The Healing Emotions iLlness Pain (HELP) lab focuses on developing and testing tailored approaches to improve psychological care for youth with chronic painful health conditions and co-occurring psychological symptoms and increasing access to such care.
We are finishing up a study exploring the neural mechanisms underlying the effect of a tailored cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) developed by Dr. Cunningham, called the Aim to Decrease Pain and Anxiety Treatment (ADAPT), which targets pain and anxiety in youth with functional abdominal pain disorders. We also recently completed a multi-site randomized control trial to test the feasibility and effect of a remotely delivered CBT called the Treatment and Education Approach for Childhood-onset Lupus (TEACH) to improve fatigue, depressive symptoms, and pain in adolescents and young adults with childhood-onset lupus. See Recently Completed Projects below for more details.
Current projects include a large, multi-site, multi-national project to implement TEACH directly into rheumatology clinics across the US and Canada. Another current project will explore the prevalence and impact of adverse childhood experiences on youth with lupus and develop a tailored psychological approach to care for youth with trauma. See Ongoing Projects below for more details.
HELP Lab Members
Natoshia Cunningham, PhD, Principal Investigator
Thea Senger- Carpenter, PhD, APRN, PPCNP-BC, Research Associate
Jocelyn Zuckerman, Research Assistant
Audrey Searles, Research Assistant
Beyan Sannah, MD
Naomi Alvarado, Medical Student
Elise Cheney-Makens, Medical Student
Elliane Siebert, Medical Student
Ivana Khreizat, Medical Student
Lucy Nguyen, Medical Student
Samuel Vyortkin, Medical Student
Apoorva Ojha, Medical Student
Elizabeth Ross, Medical Student
Manasi Kulkarni, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Taylor Abounader, Doctoral Student of Psychology (Wright State University)
Corewell Health/Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Research Collaborators:
- Khalid Abulaban, Elizabeth Kessler, Pediatric Rheumatology, Spectrum Health/Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital
- Brittany Barber Garcia, Pediatric Psychology, Spectrum Health/Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital
- Ryan Cox, Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Mark DeLano, Radiology
- Todd Mulderink, Radiology
- Yong Zhou, Radiology
Our lab is committed to inclusive and equitable science. We seek to recruit and support trainees from diverse backgrounds. We seek to foster a supportive and collaborative scientific environment that celebrates a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas.
If you are part of a group that is underrepresented in science and are interested in working in our lab, please contact the PI, Natoshia@msu.edu
