Award winning writer, advocate, professor and researcher to discuss the neurobiology of trauma

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(Grand Rapids, Mich.) – On Monday, November 10, Aquinas College’s Jane Hibbard Idema Women’s Studies Center (JHIWSC) presents Dr. Rebecca Campbell, professor of ecological-community psychology at Michigan State University and faculty member on the Research Consortium on Gender-Based Violence. During her talk, titled The Neurobiology of Trauma, Campbell will examine how the brain and body respond to major forms of trauma such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, military combat, witnessing a homicide or major crime, or being an officer involved in a shooting. She will also review the neurobiological reasons for how trauma impacts the victim’s behavior and what they remember following a trauma. Campbell will further address the implications for first responders, college personnel, and friends and families of survivors.

WHAT: Aquinas College Jane Hibbard Idema Women’s Studies Center presents Dr. Rebecca Campbell’s The Neurobiology of Trauma
WHEN: Monday, November 10, 7 p.m.
WHERE: Aquinas College, Wege Center Ballroom, 1607 Robinson Road S.E., Grand Rapids, MI, 49506
COST: Free and open to the public

Campbell focuses her research on violence against women, specifically sexual assault and how the legal, medical and mental systems respond to the needs of rape survivors. She is currently conducting collaborative research with Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) programs, a community based intervention design to provide comprehensive post-assault services to pediatric and adult victims of sexual assault. She is the author of Emotionally Involved: The Impact of Researching Rape (2002, Routledge), which won the 2002 Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology.

Campbell received the 2002 Emerging Leader Award from the Committee on Women in Psychology of the American Psychological Association, and the 2006 Scientific Achievement Award from the International Association of Forensic Nurses. Since 1989, she has been active in the anti-violence social movement and has spent 10 years working as a volunteer rape victim advocate in hospital emergency departments.

The Neurobiology of Trauma is presented by the JHIWSC and co-sponsored by Aquinas’ department of psychology, campus ministry, campus safety, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, and student affairs.