Ilan Harpaz-Rotem, PhD

Research Interests

Afghanistan; Iraq; Mental Health Services; Psychiatry; Psychotherapy; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Veterans

Research Organizations

Psychiatry: Mental Health Services Research, Division of | Psychology Section | VA National Center for PTSD | VA-Yale Clinical Neurosciences PTSD Research Program

Faculty Research

Office of Cooperative Research

Research Summary

My research interests lie in three primary areas: (1) Psychological Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in children and adults, (2) Mental Health Service Research and Psychotherapy Outcome Research and (3) Attachment in Adolescence and Early Adulthood. My current work is focused, primarily, on the efficacy of treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder and the failure of many American soldiers to engage in recommended psychiatric treatment when they return from deployment in Iraq (Operation Iraq Freedom) and Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom). Other ongoing research projects include: the assessment of the effectiveness of Seeking Safety intervention implemented in 11 VA sites nationwide among traumatized female veterans, an evaluation of the predictors and effectiveness of Risperidone Consta (IM) vs oral intake in the treatment of Schizophrenia within the VA healthcare system, and an investigation of youth addiction and mental health problems and their association to attachment to primary caregivers and romantic partners.

Selected Publications

• Duration of pharmacotherapy with long-acting injectable risperidone in the treatment of schizophrenia.

  Mohamed S, Rosenheck R, Harpaz-Rotem I, Leslie D, Sernyak MJ. Duration of Pharmacotherapy with Long-Acting Injectable Risperidone in the Treatment of Schizophrenia. Psychiatr Q. 2009 Sep 19. [Epub ahead of print]

• A pathway to therapeutic change: changes in self-representation in the treatment of adolescents and young adults.

  Harpaz-Rotem I, Blatt SJ. A pathway to therapeutic change: changes in self-representation in the treatment of adolescents and young adults. Psychiatry. 2009 Spring;72(1):32-49.

Full List of PubMed Publications

• Watkins LE, Sippel LM, Pietrzak RH, Hoff R, Harpaz-Rotem I: Clinically Significant Change in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Is Associated With Lower Levels of Aggression After Residential Treatment Discharge. J Trauma Stress. 2018 Apr; 2018 Mar 30. PMID: 29603388
• Krystal JH, Abdallah CG, Pietrzak RH, Averill LA, Harpaz-Rotem I, Levy I, Kelmendi B, Southwick SM: Locus Coeruleus Hyperactivity in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Answers and Questions. Biol Psychiatry. 2018 Feb 1. PMID: 29277190
• Logue MW, van Rooij SJH, Dennis EL, Davis SL, Hayes JP, Stevens JS, Densmore M, Haswell CC, Ipser J, Koch SBJ, Korgaonkar M, Lebois LAM, Peverill M, Baker JT, Boedhoe PSW, Frijling JL, Gruber SA, Harpaz-Rotem I, Jahanshad N, Koopowitz S, Levy I, Nawijn L, O'Connor L, Olff M, Salat DH, Sheridan MA, Spielberg JM, van Zuiden M, Winternitz SR, Wolff JD, Wolf EJ, Wang X, Wrocklage K, Abdallah CG, Bryant RA, Geuze E, Jovanovic T, Kaufman ML, King AP, Krystal JH, Lagopoulos J, Bennett M, Lanius R, Liberzon I, McGlinchey RE, McLaughlin KA, Milberg WP, Miller MW, Ressler KJ, Veltman DJ, Stein DJ, Thomaes K, Thompson PM, Morey RA: Smaller Hippocampal Volume in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Multisite ENIGMA-PGC Study: Subcortical Volumetry Results From Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Consortia. Biol Psychiatry. 2018 Feb 1; 2017 Sep 20. PMID: 29217296
• Mota NP, Han S, Harpaz-Rotem I, Maruff P, Krystal JH, Southwick SM, Gelernter J, Pietrzak RH: Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism, trauma burden, and posttraumatic stress symptoms in U.S. military veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Depress Anxiety. 2018 Feb; 2017 Nov 24. PMID: 29172227
• Sippel LM, Han S, Watkins LE, Harpaz-Rotem I, Southwick SM, Krystal JH, Olff M, Sherva R, Farrer LA, Kranzler HR, Gelernter J, Pietrzak RH: Oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms, attachment, and PTSD: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. J Psychiatr Res. 2017 Nov; 2017 Jul 8. PMID: 28715704
• Doran JM, Pietrzak RH, Hoff R, Harpaz-Rotem I: Psychotherapy Utilization and Retention in a National Sample of Veterans With PTSD. J Clin Psychol. 2017 Oct; 2017 Feb 10. PMID: 28186638
• Smith NB, Tsai J, Pietrzak RH, Cook JM, Hoff R, Harpaz-Rotem I: Differential predictive value of PTSD symptom clusters for mental health care among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans following PTSD diagnosis. Psychiatry Res. 2017 Oct; 2017 Jun 14. PMID: 28622572
• Pietrzak RH, Pitts BL, Harpaz-Rotem I, Southwick SM, Whealin JM: Factors protecting against the development of suicidal ideation in military veterans. World Psychiatry. 2017 Oct. PMID: 28941099
• Krystal JH, Abdallah CG, Averill LA, Kelmendi B, Harpaz-Rotem I, Sanacora G, Southwick SM, Duman RS: Synaptic Loss and the Pathophysiology of PTSD: Implications for Ketamine as a Prototype Novel Therapeutic. Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2017 Aug 26; 2017 Aug 26. PMID: 28844076
• Thomas MM, Harpaz-Rotem I, Tsai J, Southwick SM, Pietrzak RH: Mental and Physical Health Conditions in US Combat Veterans: Results From the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Prim Care Companion CNS Disord. 2017 Jun 22; 2017 Jun 22. PMID: 28657698
• Smith NB, Doran JM, Sippel LM, Harpaz-Rotem I: Fear extinction and memory reconsolidation as critical components in behavioral treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder and potential augmentation of these processes. Neurosci Lett. 2017 May 10; 2017 Jan 5. PMID: 28065842
• Wrocklage KM, Averill LA, Cobb Scott J, Averill CL, Schweinsburg B, Trejo M, Roy A, Weisser V, Kelly C, Martini B, Harpaz-Rotem I, Southwick SM, Krystal JH, Abdallah CG: Cortical thickness reduction in combat exposed U.S. veterans with and without PTSD. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2017 May; 2017 Mar 6. PMID: 28279623
• Tsai J, Hoff RA, Harpaz-Rotem I: One-year incidence and predictors of homelessness among 300,000 U.S. Veterans seen in specialty mental health care. Psychol Serv. 2017 May. PMID: 28481605
• Watkins LE, Sippel LM, Pietrzak RH, Hoff R, Harpaz-Rotem I: Co-occurring aggression and suicide attempt among veterans entering residential treatment for PTSD: The role of PTSD symptom clusters and alcohol misuse. J Psychiatr Res. 2017 Apr; 2016 Dec 9. PMID: 27984702
• Sippel LM, Allington CE, Pietrzak RH, Harpaz-Rotem I, Mayes LC, Olff M: Oxytocin and Stress-related Disorders: Neurobiological Mechanisms and Treatment Opportunities. Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2017 Feb; 2017 Feb 17. PMID: 28649672
• Kalkstein S, Scott JC, Biester R, Brownlow JA, Harpaz-Rotem I, Gur RC: Comparison of blast-exposed OEF/OIF veterans with and without a history of TBI symptoms on a brief computerized neuropsychological battery. Appl Neuropsychol Adult. 2017 Jan-Feb; 2016 Apr 4. PMID: 27045712
• Averill LA, Abdallah CG, Pietrzak RH, Averill CL, Southwick SM, Krystal JH, Harpaz-Rotem I: Combat Exposure Severity is Associated with Reduced Cortical Thickness in Combat Veterans: A Preliminary Report. Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2017 Jan; 2017 Aug 22. PMID: 28845475
• Isaacs K, Mota NP, Tsai J, Harpaz-Rotem I, Cook JM, Kirwin PD, Krystal JH, Southwick SM, Pietrzak RH: Psychological resilience in U.S. military veterans: A 2-year, nationally representative prospective cohort study. J Psychiatr Res. 2017 Jan; 2016 Oct 22. PMID: 27814502
• Heinz AJ, Freeman MA, Harpaz-Rotem I, Pietrzak RH: American Military Veteran Entrepreneurs: A Comprehensive Profile of Demographic, Service History, and Psychosocial Characteristics. Mil Psychol. 2017. PMID: 29290645
• Watkins LE, Harpaz-Rotem I, Sippel LM, Krystal JH, Southwick SM, Pietrzak RH: Hostility and telomere shortening among U.S. military veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2016 Dec; 2016 Sep 15. PMID: 27689898
• Sippel LM, Mota NP, Kachadourian LK, Krystal JH, Southwick SM, Harpaz-Rotem I, Pietrzak RH: The burden of hostility in U.S. Veterans: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Psychiatry Res. 2016 Sep 30; 2016 Jun 25. PMID: 27450745
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck R, Mohamed S, Pietrzak R, Hoff R: Initiation of pharmacotherapy for post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan: a dimensional, symptom cluster approach. BJPsych Open. 2016 Sep; 2016 Sep 9. PMID: 27703791
• Rozanova J, Noulas P, Smart K, Roy A, Southwick SM, Davidson L, Harpaz-Rotem I: "I'm Coming Home, Tell the World I'm Coming Home". The Long Homecoming and Mental Health Treatment of Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans. Psychiatr Q. 2016 Sep. PMID: 26566926
• Ruderman L, Ehrlich DB, Roy A, Pietrzak RH, Harpaz-Rotem I, Levy I: POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS AND AVERSION TO AMBIGUOUS LOSSES IN COMBAT VETERANS. Depress Anxiety. 2016 Jul; 2016 Mar 21. PMID: 27000639
• Watkins LE, Han S, Harpaz-Rotem I, Mota NP, Southwick SM, Krystal JH, Gelernter J, Pietrzak RH: FKBP5 polymorphisms, childhood abuse, and PTSD symptoms: Results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2016 Jul; 2016 Apr 5. PMID: 27078785
• Tsai J, Pietrzak RH, Hoff RA, Harpaz-Rotem I: Accuracy of screening for posttraumatic stress disorder in specialty mental health clinics in the U.S. Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Psychiatry Res. 2016 Jun 30; 2016 Apr 21. PMID: 27107669
• Smith NB, Mota N, Tsai J, Monteith L, Harpaz-Rotem I, Southwick SM, Pietrzak RH: Nature and determinants of suicidal ideation among U.S. veterans: Results from the national health and resilience in veterans study. J Affect Disord. 2016 Jun; 2016 Mar 2. PMID: 26970267
• Desai MU, Pavlo AJ, Davidson L, Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck R: "I Want to Come Home": Vietnam-Era Veterans' Presenting for Mental Health Care, Roughly 40 Years After Vietnam. Psychiatr Q. 2016 Jun. PMID: 26156261
• Mota NP, Tsai J, Sareen J, Marx BP, Wisco BE, Harpaz-Rotem I, Southwick SM, Krystal JH, Pietrzak RH: High burden of subthreshold DSM-5 post-traumatic stress disorder in U.S. military veterans. World Psychiatry. 2016 Jun. PMID: 27265715
• Smith NB, Cook JM, Pietrzak R, Hoff R, Harpaz-Rotem I: Mental Health Treatment for Older Veterans Newly Diagnosed with PTSD: A National Investigation. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2016 Mar; 2015 Feb 11. PMID: 25772341
• Tsai J, Harpaz-Rotem I, Armour C, Southwick SM, Krystal JH, Pietrzak RH: Dimensional structure of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms: results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study. J Clin Psychiatry. 2015 May. PMID: 25562376
• Pietrzak RH, Averill LA, Abdallah CG, Neumeister A, Krystal JH, Levy I, Harpaz-Rotem I: Amygdala-hippocampal volume and the phenotypic heterogeneity of posttraumatic stress disorder: a cross-sectional study. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015 Apr. PMID: 25692480
• Pietrzak RH, Tsai J, Armour C, Mota N, Harpaz-Rotem I, Southwick SM: Functional significance of a novel 7-factor model of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms: results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans study. J Affect Disord. 2015 Mar 15; 2014 Dec 13. PMID: 25556669
• Tsai J, Elhai JD, Pietrzak RH, Hoff RA, Harpaz-Rotem I: Comparing four competing models of depressive symptomatology: a confirmatory factor analytic study of 986,647 U.S. veterans. J Affect Disord. 2014 Aug; 2014 May 4. PMID: 24882195
• Tsai J, Harpaz-Rotem I, Pilver CE, Wolf EJ, Hoff RA, Levy KN, Sareen J, Pietrzak RH: Latent class analysis of personality disorders in adults with posttraumatic stress disorder: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. J Clin Psychiatry. 2014 Mar. PMID: 24345427
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck RA, Pietrzak RH, Southwick SM: Determinants of prospective engagement in mental health treatment among symptomatic Iraq/Afghanistan veterans. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2014 Feb. PMID: 24469520
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Tsai J, Pietrzak RH, Hoff R: The dimensional structure of posttraumatic stress symptomatology in 323,903 U.S. veterans. J Psychiatr Res. 2014 Feb; 2013 Nov 8. PMID: 24275548
• El-Gabalawy R, Tsai J, Harpaz-Rotem I, Hoff R, Sareen J, Pietrzak RH: Predominant typologies of psychopathology in the United States: a latent class analysis. J Psychiatr Res. 2013 Nov; 2013 Aug 23. PMID: 23978394
• Decker SE, Rosenheck RA, Tsai J, Hoff R, Harpaz-Rotem I: Military sexual assault and homeless women veterans: clinical correlates and treatment preferences. Womens Health Issues. 2013 Nov-Dec. PMID: 24183412
• Tsai J, Lapidos A, Rosenheck RA, Harpaz-Rotem I: Longitudinal association of therapeutic alliance and clinical outcomes in supported housing for chronically homeless adults. Community Ment Health J. 2013 Aug; 2012 Jul 21. PMID: 22820927
• Tsai J, Rosenheck RA, Decker SE, Desai RA, Harpaz-Rotem I: Trauma experience among homeless female veterans: correlates and impact on housing, clinical, and psychosocial outcomes. J Trauma Stress. 2012 Dec. PMID: 23225030
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Libby D, Rosenheck RA: Psychotherapy use in a privately insured population of patients diagnosed with a mental disorder. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2012 Nov; 2012 Feb 16. PMID: 22349151
• Tsai J, Whealin JM, Scott JC, Harpaz-Rotem I, Pietrzak RH: Examining the relation between combat-related concussion, a novel 5-factor model of posttraumatic stress symptoms, and health-related quality of life in Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. J Clin Psychiatry. 2012 Aug; 2012 Jun 26. PMID: 22781019
• Tsai J, Harpaz-Rotem I, Pietrzak RH, Southwick SM: The role of coping, resilience, and social support in mediating the relation between PTSD and social functioning in veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Psychiatry. 2012 Summer. PMID: 22642433
• Pietrzak RH, Tsai J, Harpaz-Rotem I, Whealin JM, Southwick SM: Support for a novel five-factor model of posttraumatic stress symptoms in three independent samples of Iraq/Afghanistan veterans: a confirmatory factor analytic study. J Psychiatr Res. 2012 Mar; 2011 Dec 9. PMID: 22154134
• Tsai J, Pietrzak RH, Southwick SM, Harpaz-Rotem I: Examining the dimensionality of combat-related posttraumatic stress and depressive symptoms in treatment-seeking OEF/OIF/OND veterans. J Affect Disord. 2011 Dec; 2011 Jul 22. PMID: 21782249
• Pietrzak RH, Harpaz-Rotem I, Southwick SM: Cognitive-behavioral coping strategies associated with combat-related PTSD in treatment-seeking OEF-OIF Veterans. Psychiatry Res. 2011 Sep 30; 2011 Aug 2. PMID: 21813184
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck RA, Desai R: Residential treatment for homeless female veterans with psychiatric and substance use disorders: effect on 1-year clinical outcomes. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2011. PMID: 22068368
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck RA: Serving those who served: retention of newly returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan in mental health treatment. Psychiatr Serv. 2011 Jan. PMID: 21209295
• Mohamed S, Rosenheck R, Harpaz-Rotem I, Leslie D, Sernyak MJ: Duration of pharmacotherapy with long-acting injectable risperidone in the treatment of schizophrenia. Psychiatr Q. 2009 Dec; 2009 Sep 19. PMID: 19768543
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck RA: Tracing the flow of knowledge: geographic variability in the diffusion of prazosin use for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder nationally in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2009 Apr. PMID: 19349311
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Blatt SJ: A pathway to therapeutic change: changes in self-representation in the treatment of adolescents and young adults. Psychiatry. 2009 Spring. PMID: 19366293
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck RA, Mohamed S, Desai RA: Pharmacologic treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder among privately insured Americans. Psychiatr Serv. 2008 Oct. PMID: 18832505
• Desai RA, Harpaz-Rotem I, Najavits LM, Rosenheck RA: Impact of the seeking safety program on clinical outcomes among homeless female veterans with psychiatric disorders. Psychiatr Serv. 2008 Sep. PMID: 18757592
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Murphy RA, Berkowitz S, Marans S, Rosenheck RA: Clinical epidemiology of urban violence: responding to children exposed to violence in ten communities. J Interpers Violence. 2007 Nov. PMID: 17925294
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck RA, Desai R: The mental health of children exposed to maternal mental illness and homelessness. Community Ment Health J. 2006 Oct. PMID: 16404686
• Harpaz-Rotem I: Young people admitted with self-injury had more severe psychiatric disorders in 2000 than in 1990. Evid Based Ment Health. 2006 Feb. PMID: 16436566
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Bergman A: On an evolving theory of attachment: rapprochement-theory of a developing mind. Psychoanal Study Child. 2006. PMID: 17370459
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Blatt SJ: Changes in representations of a self-designated significant other in long-term intensive inpatient treatment of seriously disturbed adolescents and young adults. Psychiatry. 2005 Fall. PMID: 16253113
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Leslie DL, Martin A, Rosenheck RA: Changes in child and adolescent inpatient psychiatric admission diagnoses between 1995 and 2000. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2005 Aug; 2005 Aug 18. PMID: 16133747
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Hirst W: The earliest memory in individuals raised in either traditional and reformed kibbutz or outside the kibbutz. Memory. 2005 Jan. PMID: 15724907
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Leslie D, Rosenheck RA: Treatment retention among children entering a new episode of mental health care. Psychiatr Serv. 2004 Sep. PMID: 15345762
• Harpaz-Rotem I, Rosenheck RA: Changes in outpatient psychiatric diagnosis in privately insured children and adolescents from 1995 to 2000. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2004 Summer. PMID: 15039605

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