Laura Novak, M.S.

I am a clinical psychology fellow at Old Town Psychology. I will be earning my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda, MD. I completed my pre-doctoral internship at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. I have experience working with civilians, Veterans, and military personnel across a variety of outpatient and inpatient mental health settings.

I strive to provide a collaborative, inclusive, supportive space for clients to work towards goals, reduce distress, and improve well-being. I aim to help clients explore their values and build skills to live the lives they want to be living. I primarily work with adults, and provide both therapy and psychological assessment.

I use evidence-based therapies, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and exposure-based therapies such as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and Mastery of Anxiety and Panic (MAP). I incorporate these approaches flexibly in treatment for OCD, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and trauma-related disorders in adult clients. I also conduct psychological assessments to help inform diagnosis, treatment recommendations, and accommodations.

I am passionate about expanding the reach of mental healthcare and serving the mental health needs of the community. My research focuses on understanding the process of help-seeking for mental health concerns, with a particular emphasis on seeking help for suicidal thoughts and behaviors. This includes seeking help from both social supports and professional resources. I aim to incorporate multiple aspects of support into treatment with clients, reduce barriers to care, and promote future help-seeking.

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Publications

Novak, L. A. & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (in press). Suicide safety plan. In Friedman-Wheeler, D. G., & Wenzel, A. (Eds.), The SAGE encyclopedia of mood and anxiety disorders. SAGE Reference.

Carter, S. P., Cobb, E., Novak, L. A., Ekman, E., Ton, A., LaCroix, J. M., & Holloway, M. (2024). The importance of romantic relationships in preventing suicide. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 16(2), 352-373. doi:10.1111/jftr.12559

Luk, J. W., Thompson, M. F., Novak, L. A., Stangl, B. L., Schwandt, M. L., Goldman, D., Ramchandani, V. A., & Diazgranados, N. (2024). History of suicidality and pandemic outcomes: Longitudinal associations with anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and problematic drinking. Psychiatric Research & Clinical Practice. doi:10.1176/appi.prcp.20230067

Novak, L. A., LaCroix, J. M., Perera, K. U., Stivers, M., Schvey, N. A., Goodie, J. L., Olsen, C., Sbrocco, T., Goldston, D. B., Soumoff, A., Weaver, J., & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (2023). Help-seeking among psychiatrically hospitalized military personnel at risk for suicide. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 53(1), 75-88. doi:10.1111/sltb.12923

Novak, L. A., Carter, S. P., LaCroix, J. M., Perera, K. U., Neely, L. L., Soumoff, A., & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (2022). Cognitive flexibility and suicide risk indicators among psychiatric inpatients. Psychiatry Research, 313, 114594. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114594

Kauten, R. L., Carter, S. P., Stivers, M., Novak, L. A., Baer, M. M., LaCroix, J. M., Grant, N. E., Sickmann, B., Goldston, D. B., Soumoff, A., & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (2022). Post-Admission Cognitive Therapy for a transgender service member with a recent suicidal crisis: A case study of gender-affirming care. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, Epub ahead of print. doi:10.1016/j.cbpra.2021.10.007

Ghahramanlou Holloway, M., LaCroix, J. M., Perera, K. U., Neely, L., Grammer, G., Weaver, J., Novak, L. A., Colborn, V., & Lee-Tauler, S. (2020). Inpatient psychiatric care following a suicide-related hospitalization: A pilot trial of Post-Admission Cognitive Therapy in a military medical center. General Hospital Psychiatry, 63, 46-53. doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2018.11.006

Martin, J., LaCroix, J. M., Novak, L. A., & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (2020). Typologies of suicide: A critical literature review. Archives of Suicide Research, 24(Suppl 1), 1-16. doi:10.1080/13811118.2018.1564100

Jeschke, E. A., LaCroix, J. M., Fox, A. M., Novak, L. A., & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (2020). Military training and its relationship to post-deployment role conflict in intimate partner relationships. In U. Kumar (Ed.), The Routledge international handbook of military psychology and mental health. Routledge.

Martin, J. S., Novak, L. A., Perera, K., Olsen, C. H., Kindt, M. T., LaCroix, J. M., Bennion, L., Lee-Tauler, S., & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (2019). Suicide typologies in the United States Air Force: A hierarchical cluster analysis. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 49(6), 1707-1720. doi:10.1111/sltb.12553

Novak, L. A., Belsher, B. E., Freed, M. C., McCutchan, P. K., Liu, X., Evatt, D. P., Tanielian, T., Bray, R. M., & Engel, C. C. (2019). Impact of financial reimbursement on retention rates in military clinical trial research: A natural experiment within a multi-site randomized effectiveness trial with active duty service members. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 15. doi:10.1016/j.conctc.2019.100353

Belsher, B. E., Freed, M. C., Evatt, D. P., Engel, C. C., Liu, X., Novak, L., & Zatzick, D. F. (2018). Population impact of PTSD and depression care for military service members: Reach and effectiveness of an enhanced collaborative care intervention. Psychiatry, 81(4), 349-360. doi:10.1080/00332747.2018.1520020

Ghahramanlou Holloway, M., LaCroix, J. M., Koss, K., Perera, K., Rowan, A., VanSickle, M., Novak, L. A., & Trieu, T. (2018). Outpatient mental health treatment utilization and military career impact in the United States Marine Corps. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(4), 828. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040828

Kochanski, K. M., Lee-Tauler, S., Brown, G. K., Beck, A. T., Perera, K. U., Novak, L., LaCroix, J. M., Lento, R. M., & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (2018). Single versus multiple suicide attempts: A prospective examination of psychiatric factors and wish to die/wish to live index among military and civilian psychiatrically admitted patients. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 206(8), 657-661. doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000000851

LaCroix, J. M., Colborn, V. A., Hassen, H. O., Perera, K. U., Weaver, J., Soumoff, A., Novak, L. A., & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (2018). Intimate partner relationship stress and suicidality in a psychiatrically hospitalized military sample. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 84, 106-111. doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2018.04.006

Ribeiro, S., LaCroix, J. M., De Oliveira, F., Novak, L. A., Lee-Tauler, S., Darmour, C. A., Perera, K. U., Goldston, D., Weaver, J. J., Soumoff, A., & Ghahramanlou Holloway, M. (2018). The link between posttraumatic stress disorder and functionality among United States military service members psychiatrically hospitalized following a suicide crisis. Healthcare, 6(3), 95. doi:10.3390/healthcare6030095

Belsher, B. E., Jaycox, L. H., Freed, M. C., Evatt, D. P., Liu, X., Novak, L. A., Zatzick, D., Bray, R. M., & Engel, C. C. (2016). Mental health utilization patterns during a stepped, collaborative care effectiveness trial for PTSD and depression in the military health system. Medical Care, 54(7), 706-713. doi:10.1097/MLR.0000000000000545

Engel, C. C., Jaycox, L. H., Freed, M. C., Bray, R. M., Brambilla, D., Zatzick, D., Litz, B., Tanielian, T., Novak, L. A., Lane, M. E., Belsher, B. E., Rae Olmsted, K. L., Evatt, D. P., Vandermaas-Peeler, R., Unützer, J., & Katon, W. J. (2016). Centrally assisted collaborative telecare for posttraumatic stress disorder and depression among military personnel attending primary care: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA Internal Medicine, 176(7), 948-956. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.2402

Freed, M. C., Novak, L. A., Killgore, W. D. S., Rauch, S. A. M., Koehlmoos, T. P., Ginsberg, J. P., Krupnick, J. L., Rizzo, A., Andrews, A., & Engel, C. C. (2016). IRB and research regulatory delays within the military health system: Do they really matter? And if so, why and for whom? The American Journal of Bioethics, 16(8), 30-37. doi:10.1080/15265161.2016.1187212

Engel, C. C., Bray, R. M., Jaycox, L., Freed, M. C., Zatzick, D., Lane, M. E., Brambilla, D., Rae Olmsted, K. L., Vandermaas-Peeler, R., Litz, B., Tanielian, T., Belsher, B. E., Evatt, D. P., Novak, L. A., Unützer, J., & Katon, W.J. (2014). Implementing collaborative primary care for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder: Design and sample for a randomized trial in the U.S. military health system. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 39(2), 310-319. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2014.10.002