
research
Research studies and publications
My research career has been dedicated to improving our understanding of, and treatment for, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). I have authored over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and presented my work at conferences across the United States and abroad.




About
My work has focused on how family dynamics, thought patterns, and emotion regulation difficulties can contribute to the development and persistence of OCD—especially for those with distressing taboo or aggressive obsessions (who often feel overlooked or misunderstood).
More recently, my research has turned toward helping those who don’t experience sufficient relief from traditional cognitive-behavioral therapy. I’m especially interested in how imagery re-scripting can provide hope and healing for those who feel stuck.
Research at HOPE Lab
As Director of the HOPE Lab (Holy Cross OCD Processes & Experimentation Lab) at College of the Holy Cross, I aim to improve our understanding of the development, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety, fear, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
2022—Present
title
Imagery Rescripting (ImR): Mechanisms of Change
role
Principal Investigator
co-investigators
Drs. Angela Fang and Lillian Reuman
purpose
The current study aims to improve the field’s understanding of imagery rescripting (ImR). ImR is an underutilized clinical technique that helps patients (a) identify the childhood origins of present-day psychological difficulties, and (b) “rescript” the aversive outcome by revisiting the memory as an adult and addressing their unmet childhood needs. This investigation, in collaboration with Stonehill College and University of Washington, evaluates the efficacy of an automated online ImR and aims to elucidate the mechanisms of change via quantitative and qualitative analyses.
2021—2023
title
Impact of COVID-19 on College Students' Development and Mental Health
sponsors
Batchelor Ford Summer Fellowship; COVID-19 Internal Grant
role
Principal Investigator
co-investigators
Drs. Angela Fang, Hannah Reese, Jed Siev, Kiara Timpano, and Michael Wheaton
purpose
In collaboration with Bowdoin College, Swarthmore College, Barnard College, University of Miami, and University of Washington, the HOPE Lab conducted a longitudinal study to identify the risk (e.g., loneliness) and resilience (e.g., emotion regulation abilities) factors that moderate the short- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on college students' development and mental health outcomes.
2018—2020
title
Reactivity and Regulation in Response to Intrusive Thoughts
sponsors
Batchelor Ford Summer Fellowship
role
Principal Investigator
co-investigator
Dr. Jumi Hayaki
purpose
The HOPE Lab examined how the content of an intrusive thought (taboo vs. contamination) impacts emotional reactivity and emotion dysregulation.
Research at MGH & Harvard Medical School
As a faculty member at the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School in the Center for OCD and Related Disorders, I was awarded multiple grants and fellowships to further our understanding of OCD and related processes.
2013—2017
title
Cognitive Biases in OCD: Mechanisms of Generational Transmission
sponsors
International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation, Livingston Award for Young Investigator at Harvard Medical School
role
Principal Investigator
purpose
Examine how OCD-related information processing styles (e.g., attention and interpretation biases) are generationally transmitted from parents to children.
2014—2016
title
Effect of Depression on Exposure Response in OCD: Mechanisms Underlying Threat Perception and Habituation
sponsors
Kaplen Fellowship on Depression at Harvard Medical School
role
Principal Investigator
purpose
Examine how depression affects subjective and objective measures of exposure processes in individuals with OCD.
2014—2016
title
Differential Effect of Positive and Negative Mood on OCD Treatment
sponsors
Charles A. King Postdoctoral Fellowship and Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust
role
Principal Investigator
purpose
Examine the effects of positive mood on threat perception, emotional processing, and physiological reactivity in adults with OCD.
2014—2016
title
Cognitive Biases in Offspring at Risk for OCD: Role of Physiological Arousal
sponsors
William F. Milton Fund at Harvard University
role
Co-Principal Investigator
Co-Principal Investigator
Jamie Micco, Ph.D.
purpose
Examine the physiological dysregulation that characterizes information processing biases in youth at risk of developing OCD.
2013—2014
title
Biases in Clinical Decision Making Related to Suicide Risk
sponsors
Mind Brain Behavior Interfaculty Initiative at Harvard University
role
Co-Principal Investigator
Co-Principal Investigators
Sabine Wilhelm, Ph.D. and I. Glenn Cohen, J.D.
purpose
Examine biases that underlie mental health professionals’ clinical decision-making regarding suicide risk.
Peer-reviewed publications
A selection of my peer-reviewed publications are below—a full list can be found on my resumé.
2023
Gallegos-Guajardo, J., Rodriguez, N., Ramirez, M., Berman, N.C., & Abramowitz, J. (2023). Emotion regulation in mexican and U.S. white adults: Cultural and gender differences. Revista Interamericana de Psicología/Interamerican Journal of Psychology.
2022
Berman, N. C., Fang, A., Hoeppner, S., Reese, H., Siev, J., Timpano, K., & Wheaton, M. (2022). COVID-19 and obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a large multi-site college sample. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 33, 100727.
Siev, J., Berman, N. C., Zhou, R., & Himelein-Wachowiak, M. (2022). Predicting negative emotions in response to in vivo triggers of thought-action fusion. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 33, 100723.
2021
Fang, A., Berman, N. C., Hoeppner, S., Wolfe, E., & Wilhelm, S. (2021). State and trait risk and resilience factors associated with COVID-19 impact and obsessive-compulsive symptom trajectories. Journal of Cognitive Therapy, Advanced Online Publication.
Berman, N. C., Hezel, D., & Wilhelm, S. (2021). Is my patient too sad to approach their fear? Depression severity and imaginal exposure outcomes for patients with OCD. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 70, 101615.
2020
Berman, N. C., Hayaki, J., & Szkutak, A. (2020). Emotion generation and regulation following an intrusion induction: Implications for taboo or autogenous obsessions. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 69, 101593.
Berman, N. C., Gallegos-Guarjardo, J., Reuman, L., Ramirez, M., Valdez, G., & Abramowitz, J. (2020). Cross-cultural differences in obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions across young adults in Mexico and USA. Mental Health, Religion, and Culture. Advanced Online Publication.
Olivares-Mora, R., Berman, N. C., Fisak, B., Ruvalcaba-Romero, N., & Gallegos-Guajardo, J. (2020). Validation of the interpretation of intrusions inventory (III - 31) for the Mexican population: Cross-cultural discrepancies. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 34(1), 47-57.
2019
Jacoby, R., Berman, N. C., Reese, H., Shin, J., Sprich, S., Szymanski, J., Pollard, A., & Wilhelm, S. (2019). Disseminating cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD: Comparing in person vs. online training modalities. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 23, 100485.
Castillo-Huerta, P., Ruvalcaba-Romero, N., Fisak, B., Berman, N. C., & Gallegos-Guajardo, J. (2019). Validation of the cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire short version (CERQ-VC) for the Mexican population. Journal of Psychology and Education (Revista Intercontinental de Psicología y Educación), 21(1), 57-82.
Berman, N. C., Summers, B., Weingarden, H., & Wilhelm, S. (2019). Positive affect and imaginal exposure processes in patients with taboo obsessions. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 23, 100474.
Berman, N. C. (2019). Treating taboo or forbidden thoughts: Integrating mindfulness, acceptance and emotion regulation into an exposure-based intervention. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 33(3), 196-212.
Berman, N. C., Weingarden, H., & Wilhelm, S. (2019). Symptom-specific threat perception mediates the relationship between obsessive beliefs and OCD symptoms. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 43(4), 705-712.
Trevino de la Garza, B., Berman, N. C., Fisak, B., Ruvalcaba-Romero, N., & Gallegos-Guajardo, J. (2019). Validation of the dimensional obsessive-compulsive scale for the mexican population. Journal of Obsessive and Compulsive Related Disorders, 21, 13-17.
Williams, K., Shorser-Gentile, L., Sarvode, S., Berman, N. C., Pasternack, M., Geller, D., & Walter, J. (2019). Immunoglobulin A dysgammaglobulinemia is associated with pediatric-onset obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 29(4), 268-275.
2018
Berman, N. C., Shaw, A., & Wilhelm, S. (2018). Emotion regulation in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder: Unique effects for those with “taboo thoughts.” Cognitive Therapy and Research, 42, 674-685.
Berman, N. C., Wilver, N., & Wilhelm, S. (2018). My child’s thoughts frighten me: Maladaptive effects associated with parents’ interpretation and management of children’s intrusive thoughts. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 61, 87-96.
Berman, N. C., Shaw, A. M., Curley, E. E., & Wilhelm, S. (2018). Emotion regulation and obsessive-compulsive phenomena in youth. Journal of Obsessive and Compulsive Related Disorders, 19, 44-49.
Wilhelm, S., Berman, N. C., Small, B., Porth, R., Geller, D., & Storch, E. (2018). D-cycloserine augmentation of cognitive behavior therapy for pediatric OCD: Predictors and moderators of outcome. Journal of Affective Disorders, 241, 454-460.
Berman, N. C., Jacoby, R. J., Sullivan, A., Hoepnner, S., Micco, J., & Wilhelm, S. (2018). Parent-level risk factors for children’s obsessive beliefs, interpretation biases, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms: A cross-sectional examination. Journal of Obsessive and Compulsive Related Disorders, 18, 8-17.
Greenberg, J., Berman, N. C., Braddick, V., Schwartz, R., Mothi, S., Wilhelm, S., & Mothi, S. (2018). Treatment utilization and barriers to treatment engagement among individuals with olfactory reference syndrome (ORS). Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 105, 31-36.
Fang, A., Berman, N. C., Chen, J., & Zakhary, L. (2018). Treating postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder: Diagnostic and cultural considerations. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 26(2), 82-29.
2016
Henin, A., & Berman, N. C. (2016). The promise and peril of emerging adulthood. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 23(3), 263-269.
Lizano, P., Popat-Jain, A., Scharf, J., Berman, N. C., Widge, A., Dougherty, D., & Eskandar, E. (2016). Treatment challenges in managing the comorbidity of obsessive-compulsive disorder and tourette’s disorder. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 24(4), 294-301.
Berman, N. C., Tung, E., Matheny, N., Cohen, I. G., & Wilhelm, S. (2016). Clinical decision-making regarding suicide risk: Effect of patient and clinician age. Death Studies, 40(5), 269-274.
Reese, H. E., Pollard, A., Szymanski, J., Berman, N. C., Spigler, M., Crowe, K., Rosenfield, E., Keegan, M., & Wilhelm, S. (2016). The behavior therapy training institute: Preliminary data on a model of therapist training. Journal of Obsessive and Compulsive Related Disorders, 8, 79-85.
2015
Berman, N. C., Sullivan, A., Wilhelm, S., & Cohen, I. G. (2015). Effect of a legal prime on clinicians’ assessment of suicide risk. Death Studies, 24, 1-7.
Jacoby, R., Berman, N. C., Graziano, R., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2015). Examining attentional bias in scrupulosity: Null findings from the dot probe paradigm. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 29(4), 302-314.
Berman, N. C., Stark, A., Cooperman, A., Wilhelm, S., & Cohen, I. G. (2015). Effect of patient and therapist factors on suicide risk assessment. Death Studies, 39(7), 433-441.
Berman, N. C., Fang, A., Hansen, N., & Wilhelm, S. (2015). Essentials of exposure: Role of cognitive therapy techniques. Journal of Obsessive and Compulsive Related Disorders, 6, 158-166.
Wilhelm, S., BBerman, N. C., Keshaviah, A., Schwartz, R. & Steketee, G. (2015). Mechanisms of change in cognitive therapy for obsessive compulsive disorder: Role of maladaptive beliefs and schemas. Behavior Research and Therapy, 65, 5-10.
2014
Berman, N. C., Stark, A., Ramsey, K., Cooperman, A., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2014). Prayer in response to negative intrusive thoughts: Closer examination of a religious neutralizing strategy. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 28(2), 87-100.
2013
Wheaton, M. G., Berman, N. C., Fabricant, L. E., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2013). Differences in obsessive-compulsive symptoms and obsessive beliefs: A comparison between african americans, asian americans, latino americans, and caucasians. Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 42(1), 9-20.
Berman, N. C., Calkins, A., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2013). Longer-term effects of inducing harm related intrusions: Implications for research on obsessional phenomena. Journal of Obsessive and Compulsive Related Disorders, 2, 109-113.
Calkins, A., Berman, N. C., & Wilhelm, S. (2013). Recent advances in the research on cognition and emotion in OCD: A review. Current Psychiatry Reports, 15, 357-364.
Berman, N. C., Wheaton, M. G., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2013). Rigid rules of conduct and duty: Prediction of thought action fusion. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 27(2), 1-13.
Berman, N. C., Wheaton, M. G., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2013). Childhood trauma and thought action fusion: A multi-method examination. Journal of Obsessive and Compulsive Related Disorders, 2, 43-47.
2012
Wheaton, M. G., Fabricant, L. E., Berman, N. C., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2012). Experiential avoidance in individuals with hoarding disorder. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 37, 779-785.
Berman, N. C., Wheaton, M. G., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2012). The “arnold schwarzenegger effect”: Is strength of the “victim” related to misinterpretations of harm intrusions? Behavior Research and Therapy, 50, 761-766.
Wheaton, M. G., Deacon, B., McGrath, P., Berman, N. C., Abramowitz, J. S. (2012). Dimensions of anxiety sensitivity in the anxiety disorders: Evaluation of the ASI-3. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 26, 401-408.
Mahaffey, B., Wheaton, M. G., Fabricant, L., Berman, N. C., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2012). The contribution of experiential avoidance and social cognitions in the prediction of social anxiety. Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 28, 1-14.
Berman, N. C., Wheaton, M. G., Fabricant, L. E., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2012). Prediction of mental pollution: Contribution of religion, parenting strategies, and trauma. Journal of Obsessive and Compulsive Related Disorders, 1, 153-158.
Wheaton, M. G., Abramowitz, J. S., Berman, N. C., Fabricant, L. E., & Olatunji, B. (2012). Psychological predictors of anxiety in response to H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(3), 210-218.
Wheaton, M. G., Mahaffey, B., Timpano, K., Berman, N. C., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2012). Relationship between anxiety sensitivity and OC spectrum symptom dimensions. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 43(3), 891-896.
2011
Berman, N. C., Wheaton, M. G., Fabricant, L., Jacobson, S., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2011). The effect of familiarity on thought action fusion. Behavior Research and Therapy, 49, 695-699.
Wheaton, M. G., Abramowitz, J. S., Franklin, J. C., Berman, N. C., & Fabricant, L. E (2011). Experiential avoidance and saving cognitions in the prediction of hoarding symptoms. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 35(6), 511-516.
Berman, N. C., Abramowitz, J. S., Wheaton, M., Pardue, C., & Fabricant, L. (2011). Development and evaluation of an in vivo behavioral paradigm for thought-action fusion. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 25(2), 155-164.
2010
Wheaton, M. G., Berman, N. C., Franklin, J., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2010). Health anxiety: Latent structure and associations with anxiety-related psychological processes in a student sample. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32(4), 565-574.
Berman, N. C., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2010). Recent developments in the assessment and treatment of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder. Child and Youth Care Forum, 39(2), 125-126.
Abramowitz, J. S., Deacon, B., Olatunji, B., Wheaton, M., Berman, N. C., Losardo, D., et al. (2010). Assessment of obsessive-compulsive symptom dimensions: Development and validation of the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. Psychological Assessment, 22(1), 180-198.
Berman, N. C., Abramowitz, J. S., Pardue, C., & Wheaton, M. G. (2010). The relationship between religion and thought-action fusion: Use of an in vivo paradigm. Behavior Research and Therapy, 48, 670-674.
Wheaton. M. G., Abramowitz, J. S., Berman, N. C., Riemann, B., & Hale, L. (2010). Obsessive beliefs show specific relationships to dimensions of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Behavior Research and Therapy, 48, 949-954.
Wheaton, M. G., Berman, N. C., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2010). The contribution of experiential avoidance and anxiety sensitivity in the prediction of health anxiety. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy: An International Quarterly, 24(1), 229-239.
Berman, N. C., Wheaton, M., McGrath, P., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2010). Predicting anxiety and worry: The role of experiential avoidance and anxiety sensitivity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 109-113.
2009
Garcia, A. M, Freeman, J. B., Himle, M. B., Berman, N. C., Ogata, A. K., Ng, J., Choate-Summers, M. L., & Leonard, H. (2009). Phenomenology of early childhood onset obsessive compulsive disorder. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31(2), 104-111.
Flessner, C., Berman, N. C., Garcia, A., Freeman, J. & Leonard, H. (2009). Symptom profiles in pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder: The effects of comorbid grooming behaviors. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 23(6), 753-759.