- Department of Psychology; Clinical Psychology
- Email: raudales@uri.edu
Major Professor: Nicole H. Weiss, Ph.D.
Lab: STRESS Lab
Biography
Alexa is a fifth year student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the University of Rhode Island, with foci in Research Methodology and Multiculturalism. Alexa received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Biology from Case Western Reserve University in 2017. After graduation, she worked for two years as a research assistant under the mentorship of Dr. Norman Schmidt at Florida State University, where she coordinated multiple studies investigating mechanisms underlying the etiology and treatment of anxiety and related disorders. She received her M.A. in Psychology from the University of Rhode Island in 2020.
Research
Alexa’s research focuses on the intersections among trauma-related psychopathology (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder), self-harm behaviors (e.g., non-suicidal self-injury, suicide), and substance use. Specifically, she is interested in assessing underlying transdiagnostic mechanisms (e.g., emotion dysregulation) and utilizing real-time data collection methods (e.g., ecological momentary assessment) to better understand how these processes relate temporally, with the ultimate aim of improving assessment and intervention efforts. Her F31 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse examines the momentary associations among posttraumatic stress symptoms, opioid use, and suicide risk among trauma-exposed individuals in the community.