The HELP Lab focuses on the psychological assessment and treatment of youth with chronic health conditions that involve pain.
Our current project, funded by the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance- Arthritis Foundation (CARRA-AF) Transdisciplinary Research Grant, is a patient-engaged, multisite investigation testing the remote delivery of a tailored cognitive behavioral therapy program. The program aims to improve fatigue, pain, and mood symptoms in teens and young adults with childhood-onset lupus. For this project, we are currently enrolling participants from rheumatology clinics in the U.S. and Canada. In a separate study funded by an NIH/NCCIH K23 award, we are studying neural mechanisms of treatment response to a cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for youth with functional abdominal pain disorders and co-occurring anxiety.
Additional projects in the lab include explorations of psychological and health-related functioning in youth with functional abdominal pain disorders, neural mechanisms of pediatric chronic pain, and use of a mixed in-person/web-based cognitive behavioral therapy for youth with functional abdominal pain disorders. The lab is also investigating the development and validation of patient reported outcome measures in pediatric chronic pain conditions, conducting a systematic review of non-pharmacologic treatments for lupus, and developing a model to identify and address disparities in care for individuals affected by lupus.
