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Mountains in Clouds

Maladaptive daydreaming Researchers

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

ICMDR Board   

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Eli Somer, Ph.D.

ICMDR founder and senior researcher

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Nirit Soffer Dudek, Ph.D.

ICMDR scientific director

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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

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Meta Regis, PhD

Author of 'Daydreams and the Function of Fantasy'.

Independent researcher, Sydney, Australia

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Naomi Halpern, CQSW

Delphi Training and Consulting

Australia

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Rachael Haynes, PhD

Charles Sturt University, New South Wales

Australia 

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   Brazil   

Ramiro F. Catelan, PhD

Clinical Psychologist 

Institute of Psychiatry, Federal

University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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   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

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Clare Mitchell, MD FRCPC

Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry,

Western University The Child and Parent Resource Institute 

London, Ontario, Canada

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   Czech Republic   

Andrej Drbohlav, Ph.D

IBSARO - Institute of Behavioral Studies

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   Greece   

Gregoris Simos, M.D, PhD

Professor of Psychopathology

Head Department of Educational and Social Policy,

University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece

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   Hungary   

Judit Molnár, PhD

Faculty of General Medicine,

University of Debrecen, Hungary

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Alexandra Sándor, PhD student

Faculty of General Medicine,

University of Debrecen, Hungary

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Ágnes Zsila, PhD

Department of Personality and Clinical Psychology,

Institute of Psychology,

Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Hungary

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   India   

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

Psychology Lecturer, Amity University, Mumbai, India.

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   Israel   

Nirit Soffer Dudek, PhD

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

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Nitzan Theodor-Katz, PhD student

The Consciousness of Psychopathology Lab,

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

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Ori Meidan, MA student

The Consciousness of Psychopathology Lab

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

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Eli Somer, PhD

Clinical Professor Emeritus of Psychology,

School of Social Work,
University of Haifa, Israel

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Liora Somer, MA 

Somer Psychotherapy and Research

Haifa, Israel

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Oren Herscu. PhD

School of Social Work
University of Haifa, Israel

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Hisham Abu-Rayya, PhD

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

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Asaf Federman, PhD

The Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology,

The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel

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Yael Barda, MA student

School of Social Work

University of Haifa, Israel

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   Italy   

Adriano Schimmenti, PhD

Professor of Psychopathology
UKE Kore University of Enna, Italy

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Alessandro Musetti, PhD

Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries,

University of Parma, Italy

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Alessia Marino, MA 

Istituto Italiano di Psicoterapia Psicoanalitica, Palermo

Italian Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Italy

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Erika Ferrante, MA

Istituto Italiano di Psicoterapia Psicoanalitica, Palermo

Italian Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, Italy

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   Poland   

Igor Pietkiewicz, PhD

Head of the Research Center for Trauma and Dissociation,

SWPS University of Social Sciences & Humanities, Katowice, Poland

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Mateusz BarÅ‚óg, PhD

Department of Psychology

Medical University of Lublin, Poland

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  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

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   Sweden   

David M. Clavertz, PhD

Department of Psychology

Lund University, Sweden

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   Switzerland   

Daniela Jopp, PhD

Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences,

University of Lausanne, Switzerland

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   Turkey   

Barış Metin, MD

Professor of neurology and psychology,

Uskudar University, Turkey

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Buse Göçmen, PhD student

Clinical Psychotherapist, Brain Goals Psychology Center.

Department of Neuroscience, Uskudar University, Turkey

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   UK   

Amy Lucas, DClinPsy

Salomons Institute of Applied Psychology,

Canterbury Christ Church University, UK

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Tamsin Owen, DClinPsy

Evelina London Children's Hospital,

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

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Tammy Hedderly, MD

Evelina London Children's Hospital,

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

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   USA   

Colin A. Ross, MD

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

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Hildy J. Wen, BA

Independent researcher

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

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Jayne Bigelsen, LLB, MA

Independent researcher

New York City, NY, USA

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Paula S. Thomson PhD

Professor, Clinical Psychologist

The Department of Kinesiology,

California State University,

Northridge, USA

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Victoria Jaque PhD

Co-director of the Exercise and Psychophysiology laboratory. 

California State University,

Northridge, USA

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Graduated ICMDR Research Students   

Click on the thesis title to read its abstract

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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.

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Amy Lucas, DClinPsy

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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