Terri Messman, Ph.D.
I spent most of my childhood growing up in rural areas in Texas and Nebraska. I earned my B.A. in Psychology from the University of Nebraska, and my PhD in Clinical Psychology at Oklahoma State University. I completed a pre-doctoral clinical internship in Boston at the National Center for PTSD-VAHSC, including rotations in the Behavioral Sciences Division and Women Health Sciences Division for PTSD treatment, and Acute Inpatient Psychiatry. I completed my postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and then joined the faculty at Miami University.
I came to Miami University in 2000 and established the laboratory that year. My first study at Miami used a prospective design to examine risk factors for sexual revictimization among college women. During that study, we documented, for the first time, that risk perception deficits increased vulnerability for later sexual assault.
Patricia J. Long, Ph.D.
In 1993, I started my Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology at Oklahoma State University with Trish Long, Ph.D., my mentor. We studied the long-term impact of childhood sexual abuse on adult women. We published one of the first literature reviews examining the issue of sexual revictimization. Additional empirical papers were some of the first studies to document the phenomenon of revictimization among college women.
Patricia A. Resick, Ph.D.
After I finished my internship in Boston in 1999, I moved to St. Louis to work with Patti Resick, Ph.D., at the Center for Trauma Recovery at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. As a post-doctoral fellow at the Center, I conducted research and psychotherapy with victims of rape and other crimes, as well as contributed to clinical research studies testing the efficacy of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a brand of cognitive-behavioral therapy designed to treat PTSD. Patti and I published a case study describing how CPT can be used with patients who experienced complex trauma and PTSD.
About Terri...
Mindful Self-Compassion
In 2017, I traveled to Sedona Arizona to learn more about mindful self-compassion, under the direction of Kristin Neff Ph.D. and Christopher Germer, Ph.D. This training was brought back to the lab, and we are currently examining whether self-compassion may be a buffer for negative outcomes related to childhood maltreatment.
Hobbies & Interests
I am a lover of animals and mother to four furbabies (a dog and 3 cats). I am a Ravenclaw at heart, I love learning and thinking creatively.
I enjoy nature, particularly walking my dog in the woods in the wee hours of the morning. I also enjoy watching professional tennis (my favorite player is Rafael Nadal) and reading (Especially the Winter of the Witch Trilogy by Katherine Arden, or historical fiction with strong female protagonists). A foundation of self-care is my meditation and yoga practice.
I don't watch a lot of Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu, so I am usually late to the party on popular shows. I did enjoy The Queen's Gambit, Inventing Anna, and How to Get Away With Murder. With my kids, I enjoy binge-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! and Scooby-Doo, Mystery Incorporated!
Contact Information
Terri L. Messman
Department of Psychology • Miami University
90 N. Patterson Avenue, Oxford, Ohio 45056-1601
Voice: 513-529-2403 FAX: 513-529-2420
Electronic Mail: messmat@miamioh.edu