Research in the TRACS Lab at Longwood University seeks to better understand psychological processes involved in the development and maintenance of mental health problems and improve treatments for such problems. Our work is grounded in an approach to clinical psychology called contextual behavioral science. This approach focuses the interaction between behavior and its context, with goal of developing interventions to cultivate well-being. Our work in the TRACS Lab falls into three areas:
  • Assessing the effectiveness of mindfulness- and acceptance-based behavior therapies for anxiety and related problems.
  • Evaluating mechanisms and components of mindfulness- and acceptance-based behavior therapies to understand how these approaches work and what parts of these treatments are "active ingredients."
  • Exploring how basic behavioral processes, such as psychological flexibility, relate to both well-being and the development of mental health problems.