Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Abuse and Neglect

 

T.I.T.A.N.

An overview of the institute vision: This interdisciplinary institute addresses issues of trauma, abuse, and neglect bringing together the interests, expertise, and talents of several faculty members across the University to address the complex issues related to traumatic experiences. This Institute was established in Summer of 2007.

Who we are? We are a transdisciplinary group of scholars committed to advancing knowledge about traumatic stress studies, (e.g., disaster, violence against women, child abuse, crime victimization, mass violence) in partnership with the Tulsa community. Our goal is to use multiple lenses and expertise to address problems related to violence and human cruelty.

Initial Project: Our initial project is a collaborative project with a community partner, the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program located in the Tulsa Police Department. Collectively, we will be examining/conducting a comprehensive evaluation of SANE and to track judicial process related to sexual assault in the Tulsa community. Specific dimensions for evaluation include psychological, medical, forensic, legal, professional and community indicators.

For more information, contact any of the co-directors or the project manager.

If you are in need of immediate assistance, please dial 911. For additional assistance, see the section on Additional Assistance.

Co-directors and Members

Co-directors:

Joanne Davis, Ph.D. Psychology
Lara Foley, Ph.D., Sociology
Elana Newman, Ph.D., Psychology
Kathleen Strunk, RN, MS, CNS, Nursing

Project Manager:

Stephanie Lee

Community Partners:

Kathleen Bell
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
Tulsa Police Department  

Advisory Board

Christine Marsh, LCSW

Family & Children's Services
Director of Child Abuse Services

Laura Pitman, Ph.D.

Deputy Chief Mental Health Officer

Gail Lapidus, ACSW, LCSW, LMFT

Family & Children's Mental Health Care

Kate Reeves, JD

Family Safety Center

Corporal Tom Milburn, JD

Tulsa Police Department
Family Violence Unit

Elsa Hernandez, Ph.D.

Laureate Psychiatric Clinic & Hospital

Deborah Lowen, M.D.

Children's Justice Center

Annie van Hanken

Educare

Breanna Vollmers, JD

Tulsa County District Attorney's Office
Assistant District Attorney

Missy Iski, MA, LPC, LMFT, NCC

Domestic Violence Intervention Services
Director of Programs and Counseling  

Research

Joanne Davis, Ph.D. Psychology

Dr. Davis was recently awarded funding to support a research project entitled Mitigating the Effects of Sexual Assault and Rape. The purpose of this project is to improve the mental and physical health of recent sexual assault survivors through a brief psychological intervention and identification of genetic markers of vulnerability. Both graduate and undergraduate students will aid Dr. Davis in collecting and processing information for this study, including the TITAN project manager, Marsha Siebenmorgen. Currently, Rachael Swopes, a clinical psychology graduate student, and Jennifer Allen and Rachel Lee, both psychology undergraduate students, are working on this project with Dr. Davis.

Lara Foley, Ph.D., Sociology

Dr. Foley and a team of undergraduate researchers are tracking cases of sexual assault through the criminal justice system in order to better understand the factors that lead to successful prosecution of sexual assault cases. Dr. Foley also continues to work on research that predates TITAN, but will be vital to future grant proposals for the institute. Based on more than 50 interviews with SANE coordinators around the country, extensive participant observation, and textual analysis, she is exploring the ways in which SANEs frame their role in the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) and their relationship with other agencies in the SART, how SANE programs construct or frame victims and perpetrators of sexual assault compared to other agencies, the negotiation and balancing of “providing quality health care” and “collecting forensic evidence”, and the ways that SANEs construct privacy in the sexual assault exam.

Elana Newman, Ph.D., Psychology

Dr. Newman, along with Noelle Balliet, a clinical psychology graduate student, and Kathy Bell, RN, from the SANE program, are the primary investigators for the Dangerousness Assessment Project. This project is an archival analysis of data from 1200 medical domestic violence exams collected from 2006 to 2008. Initial analyses will focus on identifying predictors of severe injuries and the utility of the Danger Assessment Instrument (Campbell, 1986). As of now, efforts are focused on constructing the database for future analyses.
-Campbell, J. C. (1986). Nursing assessment for risk of homicide with battered women. Advances in Nursing Science, 8, 36-51.

Kathleen Strunk, RN, MS, CNS, Nursing

Kathleen Strunk, from the School of Nursing, is currently completing a literature review investigating the turnover rate and job stability of nurses in programs such as SANE. She is specifically examining characteristics such as personality, organizational empowerment, and job satisfaction as predictors for long-term employment in what is considered by most to be a highly stressful occupation.

If you are interested in learning more about any of these research projects, please contact the principal investigator above or the TITAN project manager, Stephanie Lee. 

 

Posters and Presentations

PDF of TITAN posters and presentations

 

Additional Assistance

Oklahoma Safeline - 1-800-522-7233 (SAFE)

Oklahoma Safeline - Oklahoma City Metro Area - 522-7233 (SAFE)

National Domestic Violence Hotline - 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE)

Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network Hotline - 1-800-656-4673 (HOPE)
www.rainn.org

Communication Services for the Deaf -1-800-252-1017 (TTY)
1-866-845-7445 (Voice)

Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (M-F/9-5)
www.ocadvsa.org

Domestic Violence Intervention Services/Call Rape
4300 S. Harvard, Suite 100
Tulsa, OK 74135
918-585-3163
Crisis: 918-585-3143
Sapulpa: 918-224-9290

Altus - ACMI House - 800-466-3805

Bartlesville - Family Crisis & Counseling Center - 800-814-1188

Chickasha - Women's Service & Family Resource Center - 800-734-4117
(in state only)

Claremore - Safenet Services - 888-372-9400

Duncan - Women's Haven - 877-970-4357

Enid - YWCA Enid - 800-966-7644

Idabel - SOS For Families - 888-286-3369

Miami - Community Crisis Center - 800-400-0883

Okmulgee - Okmulgee County Family Resource Center - 877-756-2545

Poteau - Women's Crisis Services - 800-230-9799

Seminole - Family Resource Center - 800-373-5608

Shawnee - Project Safe - 800-821-9953

Stigler - KI BOIS Women's Shelter - 877-810-5637

Stillwater - Stillwater Domestic Violence Services - 800-624-3020

Tahlequah - Help In Crisis - 800-300-5321 (in state only)

Woodward - NW Domestic Crisis Service - 888-256-1215

 

Please see additional links:


http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/publications/bulletins/sane_4_2001/welcome.html
Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime

http://www.forensicnurse.org/
International Association of Forensic Nurses

http://www.sane-sart.com/
provided by Sexual Assault Resource Service

http://www.istss.org/
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies