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Mountains in Clouds

Maladaptive daydreaming Researchers

Click on the researchers' names to find more information about them.

ICMDR Board   

Eli Somer, Ph.D.

ICMDR founder and senior researcher

Nirit Soffer Dudek, Ph.D.

ICMDR scientific director

Oren Herscu, Ph.D.

ICMDR executive director

Maladaptive daydreaming research groups   

 

Thirty-five researchers at various stages of their careers, originating from 13 different countries, have been studying maladaptive daydreaming. Below is the list of the ICMDR research groups by country.

   Australia   

Melina West Rogers, PhD

Psychologist, Writer & Researcher
The Mood and Mind Centre, Queensland, Australia

Meta Regis, PhD

Author of 'Daydreams and the Function of Fantasy'.

Independent researcher, Sydney, Australia

Naomi Halpern, CQSW

Delphi Training and Consulting

Australia

Rachael Haynes, PhD

Charles Sturt University, New South Wales

Australia 

   Brazil   

Ramiro F. Catelan, PhD

Clinical Psychologist 

Institute of Psychiatry, Federal

University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

   Canada   

Farah Abdulsatar, MD FRCPC FAAP 

Department of Paediatrics

London Health Science center, Children's Hospital

Thames Valley Children Centre

Children's Health Research Institute, Ontario, Canada

Clare Mitchell, MD FRCPC

Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry,

Western University The Child and Parent Resource Institute 

London, Ontario, Canada

   Czech Republic   

Andrej Drbohlav, Ph.D

IBSARO - Institute of Behavioral Studies

   Greece   

Gregoris Simos, M.D, PhD

Professor of Psychopathology

Head Department of Educational and Social Policy,

University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece

   Hungary   

Judit Molnár, PhD

Faculty of General Medicine,

University of Debrecen, Hungary

Alexandra Sándor, PhD student

Faculty of General Medicine,

University of Debrecen, Hungary

Ágnes Zsila, PhD

Department of Personality and Clinical Psychology,

Institute of Psychology,

Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Hungary

   India   

Mahimna Vyas, Ph.D. Candidate (University of Bolton)

Psychology Lecturer, Amity University, Mumbai, India.

   Israel   

Nirit Soffer Dudek, PhD

The Consciousness of Psychopathology Lab,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

Nitzan Theodor-Katz, PhD student

The Consciousness of Psychopathology Lab,

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

Ori Meidan, MA student

The Consciousness of Psychopathology Lab

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

Eli Somer, PhD

Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychology,

School of Social Work,
University of Haifa, Israel

Liora Somer, MA 

Somer Psychotherapy and Research

Haifa, Israel

Oren Herscu. PhD

School of Social Work
University of Haifa, Israel

Hisham Abu-Rayya, PhD

Professor of Social-Cultural Psychology
School of Social Work
University of Haifa, Israel

Asaf Federman, PhD

The Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology,

The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel

Yael Barda, MA student

School of Social Work

University of Haifa, Israel

   Italy   

Adriano Schimmenti, PhD

Professor of Psychopathology
UKE Kore University of Enna, Italy

Alessandro Musetti, PhD

Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries,

University of Parma, Italy

Alessia Marino, MA 

Istituto Italiano di Psicoterapia Psicoanalitica, Palermo

Italian Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Italy

Erika Ferrante, MA

Istituto Italiano di Psicoterapia Psicoanalitica, Palermo

Italian Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Italy

   Poland   

Igor Pietkiewicz, PhD

Head of the Research Center for Trauma and Dissociation,

SWPS University of Social Sciences & Humanities, Katowice, Poland

Anna Pyszkowska, PhD

​Department of Social Sciences 

Institute of Psychology, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland

Mateusz Barłóg, PhD

Department of Psychology

Medical University of Lublin, Poland

Ari Nowacki, M.A., PhD student

Department of Social Sciences 

Institute of Psychology, University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland

   Portugal   

Patrícia M. Pascoal, PhD

Associate Professor, Deputy Director of PhD in Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology and life sciences, Universidade Lusófona, Lisbon, Portugal

 

Shivani Atul Mansuklal, PhD student 
Invited Assistant Lecturer , First-Stage Researcher, HEI-Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab, School of Psychology and life sciences,
Universidade Lusófona, Lisbon, Portugal

   Sweden   

David M. Clavertz, PhD

Department of Psychology

Lund University, Sweden

   Switzerland   

Daniela Jopp, PhD

Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences,

University of Lausanne, Switzerland

   Turkey   

Barış Metin, MD

Professor of neurology and psychology,

Uskudar University, Turkey

Buse Göçmen, PhD student

Clinical Psychotherapist, Brain Goals Psychology Center.

Department of Neuroscience, Uskudar University, Turkey

Ezra Alper Tosun, M.A.

Clinical Neuropsychologist

Bahçeşehir University, Istanbul, Turkey.

   UK   

Amy Lucas, DClinPsy

Salomons Institute of Applied Psychology,

Canterbury Christ Church University, UK

Tamsin Owen, DClinPsy

Evelina London Children's Hospital,

Guy’s and St Thomas’ Private Healthcare and Kings College London, UK

Tammy Hedderly, MD

Evelina London Children's Hospital,

Guy’s and St Thomas’ Private Healthcare and Kings College London, UK

   USA   

Colin A. Ross, MD

The Colin A. Ross Institute,
Trauma Education Essentials,
Denton, Texas, USA

Hildy J. Wen, BA

Independent researcher

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Jayne Bigelsen, LLB, MA

Independent researcher

New York City, NY, USA

Paula S. Thomson PhD

Professor, Clinical Psychologist

The Department of Kinesiology,

California State University,

Northridge, USA

Victoria Jaque PhD

Co-director of the Exercise and Psychophysiology laboratory. 

California State University,

Northridge, USA

Graduated ICMDR Research Students   

Click on the thesis title to read its abstract

Oren Herscu, PhD

Dissertation title: Treatment for Maladaptive Daydreaming: A pioneering study on the development and evaluation of an online intervention based on mindfulness meditation and self-monitoring. University of Haifa, Israel.

Amy Lucas, DClinPsy

Thesis title: Understanding the lived experience of maladaptive daydreaming. Canterbury Christ Church University Salomons Institutes of Applied Psychology.

Almog Danieli, MA

Thesis title: Forever a Dreamer: A Qualitative Assessment of the Attention Experience Among Individuals with Maladaptive Daydreaming. Submitted to University of Haifa, Israel.

Gabrielle Small, MA

Publication title: Maladaptive Daydreaming and Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms: A confirmatory and exploratory investigation of shared mechanisms. Former student, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.

Zina Nsairy-Sliman, MA

Thesis title: The relationship between Childhood trauma, Dissociation and Maladaptive daydreaming among recovering substance use disorder patients. Submitted to University of Haifa, Israel.

Suha Meari-Amer, MA

Thesis title: Do family support and religiosity moderate the interconnections between maladaptive daydreaming and childhood trauma, emotional distress, and social problems? Submitted to University of Haifa, Israel.

Hikmat Knane, MA

Thesis title: The association between sexual abuse and psycho-social attributes among Israeli Arab females: Family support and religiosity as moderators and maladaptive daydreaming as a mediator. Submitted to University of Haifa, Israel.

Reut Brenner, MA

Thesis title: Personality Traits and Maladaptive Daydreaming: Fantasy Functions and Themes in a Multi-Country Sample. Submitted to University of Haifa, Israel.

Michal Harel, MA

Thesis title: The association between maladaptive daydreaming and obsessive-compulsive disorder: An examination of mediating mechanisms. Submitted University of Haifa, Israel.

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