Travis Woodruff, a graduate student studying clinical mental health counseling with an addiction concentration, has been accepted to present at the William & Mary 17th Annual Graduate Research Symposium in March 2018.
Woodruff's presentation is titled, "Experience, Perception and Normalcy as Predictors of Traumatic Stress Anxiety (PTSD)."
He will receive financial support from the Cratis D. Williams School of Graduate Studies to attend the conference.
About Travis Woodruff
Woodruff is currently a graduate student at Appalachian. He is studying clinical mental health counseling with an addiction concentration in the Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling.
Prior to coming to Appalachian, Woodruff graduated cum laude from the University of Mississippi with a master's in philosophy as well as cum laude with dual Bachelor of Art's degrees in philosophy and English (writing concentration) from Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU).
A Desert Storm veteran, Woodruff was first exposed to counseling as a chaplain's assistant in the U.S. Army. He has recently accepted a position as a middle school English teacher at an alternative school for students with behavioral issues. Woodruff is also a songwriter. He wrote songs in Nashville, TN for over 10 years.
Presentation Abstract
This study will evaluate the effects that life experiences have on perception to:
- establish the range of what is perceived as normal at a given point in time for the individual, and;
- to establish if there exists a necessary condition by which individuals develop traumatic stress anxiety, commonly referred to as PTSD.
By investigating the histories of those presently being treated for PTSD it may be possible to determine why some develop traumatic stress anxiety following a perceived traumatic event and some do not.
Establishing necessary conditions for onset PTSD will help lead to not only a better understanding of the condition but will also aid in treating the condition and possibly lessen the number of people who suffer from it, specifically in the military.
Woodruff believes that normality exists for each individual on a sliding scale based on experiences and perceptions and accepts research findings that emotion augments perception.
One's concept of normalcy, based on this sliding scale, necessarily dictates what one perceives as normal and abnormal. How far removed an experience is from the limits of an individual's perception of normalcy will determine whether or not they deem a given experience as traumatic.
Furthermore, depending on an individual's ability to incorporate the abnormal experience into their realm of normality will necessarily determine if that individual will develop traumatic stress anxiety, thereby meeting the criteria for being diagnosed with PTSD.
Travis Woodruff
