Natalie Mota

• PSYC 4540 / 7310 - The Impact of Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress Across the Lifespan
• PSYC 7140 - Clinical Research Design

Dr. Natalie Mota is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology with secondary appointments in the Departments of Clinical Health Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba. She is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and previously held positions at the Crisis Response Centre and the Operational Stress Injury Clinic in Winnipeg, Manitoba through the Clinical Health Psychology Program in Shared Health. She graduated with a BA (Hons) from McGill University and completed her MA and PhD at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Mota then completed her residency at the University of Mississippi/GV (Sonny) Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and a research postdoctoral position at Yale University and the Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD (Clinical Neurosciences Division). She is the Director of the Recovery and Resilience AFter Trauma (RRAFT) Lab, where she and her team aim to understand factors that can mitigate the negative effects of traumatic stress.

• Postdoctoral associate, Traumatic Stress Studies, Yale University School of Medicine/Clinical Neurosciences Division of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs National Center for PTSD, 2015
• PhD (Clinical Psychology), University of Manitoba, 2014
• Pre-doctoral Psychology Resident, University of Mississippi Medical Center/G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 2014
• MA (Clinical Psychology), University of Manitoba, 2009
• BA Honours (Psychology), McGill University, 2006

Research interests

• Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder
• Resilience
• Women's mental health
• Occupational mental health
• Psychiatric epidemiology

Research summary

Dr. Mota’s research focuses on understanding the psychological and physical impacts of trauma in general, military, and first responder populations, and on studying resilience and recovery from trauma exposure. She is also interested in studying sex and gender differences in risk and protective factors for PTSD and related conditions, as well as the impacts of traumatic events that disproportionately impact women (e.g., birth trauma, sexual violence). The majority of Dr. Mota's research to date has been in the area of psychiatric epidemiology, and she is interested in using these findings to guide the development and evaluation of novel and improved prevention and treatment initiatives for trauma- and stressor-related disorders.

•  Sommer, J. L., Bolton, S. L., El-Gabalawy, R., Afifi, T. O., Sareen, J., & Mota, N. Protective factors for mental disorders among survivors of military sexual trauma: A Canadian population-based study. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. [in press].
• Pierce, S. K., Reynolds, K. A., Sommer, J. L., El-Gabalawy, R., Pietrzak, R. H., Sumner, J. A., & Mota, N. (2024). Maladaptive health factors as potential mediators for the association between posttraumatic stress disorder and cardiovascular disease: A sex-stratified analysis in the US adult population. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 177, 102-108.
• Muthumuni, N., Sommer, J. L., El-Gabalawy, R., Reynolds, K. A., & Mota, N. P. (2024). Evaluating the mental health status, help-seeking behaviors, and coping strategies of Canadian essential workers versus non-essential workers during COVID-19: a longitudinal study. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 37(3), 334-347.
• Mota, N., Sommer, J.L., Bolton, S.L., Enns, M.W., El-Gabalawy, R., Sareen, J., MacLean, M.B., Hall, A.L., Sudom, K., Silins, S., Garber, B. (2023). Prevalence and correlates of military sexual trauma in service members and veterans: Results from the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 68(9):682-90.
• Mota, N., Bolton, S.-L., Enns, M.W., …& Sareen, J. (2021). Course and predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder in the Canadian Armed Forces: A nationally representative, 16-year follow-up study. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 66(11):982-995.

• 2021 - Falconer Emerging Researcher Rh Award for Outstanding Contributions to Scholarship and Research in the Health Sciences category, University of Manitoba
• 2021 - Excellence in Teaching Award, Department of Clinical Health Psychology, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
• 2020 - Scientist-Practitioner Early Career Award (SPECA), Clinical Section of the Canadian Psychological Association
• 2015 - Selected to participate in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2015 Summer Research Institute in Geriatric Mental Health, Weill Cornell Medical College, White Plains, New York
• 2014 - Resident Outstanding Contribution to the Consortium Award, University of Mississippi Medical Center/G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Veterans Affairs