Damion J. Grasso
Associate Professor
Psychiatry
Education/Professional Certification
B.A. Skidmore College, Psychology
M.A. Wesleyan University. General Psychology
Ph.D. University of Delaware, Clinical Psychology
Expertise
Biobehavioral mechanisms, trauma and stress-related disorders in children
Biography
Damion Grasso, Ph.D. a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UConn Health with a secondary appointment in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Grasso’s research broadly focuses on understanding biobehavioral mechanisms involved in trauma- and stress-related disorders in children and effective strategies for assessing and treating trauma-related impairment. He co-leads the UConn Health Family Adversity and Resilience Research (FARR) Program and provides evidence-based psychotherapy interventions for treating trauma-related disorders in the UConn Health Psychological Trauma Clinic.
Dr. Grasso provides trauma-informed clinical assessment and psychotherapy within the UConn Health Psychological Trauma Clinic, a faculty clinic that treats children and adolescents presenting with trauma-related psychopathology, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The clinic is equipped to provide trauma-informed diagnostic assessment and several evidence-based, behavioral treatment models (e.g., Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Prolonged Exposure, Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Treatment and Education).
Dr. Grasso’s research broadly focuses on understanding biobehavioral mechanisms involved in trauma- and stress-related disorders in children and effective strategies for assessing and treating trauma-related impairment. Current and past research are summarized by four foci: (1) Biological and environmental mechanisms associated with violence- and trauma-related stress reactivity in children; (2) Cumulative patterns of exposure to adversity, trauma and associated risk of psychopathology and impairment; (3) Screening and assessment of adversity and associated symptoms; and (4) Psychosocial interventions for treating trauma-related symptoms across the lifespan. Primary research projects include a study examining physiological and epigenetic mechanisms explaining the intergenerational transmission of trauma-related risk in pregnant women and their infants offspring funded by the National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD: 1 R21 HD090379-01A1), a NARSAD award from the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, and a Patterson Trust Fellowship Award. Dr. Grasso is also a dual principal investigator with Dr. Margaret Briggs-Gowan on a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH; 1 U01 MH113390-01A1) to examine biological and behavioral mechanisms explaining linkages between early violence exposure, stress reactivity, and psychiatric symptoms in young children; i.e., the Adaptation and Resilience in Childhood Study (ARCS). Research and clinical training opportunities for these studies are available.
