The CDASR Mission
Stress is an unavoidable side effect of living, and the accelerating pace of modern life only increases that stress. When stress is high enough, it can cause anxiety or drive us into depression. At the McLean Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Research (CDASR), our mission is to help with this problem: we want to better understand, prevent, and treat symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress so that —as individuals and as a society — we can be better balanced, more productive, and happier. With this goal in mind, at CDASR we are pursuing several lines of research. While the specific studies evolve over time, several core themes guide our work:
- We examine the conditions that make depression and anxiety more likely—this includes external stress, but also genetic factors, certain behaviors, and cognitive styles (patterns of thinking) that may raise the risk for problems;
- We investigate the psychological and neural mechanisms that may lead to increased anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress symptoms, or that change as a consequence of them;
- We study psychotherapy and other interventions to understand how they work, for whom they work best, and how they can be optimized to treat – and ideally prevent – anxiety and depression;
- We develop and test new cognitive and neuromodulation approaches to target symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress.
To succeed in this work, we use a wide variety of methods. One of our most powerful tools is simply listening: through detailed interviews and questionnaires, we learn about the specific challenges people are facing. Other tools are more complex and include behavioral experiments, computational models, brain imaging, physiological measures (e.g., heart rate), and smartphone apps that capture how depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms unfold in daily life. Ultimately, our tools are a means to an end: at CDASR, we are doing what we can to help all of us prevent, manage, and overcome depression, anxiety, stress, and the enduring effects of trauma—that is our primary mission.
Christian Webb, PhD