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Paula Thomson, PsyD (she/her/hers)

Professor / Clinical Psychologist
California State University Northridge
Studio City, California, United States

Paula Thomson, PsyD, is Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and works in private practice in California with a specialization in treating complex trauma. She is Co-Director of the Performance Psychophysiology Laboratory at CSUN where they investigate the psychophysiological effects of stress on performing artists, athletes, and healthy control participants. Several current and ongoing research studies include investigating the risk and protective factors of stress and traumatic exposure, the effects of abuse perpetrated by coaches and teachers, heart rate variability and dysautonomia, ethnic diversity related to flow, creative processing, adversity and coping strategies, and climate change anxiety. She is Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar at York University’s Departments of Theatre and Graduate Studies (Canada). She is a reliable Adult Attachment Interview coder and actively conducts research investigating attachment, early trauma, and creativity. She is the co-author of two books, Creativity and the Performing Artist: Behind the Mask and Creativity, Trauma, and Resilience and author of multiple chapters and peer-reviewed articles. She is a Fellow with the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation and a member of the Mental Health Working Group with the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science. She was a professional dancer and continues work as choreographer and movement coach in dance, theatre, and opera. Past professional choreographic company work includes Canadian Opera Company, Canadian Stage Company, Stratford Shakespearean Festival, Northern Lights Dance Theatre, Ballet Jorgen, UCLA On the Edge of Chaos., and LACPA Theater of the Mind. In 2013, she was named one of the top 20 female professors in California.

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