Sarah Ascienzo

Bio

Sarah Ascienzo, PhD, LCSW is an Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at North Carolina State University. Dr. Ascienzo has over 15 years of clinical practice experience with children and families adversely affected by psychological trauma, including work as a trauma-focused clinician in community- and school-based settings and child forensic interviewer. During her clinical career, Dr. Ascienzo specialized in the treatment of complex trauma, and worked extensively with child welfare-involved youth. She also has experience as a trainer and program implementer in the areas of trauma-informed/responsive care, clinical interventions for trauma-exposed youth, and vicarious trauma/secondary traumatic stress. Informed by her practice experience, Dr. Ascienzo’s research focuses on mitigating the impact of direct and indirect trauma exposure and building healthy and resilient communities. She utilizes a variety of methodological approaches, and strives to participate in collaborative, culturally competent, community-engaged, and translational research. Her most recent projects have included an analysis of posttraumatic stress symptom response to isolated phases of Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; an exploration of sex- and gender-based differences in meaning making among trauma-exposed youth; and an examination of factors impacting the implementation and sustainability of trauma-focused interventions in community settings.