Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 1 August 2012-31 July 2014
Office: Atalpa 216
Tel.: +358 50 318 6181
Email: kirsi.peltonen@uta.fi
My background is in psychology, especially in childhood traumatization. I have defended my thesis “Children and Violence: Nature, Consequences and Interventions” in 2011 (http://acta.uta.fi/pdf/978-951-44-8471-1.pdf). I am interestd in finding the best, theoretically valid, and empirically evidence-based ways to help children exposed to violence and multiple psychological traumas.
During my IASR period, I will work in two projects:
1. “Preventive intervention among children in war and military violence: Effectiveness of preventing mental health problems and promoting healthy development”. Especially I will examine the effectiveness and mediating mechanisms of group-based trauma intervention and the role of the child’s symptomatology in it.
2. “Narrative exposure therapy: Effectiveness and changes in memory functions”. Especially I will examine whether or the individual-based trauma intervention succeeds in enhancing the child’s autobiographical memory and optimal trauma memory quality.