ABOUT

For a reference list of our published research please find Dr. Frewen on Google Scholar or Research Gate. In brief, MEDITATIONS is an acronym that overviews our various research interests:

• M stands for MINDFULNESS, the state of "being aware of being aware". We study mindful states and traits in association with both psychological health and psychological trauma and disorder, including as a means of recovery, e.g., Mindfulness- and Metta-based Trauma Therapy (MMTT).
• E stands for EXPERIENCE. Our research always includes assessment of participants' subjective experience. We are interested in the qualia of human subjectivity in both its ordered and disordered forms, e.g., Trauma-Related Altered States of Consciousness (TRASC).
• D stands for DEVELOPMENT. We study the development of (dis)ordered psychological function across life periods, from infancy through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
• I stands for IMAGERY. We have a specific interest in understanding the processes underlying different forms of imagery and their role in psychotherapy and meditation, e.g., differentiating visual and embodied forms of imagery.
• T stands for THERAPY. We apply our research to the development of clinical interventions, e.g., neuroscience-informed psychological treatments for trauma-related disorders.
• A stands for ATTACHMENT. We study the impact of early relationships with caregivers, family and peers, e.g., with the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS).
• T stands for TRAUMA. Much of our work has as its primary goal to better understand how to heal a traumatized self.
• I stands for both INTROSPECTION and INTEROCEPTION. Our research methods include both subjective reflection (e.g., Perceived Causal Relations [PCR]) and awareness of bodily states (e.g., neurobiofeedback).
• O stands for OPENNESS. We have a specific interest in the personality trait Openness, and in encouraging its development in pursuit of psychological health and wellbeing.
• N stands for NEUROPHENOMENOLOGY. Our work is based on the notion that the mind and brain are intercausal, and that to fully understand psychological phenomena one has to measure both subjective experience and neurobiology.
• S stands for SELF. We are interested to understand the nature of the consciousness of "self" , e.g., our Jamesian review of the neuroimaging of the consciousness of self.