...

Although research indicates that anxious arousal in response to feared stimuli is related to treatment outcome (Heimberg et al., 1990), less is known about the patterns of anxious arousal. We identified patterns of anxious arousal in individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) at pre- (n = 61) and post-treatment (n = 40; 12-session CBGT, Heimber...

Little research has explored linkages between workplace policies and mental health in working-class, employed parents, creating a gap in our knowledge of work–family issues across social class levels. The current US study addresses this gap by employing hierarchical linear modeling techniques to examine how workplace policies and parental leave ben...

Purpose: Improving mental health literacy is an important consideration when promoting expedient and effective treatment seeking for psychological disorders. Low recognition serves as a barrier to treatment (Coles and Coleman, 2010), and this article examines recognition by lay individuals of severity for three psychological disorders: social anxi...

Previous research suggests that individuals with a marginalized sexual orientation report higher levels of emotional distress (Cochran, 2001; Meyer, 2003), including higher prevalence of social anxiety (Gilman et al., 2001; Potoczniak, Aldea, & DeBlaere, 2007; Safren & Pantalone, 2006) than heterosexuals. The present study builds on previous resear...

This study examined the extent to which parental acceptance of one's sexual orientation and more general family support moderated the associations between 3 dimensions of minority stress (internalized homonegativity, rejection sensitivity, and discrimination) and depressive symptoms in a sample of 414 self-identified lesbians and gay men who partic...

To examine regions of cortical thinning and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Alzheimer disease (AD) biomarkers associated with apathy and hallucinations in a continuum of individuals including clinically normal elderly, mild cognitive impairment, and mild AD dementia. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Fifty-seven research sites across North Americ...

Background/aims: Neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are highly prevalent. We sought to determine whether neuropsychiatric symptoms were related to global functional impairment at baseline and over a 3-year period in older normal control (NC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild AD dementia subjects. Methods: Eight hundred...

Accumulating evidence suggests that subjective cognitive complaints (SCC) may indicate subtle cognitive decline characteristic of individuals with preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we sought to build upon previous studies by associating SCC and amyloid-β deposition using positron emission tomography with Pittsburgh Compound B (Pi...

The recently developed Face Name Associative Memory Exam (FNAME), a challenging paired associative learning task, shows promise in detecting the subtle cognitive changes characteristic of preclinical Alzheimer's disease. In this study, we evaluated the validity and reliability of the FNAME in 210 cognitively normal older individuals (58-90 years of...

Background/Aims: Neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are highly prevalent. We sought to determine whether neuropsychiatric symptoms were related to global functional impairment at baseline and over a 3-year period in older normal control (NC), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild AD dementia subjects. Methods: Eight hundred an...