Prof. Yael Lahav

Department of Occupational Therapy

חוג לריפוי בעיסוק סגל אקדמי בכיר

Email: yaellah1@tauex.tau.ac.il

Phone: 03-6405438

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Psychological Trauma Research Lab

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Office: Health Professions, 319

Biography

Yael Lahav is a licensed clinical psychologist and an associate professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Tel Aviv University, Israel.

In her PhD dissertation, she explored the relations between interpersonal and somatic facets among former prisoners of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Since she received her PhD, Dr. Lahav has completed two post-doctoral periods, at the University of Southern Denmark, and subsequently at Stanford University, after receiving the prestige Fulbright Scholarship.

Prof. Lahav is the Head of the psychological trauma research lab. Her research focuses on uncovering the mechanisms underlying post-traumatic distress following interpersonal and ongoing traumatic events, such as captivity, domestic violence, as well as sexual, physical, and emotional abuse during childhood, as well as on the victim-perpetrator dynamics, known as identification with the aggressor.

Research

Psychological trauma is pervasive in societies worldwide and is associated with substantial costs to the individual and society, making it a global public health concern. Prof. Lahav investigates the implications of interpersonal and ongoing traumatic events, such as was captivity, domestic violence, as well as sexual, physical, and emotional abuse during childhood.

In her research Prof. Lahav strives to uncover the mechanisms at the basis of the relations between trauma exposure and various outcomes, including psychological distress and psychopathology (e.g., PTSD, depression, suicidality), somatic and physical health difficulties (e.g., chronic pain, morbidity, somatization) as well as functional difficulties (e.g., vocational, social, and familial functioning).

In addition, her research revolves around the interpersonal processes involved in the victim-perpetrator dynamics, known as identification with the aggressor.

Publications

T. Greene, Y. Lahav, I. Bronstein, Z. Solomon. The role of ex-POWs’ PTSD symptoms and trajectories in wives’ secondary traumatization. Journal of Family Psychology, Vol. 28(5), pp. 666-674, 2014.

Y. Lahav, Y. Kanat-Maymon, Z. Solomon. Secondary traumatization and attachment among wives of former POWs: A longitudinal study. Attachment & Human Development, Vol.18(2), pp. 1-13, 2015.

Y. Lahav, R. Rodin, Z. Solomon. Somatic complaints and attachment in former prisoners of war: A longitudinal study. Psychiatry- Interpersonaland Biological Processes, Vol. 78(4), pp. 354-366, 2015.

T. E. Andersen, Y. Lahav, R. Defrin, M. Mikulincer, Z. Solomon. Attachment, security and pain - The disrupting effect of captivity and PTSS. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Vol. 79(6), pp. 471-476, 2015.

T. Greene, Y. Lahav, Y. Kanat-Maymon, Z. Solomon. A longitudinal study of Secondary posttraumatic growth in wives of ex-POWs. Psychiatry- Interpersonal and Biological Processes, Vol. 78(2), pp. 186-197, 2015.

I. Bronstein, Y. Levin, Y. Lahav, Z. Solomon. World assumptions among wives of former prisoners of war. Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 37(12), pp. 1746-1767, 2016.

Y. Lahav, Z. Solomon, Y. Levin. Posttraumatic growth and perceived health: The role of posttraumatic stress symptoms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, Vol. 86(6), pp. 693-703, 2016.

A. Elklit, K. Karen-Inge., Y. Lahav, T. Andersen. Attachment and posttraumatic stress disorder in multiple trauma samples. Journal of Psychiatry, 19(3), 370, 2016, doi:10.4172/2378-5756.1000370

Y. Lahav, J. Y. Stein, Z. Solomon. Keeping a healthy distance: Self-differentiation and perceived health among ex-POWs' wives. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Vol. 89, pp. 61-68, 2016.

Y. Lahav, A. Elklit. The cycle of healing - dissociation and attachment during treatment of CSA survivors. Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol. 60, pp. 67-76, 2016.

Y. Lahav, E. Bellin, Z. Solomon. Posttraumatic growth and shattered world assumptions among ex-POWs: The role of dissociation. Psychiatry- Interpersonal and Biological Processes, Vol. 79, pp. 418-432, 2016.

L. Crompton, Y. Lahav, Z. Solomon. Auditory hallucinations and PTSD in ex-POWs. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, Vol. 18(5), pp. 663-678, 2016.

R. Defrin, Y. Lahav, Z. Solomon. (2017). Dysfunctional pain modulation in trauma survivors: the mediating effect of PTSD. Journal of Pain, Vol. 18(1), pp. 1-10, 2017.

J. Y. Stein, Y. Lahav, Z. Solomon. Self-disclosing trauma and post-traumatic stress symptoms in couples: A longitudinal study. Psychiatry- Interpersonal and Biological Processes, Vol. 80(1), pp. 79-91, 2017.

Y. Lahav, Y. Levin, M. Bensimon, Y. Kanat-Maymon, Z. Solomon. Secondary traumatization and differentiation among ex-POWs' wives: a reciprocal association. Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 30(4), pp. 399-408, 2017.

T. E. Andersen, Y. Lahav, H. Ellegaard, C. Manniche. A randomized controlled trial of brief somatic-experiencing for chronic back pain. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol. 8, pp. 1-9, 2017.

Y. Lahav, Y. Kanat-Maymon, Z. Solomon. Posttraumatic growth and dyadic adjustment among war veterans and their wives. Frontiers in Psychology, Vol. 8, pp. 1102, 2017.

N. Tsur, G. Shahar, R. Defrin, Y. Lahav, K. Ginzburg. Torturing personification of chronic pain in torture survivors. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, Vol. 99, pp. 155-161, 2017.

S. Navon, J. Meyerson, Y. Lahav. Two-Track Differentiation Paradigm in Psychotherapy. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, Vol. 48(1), pp. 27-32, 2017.

N. Tsur, R. Defrin, Y. Lahav, Z. Solomon. The traumatized body: Long-term PTSD and its implications for the orientation towards bodily signals. Psychiatry Research, Vol. 261, pp. 281-289, 2018.

S. L. Ravn, M. Sterling, Y. Lahav, T. E. Andersen. Reciprocal associations of pain and post-traumatic stress symptoms after whiplash injury: A longitudinal, cross-lagged study. European Journal of Pain, Vol. 22(5), pp. 926-934, 2018.

Y. Lahav, S. Avidor, J. Y. Stein, X. Zhou, Z. Solomon. Telomere length and Depression among Ex-Prisoners-of-War: The Role of Subjective Age. Journals of Gerontology B Psychol Sci Soc Sci, Vol. 00, pp.1-9, 2018.

Y. Lahav, A. Siegel, Z. Solomon. Twofold Trauma Exposure – The Dual Function of Attachment Avoidance. Attachment & Human Development, Vol. 20(5), pp. 514-531, 2018.

J. Y. Stein, Y. Levin, Y. Lahav, O. Uziel, H. Abumock, Z. Solomon. Perceived social support, loneliness and later life telomere length following wartime captivity. Health Psychology, Vol. 37(11), pp. 1067-1076, 2018.

Y. Lahav, K. D. Renshaw, Z. Solomon. (2018). Domestic Abuse and Forgiveness among Military Spouses. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, Vol. 28(2), pp. 243-260, 2018.

Y. Lahav, A. Talmon, K. Ginzburg, D. Spiegel. Reenacting Past Abuse – Identification with the Aggressor and Sexual Revictimization. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, Vol. 20(4), pp. 378-391, 2019.

Y. Lahav, N. Price, L. Crompton, A. Laufer, Z. Solomon. Sexual satisfaction in spouses of ex-POWs: The role of PTSD symptoms and self-differentiation. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, Vol. 45(8), pp. 755-766, 2019.

Y. Lahav, K. Ginzburg, D. Spiegel. (2019). Posttraumatic Growth, Dissociation and Sexual Revictimization in Female Childhood Sexual Abuse Survivors. Child Maltreatment, 2019.

Y. Lahav, A. Talmon, K. Ginzburg. Knowing the abuser inside and out: The development and psychometric evaluation of the Identification with the Aggressor Scale. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2019.

Y. Lahav, Z. Solomon, A. Siegel, N. Tsur, R. Defrin. Punishing the Self: Posttraumatic Guilt mediates the link between trauma and deficient pain modulation. Journal of Pain, 2019.

A. Gewirtz-Meydan, Y. Lahav, W. Walsh, D. Finkelhor. Psychopathology among adult survivors of child pornography. Child Abuse & Neglect, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.104189