About the Trauma & Recovery Research Unit

We 
focus on reducing the deleterious impact of trauma on individuals and families, and on fostering scientifically informed approaches to recovery and post-traumatic growth

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Young woman covering eyes, sad and frightened in a dark room, copy space. Fear and despair concept

The Trauma & Recovery Research Unit is well known for our work characterizing trauma-related illness and PTSI among military members, Veterans, first responders, and survivors of childhood abuse and trauma. We have also been involved in the development and testing of novel treatment interventions aimed at often-unexplored aspects of PTSI and trauma, including guilt and shame, moral injury, dissociation, and cognitive dysfunction. We work closely with government sectors including Veterans Affairs Canada and the Canadian Armed Forces.

Under the supervision of our principal investigator, Dr. Margaret McKinnon (Homewood Chair in Mental Health and Trauma, Professor and Associate Chair Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University), we have published nearly 150 peer-reviewed papers and chapters. Our unit is supported by federal and provincial funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Institute for Military and Veterans Health Research, Veterans Affairs Canada, Defence Canada, the PTSD Centre of Excellence, MITACS, and the Workers Safety Insurance Board of Ontario; by a generous donation to Homewood Research Institute from Homewood Health Inc.; and by generous gifts from private foundations including True Patriot Love, the Cowan Foundation, the Military Casualty Support Foundation, the FDC Foundation, and the AllOne Foundation.

We are situated in Hamilton, Ontario, where we are proud to have created a creative, collaborative, and open-minded Research Team.

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