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Ronald Acierno, Ph.D.   
[NCVC and Older Adult Clinic rotations]

Dr. Acierno received his B.A. with Distinction in Psychology from the University of Virginia in 1989, and earned his M.S. & Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Nova-Southeastern University in 1996. Dr. Acierno specializes in assessment and treatment of conduct disorder and substance abuse in adolescents, as well as anxiety and mood disorders in older adults who have been victims of assault, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Dr. Acierno has worked on a study to assess the effects of the 2004 Florida hurricanes on older adults, as well as a treatment development project to evaluate a novel intervention for complicated bereavement in older adults. Dr. Acierno is currently the PI on a study to determine whether therapy for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) personnel with subclinical PTSD can be delivered effectively via videoconferencing technology.  His work has been funded by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute of Justice, the Department of Defense, and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety's VOCA, VAWA, and SVAP grant systems.

Research interests: both the assessment and treatment of older adults with anxiety and mood disorders

Honors and Awards:

Select Publications:

• Hernandez, M. A., Amstadter, A. B., Muzzy, W., & Acierno, R. (in press). The National Elder Mistreatment Study: Race and ethnicity findings. Manuscript submitted for publication. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect.
• Frueh, B. C., Elhai, J. D., & Acierno, R.  (in press). The future of posttraumatic stress disorder in the DSM.  Psychological Injury and Law.
• Gros, D. F., Strachan, M., Ruggiero, K. J., Knapp, R. G., Frueh, B. C., Egede, L. E., Lejuez, C. W., Tuerk, P. W., & Acierno, R. (in press). Innovative service delivery for secondary prevention of PTSD in at-risk OIF-OEF service men and women. Contemporary Clinical Trials.
• Tuerk, P. W., Yoder, M., Grubaugh, A., Myrick, D. H., & Acierno, R. (in press). Prolonged Exposure Therapy for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Examination of Treatment Effectiveness for Veterans of the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Journal of Anxiety Disorders.
• Yoder, M., Tuerk, P. W., & Acierno, R. (in press). Prolonged exposure with a WWII veteran: 60 years of guilt and feelings of inadequacy. Clinical Case Studies.
• Gros, D. F., Tuerk, P., Acierno, R., Yoder, M., & Lozano, B. (in press). Exposure therapy for PTSD delivered to Veterans via telehealth: Predictors of treatment completion and outcome and comparison to treatment delivered in-person. Behavior Therapy.
• Amstadter, A. B., Zajac, K., Strachan, M., Hernandez, M. A., Kilpatrick, D. G., & Acierno, R. (in press). Prevalence and Correlates of Elder Mistreatment in South Carolina: The South Carolina Elder Mistreatment Study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
• Gros, D. F., Simms, L. J., & Acierno, R. (in press). Specificity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms: An investigation of comorbidity between PTSD and depression in treatment-seeking Veterans. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
• Cisler, J. M., Amstadter, A. B., Begle, A. M., Hernandez, M., & Acierno, R. (in press). Elder mistreatment and physical health among older adults: the South Carolina elder mistreatment study. Journal of Traumatic Stress.
• Begle, A. M., Cisler, J. M., Strachan, M., Amstadter, A. B., Hernandez, M. A., & Acierno, R. (in press). Elder mistreatment and emotional symptoms among older adults in South Carolina: Results from the South Carolina Elder Mistreatment Study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.

Select Presentations:

• Harned, M. S., Foa, E. B., Yusko, D. A., Yasinski, C., Imms, P., Volpicelli, J., Grubaugh, A. L., Egede, L. E., Frueh, B. C., Knapp, R. C., van Minnen, A., de Kleine, R., Hagenaars, M., Linehan, M. M., Korslund, K. E., Tuerk, P. W., Yoder, M., Myrick, D. H., Acierno, R., & Hembree, E. (November, 2010). Expanding the use of Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD to diverse patient populations and clinical settings. Symposium presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
• Marshall, E., Vujanovic, A.,  Amstadter, A. B., Koenen, K., Ruggiero, K. J., Acierno, R., Kilpatrick, D. G., Galea, S., Gelernter, J., Bernstein, A., Zvielli, A., Marshall, E., Ferssizidis, P. Z., Kashdan, T. B., Shea, M., Tyrka, A., Reddy, M., Sevin, E., & Resick, P. A. (November, 2010). Trauma exposure: Transdiagnostic risk and resilience factors. Symposium presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
• Norman, S., Riggs, D. S., Rothbaum, B. O., Davis, M., Myers, K., Houry, D., Thorp, S., Tuerk, P. W., Strachan, M., Yoder, M., Acierno, R., Norman, S., Wilkins, K. C., Allard, C., Rindt, S., Kusian, J., Rauch, S. A., Smith, E., Pope-Kurby, B., Defever, E., & Liberzon, I. (November, 2010). Treatment of returning service members from Afghanistan and Iraq: Efforts to enhance treatment delivery and outcomes. Symposium presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
• Herbert, J., Yuen, E., Forman, E., Goetter, E., Juarascio, A., Rabin, S., McGrath, K., Goodwin, C., Park, J., Bouchard, S., Acierno, R., Strachan, M., Tuerk, P., Gros, D., Ruggiero, K. J., Muzzy, W., Lejuez, C.,  Stauffacher, K., Resnick, H. S., et al. (November, 2010). New developments in remote and internet-based treatment. Symposium presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
• McCauley, J., Stauffacher, K., Kilpatrick, D. G., Resnick, H. S., Acierno, R., Galea, S., Muzzy, W., & Ruggiero, K. J. (2010, November). Mental health outcomes among adults in Galveston and Chambers Counties after Hurricane Ike. Poster presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
• Strachan, M., Gros, D. F., Tuerk, P. W., Lejuez, C. W., & Acierno, R. (November, 2010). Predictors of patient satisfaction among OIF/OEF Veterans receiving Behavioral Activation/Exposure-Based Treatment for PTSD: Comparing telehealth to in-person. Poster presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
• Gros, D. F., Strachan, M., Ruggiero, K. J., Tuerk, P. W., Lejuez, C. W., & Acierno, R. (November, 2010). Predictors of treatment completion in OEF/OIF Veterans with PTSD. Poster presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
• Welsh, K., Gros, K., Resnick, H. S., McCauley, J., Acierno, R., Muzzy, W., & Ruggiero, K. J. (November, 2010). Predictors of use of a self-administered web intervention following Hurricane Ike. SIG poster presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
• Price, M., Strachan, M., Gros, D. F., Ruggiero, K. J., & Acierno, R. (November, 2010). Examination of PTSD and depression treatment response for Behavioral Activation and Therapeutic Exposure. SIG poster presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.
• Veronee, K., Gros, D. F., Strachan, M., Price, M., Ruggiero, K. J., & Acierno, R. (November, 2010). Managing suicidality in home-based telehealth exposure therapy for combat-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A case presentation of an OEF Veteran. SIG poster presented at the ABCT 44^th Annual Convention in San Francisco, CA.

Curriculum Vitae  (2010) (Requires Adobe® Reader to view)

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