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Are mindful people better at regulating their emotions?

Emotions such as fear, sadness, anger, and so on often need to be "regulated" for us to behave in healthy, adaptive ways. How can people better regulate their emotions when stressed? read more...

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Can we help children with ADHD succeed in school?

Adolescents with ADHD often experience significant problems in school, such as failing grades and low achievement test scores. Can we predict these problems before they occur? read more...

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Why do African American youth trade cigarettes for cigars?

Many youth perceive cigars to pose fewer health risks than cigarettes. But, is this true? read more...

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Are cultural issues important in rehabilitation medicine?

Many health problems and disabilities disproportionately affect ethnic minority communities. But what can rehabilitation specialists do to change that? read more...

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Is religious counseling effective?

Many religious people say they want religious counseling. But is it effective? And, if it is not available, is secular counseling less effective for religious people than religious counseling? read more...

vrana

Dr. Scott Vrana

Professor

Clinical Psychology

 

PhD (1988), University of Florida

Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Virginia

Fellow, International Organization of Psychophysiology

Contact Information

Phone: 804-828-1242

Office: 806 W Franklin, rm 303

E-mail: srvrana@vcu.edu

Research and Clinical Interests

My research interests most generally involve the study of emotion, especially fear and anxiety, from an information processing and psychophysiological perspective. Current specific interests include psychophysiological studies of emotional and attentional processes during emotional imagery, the psychophysiology of social interaction, the development of emotion, and the effect of ethnic/cultural differences and social context on the expression of emotion and on social interaction. My clinical interests involve intellectual assessment and the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders.

Selected Publications

Eonta, A. M., Christon, L. M., Hourigan, S. E., Ravindran, N., Vrana, S. R., & Southam-Gerow, M. A. (in press). Using everyday technology to enhance evidence-based treatments.  Professional Psychology: Research and Practice.

Panayiotou, G., van Oyen Witvliet, C., Robinson, J. D., & Vrana, S. R. (2011). A startling absence of emotion effects: Active attention to the startle probe as a motor task cue appears to eliminate modulation of the startle reflex by valence and arousal. Biological Psychology, 87, 226-233.

Vrana, S. R., Hughes, J. W., Dennis, M. F., Calhoun, P. S., & Beckham, J. C. (2009). Effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder status and covert hostility on cardiovascular responses to relived anger in women with and without PTSD. Biological Psychology, 82, 274-280.

Vrana, S. R. (2009). The psychophysiology of disgust: Motivation, action, and autonomic support. In B. O. Olatunji & D. McKay (Eds.), Disgust and its disorders: Theory, assessment, and treatment (pp. 123-143). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

McDonald, S. D., Hartman, N., & Vrana, S. R. (2008). Trait anxiety, disgust sensitivity, and the hierarchic structure of fears. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22, 1059-1074.

Recent Courses Taught at VCU
Recent Grant

Enhancing the mental and physical health benefits of trauma disclosure through response training, National Institute of Mental Health, 1 F31 MH 076675-01 (sponsor), May 2006 - April 2010, $49,424/year, $197,696 total.

Recent Award