Johanna Thompson-Hollands, PhD

Associate Professor, Psychiatry

Johanna Thompson-Hollands
617.232.9500
150 S Huntington Avenue

Biography

Johanna Thompson-Hollands, PhD is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine and a Staff Research Psychologist in the National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System. Her work focuses on treatment development and outcome in PTSD, with a particular emphasis on the role of family and other social supports in enhancing outcomes and retention in PTSD treatment. Dr. Thompson-Hollands is the developer of the Brief Family Intervention (BFI) for PTSD, an adjunctive family-focused intervention that aims to improve veterans’ outcomes in their individual trauma-focused therapy. She is currently leading a multi-site clinical trial to test the BFI in the VA.

In addition to multiple federal awards to conduct clinical trials related to family-inclusive treatments for psychopathology, Dr. Thompson-Hollands has also received federal funding to examine systems-level facilitators and barriers to family-inclusive treatment. The goal of this line of work is to promote the implementation of family-inclusive treatments in VA, ultimately increasing veterans’ choices with regard to their care and addressing critical interpersonal variables known to impact psychopathology and treatment.

Beyond her work on family-inclusive treatments, Dr. Thompson-Hollands has a longstanding interest in enhancing PTSD treatments more broadly by improving their effectiveness and efficiency. She has been heavily involved in grant-funded projects and papers related to Written Exposure Therapy (WET), a brief 5-session trauma-focused intervention that demonstrates comparable results to longer trauma-focused treatments. Dr. Thompson-Hollands has extensive experience in training providers to deliver WET, including as a preventative intervention. She has also been lead author and co-author on several studies of WET, including long-term outcomes from the treatment and an examination of potential moderators of the treatment’s effects.

Other Positions

  • VA Boston Healthcare System

Education

  • Boston University, PhD
  • Boston University, MA
  • Tufts University, BA

Publications

  • Published on 7/20/2023

    Thompson-Hollands J, Lunney CA, Sloan DM, Wiltsey Stirman S, Schnurr PP. Treatment length and symptom improvement in prolonged exposure and present-centered therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder: Comparing dose-response and good-enough level models in two manualized interventions. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2023 Oct; 91(10):596-605. PMID: 37471022.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 2/28/2023

    Thompson-Hollands J. Introduction to the special section on social relationships and posttraumatic stress disorder treatment: Harnessing the power of significant relationships. J Trauma Stress. 2023 Jun; 36(3):479-483. PMID: 36853594.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 2/13/2023

    Shepherd-Banigan M, Shapiro A, Sheahan KL, Ackland PE, Meis LA, Thompson-Hollands J, Edelman D, Calhoun PS, Weidenbacher H, Van Houtven CH. Mental health therapy for veterans with PTSD as a family affair: A qualitative inquiry into how family support and social norms influence veteran engagement in care. Psychol Serv. 2023 Nov; 20(4):839-848. PMID: 36780280.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 9/1/2022

    Reuman L, Thompson-Hollands J. Women veterans' attitudes toward family involvement in PTSD treatment: A mixed-methods examination. Psychol Serv. 2023 Nov; 20(4):770-779. PMID: 36048088.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 8/5/2022

    Thompson-Hollands J, Rando AA, Stoycos SA, Meis LA, Iverson KM. Family Involvement in PTSD Treatment: Perspectives from a Nationwide Sample of Veterans Health Administration Clinicians. Adm Policy Ment Health. 2022 Nov; 49(6):1019-1030. PMID: 35930084.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 4/7/2022

    Lee DJ, Weathers FW, Thompson-Hollands J, Sloan DM, Marx BP. Concordance in PTSD symptom change between DSM-5 versions of the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5) and PTSD Checklist (PCL-5). Psychol Assess. 2022 Jun; 34(6):604-609. PMID: 35389681.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 1/22/2022

    Harper KL, Thompson-Hollands J, Keane TM, Marx BP. Family-Involved Mental Health Care Among OEF/OIF Veterans With and Without PTSD Using VHA Administrative Records. Behav Ther. 2022 Sep; 53(5):819-827. PMID: 35987541.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 1/1/2022

    Rando AA, Thompson-Hollands J. Veteran and romantic partner goals for family involvement in PTSD treatment: A qualitative study of dyads. Couple Family Psychol. 2022; 11(3):193-204. PMID: 37361015.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 8/30/2021

    Sloan DM, Thompson-Hollands J, Hayes AM, Lee DJ, Alpert E, Marx BP. Sudden Gains in Two Trauma-Focused Treatments for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Behav Ther. 2022 03; 53(2):255-266. PMID: 35227402.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 8/16/2021

    Shor R, Lee DJ, Thompson-Hollands J, Sloan DM. Psychometric properties of the Posttraumatic Avoidance Behaviour Questionnaire among a treatment-seeking adult sample. Psychol Trauma. 2022 Mar; 14(3):393-398. PMID: 34398628.

    Read at: PubMed

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