Megan Holmes, PhD

Dr. Holmes is an Assistant Professor and Founding Director of the Center on Trauma and Adversity. She has over 10 years of clinical practice and research experience working in the field of child exposure to domestic violence and child maltreatment. The overarching goal of her research is to contribute to the optimal development of children who have been exposed to domestic violence by identifying risk and protective factors that will be translated into interventions.
Dr. Holmes’s research indicates that there are sensitive or critical developmental periods, particularly before the age of 5 years, when domestic violence exposure has a significant negative effect on children’s behavioral and mental health outcomes. However her research also shows that nearly 40% of children exposed to domestic violence have resilient social and emotional development, which can be attributed to protective factors experienced by these children.
Building on this research, she published a white paper about the effects of domestic violence exposure on children and identified recommendations for how the state of Ohio can better serve these children. One of these recommendations was linking systems of care for victimized children, which lead to a partnership with the Ohio Attorney General’s office in a Department of Justice-funded demonstration project aimed to identify and promote healing for victims of crime, coordinate prevention and intervention services to youth and families experiencing trauma and victimization, and build capacity within communities to meet the needs of youth exposed to violence. The goal of her future research is to develop an intervention that fosters resilience among siblings exposed.


Teaching Interests

Doctoral Student Mentoring
Dr. Holmes is passionate about her ongoing work with the Mandel School doctoral and master’s students. She provides multiple training opportunities to learn essential research and scholarship skills to facilitate the development of becoming a productive independent scholar. For example, under the mentorship of Dr. Holmes students obtain authorship on publications; learn the process of grant writing; present research at national conferences; and develop their own clear independent research and scholarship plan. Her federal grants provide funded research opportunities to her students. She also welcomes the opportunity for doctoral students to participate in a teaching mentorship for her current courses.



Courses Taught

SASS 477. Direct Practice Foundation Methods and Skills
SASS 549. Theory and Practice Approaches in Direct Practice Social Work
SASS 555. Women’s Issues
SASS 631. Job Seekers Seminar




Research Information

Research Interests


Intimate partner violence exposure
Child maltreatment
Sibling relationships and maternal parenting
Early childhood development




Research Projects

Using her clinical experience with families from domestic violence households to set the foundation for her research, the overarching goal of Dr. Holmes’s work is to contribute to the optimal development of children who have been exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) by identifying risk and protective factors that will be translated into interventions.
In Spring 2017, Dr. Holmes published three new documents on her research for the HealthPath Foundation:

Impact of Domestic Violence Exposure: Recommendations to Better Serve Ohio’s Children. This full report details the short- and long-term effects on children, the impact of domestic violence on parenting, the impact of the legal system on children and families, and the economic impact. It also includes interventions for a variety of ages and situations and the recommendations on what Ohio can do to better serve its children.
Executive Summary: This stand-alone document highlights the findings of the report and gives a brief outline of the recommendations.
Research Methodology: This document explains the research methods and how calculations were made for the report.

Education



Doctor of Philosophy 
University of California, Los Angeles




Master of Social Work
 
University of California, Los Angeles




Bachelor of Arts
 
San Diego State University