Julia Becker Cretu, Psy.D
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Education & Affiliations
Biography
Certification:
Licensed to practice psychology in Louisiana
Years at Tulane: Since 2012
Current Faculty Activities:
Dr. Becker-Cretu, along with her colleagues, is a co-developer of a novel couple-based behavioral treatment for PTSD, Structured Approach Therapy (SAT), a couple-based educational series, PTSD Family Education (PFE), and co-founded Fortify the Family, a multidisciplinary consultation non-profit program with the mission to improve outreach, training, and access to services for post deployment behavioral health needs of military families in the local community. Currently, she is co-principal investigator on an innovative pilot investigation funded by the South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center examining the delivery of SAT with clinical video technology to Veterans with PTSD and their cohabiting partners located in their homes (Co-PI: Frederic Sautter, Ph.D.). Additionally, she is co-investigator for two randomized controlled trials beginning this year funded by national VA Health Services Research & Development Merit Awards with her colleagues at Brown & Georgetown Universities (PI: Tracie Shea, Ph.D., Title: “Comparative Effectiveness of Two Treatments for Veterans with PTSD”) and the University of California San Diego and Los Angeles (PI: Leslie Morland, Psy.D., Title: “An Integrative Technology Approach to Home-Based Conjoint Therapy for PTSD”).
Dr. Becker-Cretu provides clinical supervision and training in evidence based psychotherapies to psychiatry residents, psychology interns, psychology fellows, and medical school students within the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Tulane University School of Medicine and in the Family Behavioral Health Program at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System. She extends consultation to licensed mental health professionals and trainees with specialization in cognitive behavioral family-based, parenting-based, and couple-based treatments through national VA and other collaborative didactic series.
Research
Dr. Becker-Cretu joined Tulane following completing her doctoral psychology training at the PGSP- Stanford Psy.D. Consortium Program in Palo Alto, California. Prior to moving to New Orleans, she dedicated her time to receiving specialized clinical psychotherapy and assessment experience working with adults with treatment refractory mood, anxiety, stress, trauma, personality, obsessive-compulsive and substance use disorders at the Bipolar Disorders and Interpersonal Difficulties Clinics at Stanford University Medical Center, with the Addiction Consultation and Treatment Team and the Ambulatory Mental Health and the PTSD Clinical Teams at the Palo Alto Veterans Health Care System, and with the severe mental illness outpatient clinic at San Mateo County Department of Mental Health Services.
Prior to relocating to California, Dr. Becker-Cretu worked as a behavioral residential counselor facilitating exposure and response prevention therapy at McLean Hospital’s OCD Institute, in Belmont, Massachusetts. She has a long standing passion for clinical psychology research, study, and theory. She has collaborated with fellow researchers on studies conducted in the Department of Psychology at Northeastern University, the Pediatric Psychopharmacology Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry at Harvard University School of Medicine, McLean Hospital’s Behavioral Health Partial Hospitalization Program, the Bipolar Disorders Clinic at Stanford University Medical Center, the Bipolar Trials Network, the Department of Research at Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, and Department of Psychiatry at Tulane University School of Medicine.
Contributions
Recent Publications:
Sautter, F.J., Glynn, S.M., Becker-Cretu, J.J., Senturk, D., Armelie, A.P., Wielt, D.B. (2016). Structured Approach Therapy for Combat-Related PTSD in Returning U.S. Veterans: Complementary Mediation by Changes in Emotion Functioning. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 29 (4), 384-387.
Cretu, J.B., Culver, J.L., Goffin, K.C., Shah, S., Ketter, T.A. (2016). Sleep, residual mood symptoms, and time to relapse in recovered patients with bipolar disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 190, 162-166.
Sautter, F.J, Glynn, S.M., Cretu, J.B., Senturk, D., Vaught, A.S. (2015) Efficacy of Structured Approach Therapy in reducing PTSD in returning veterans: A randomized clinical trial. Psychological Services,12 (3), 199-212. [Best Paper, 2015 APA: Division 18]
Sautter, F.J., Glynn, S.M, Arseneau, J.R., Cretu, J.B., & Yufik, T. (2014). Structured Approach Therapy for PTSD in Returning Veterans and their Partners: Pilot Findings. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research Practice, and Policy, 6, 66-72.
Recent Conference Presentations:
McSwain,E.A., Becker-Cretu, J.J., Yufik, T., Amin, D., Glynn, S.M., Sautter, F.J. (2016, May). An Initial Examination of the Role of Partner Depression and Relationship Satisfaction in Returning Veterans' Couple-Based PTSD Treatment Outcomes. Poster Presented at the Louisiana Psychological Association Annual Conference, Metairie, LA. [Dr. Becker-Cretu’s Mentee, Dr. McSwain, awarded 1st Place Research Presentation by a graduate trainee.]
Sautter, F.J., Glynn, S.M., Cretu, J.B., & Senturk, D. (2015, November). Structured Approach Therapy for Combat-Related PTSD and Intimate Relationship Problems: Clinical Findings. Invited Affective Processes & Interventions Symposium at the International Studies for Traumatic Stress Society Annual Convention in New Orleans, LA.
Cretu, J.B., Sautter, F.J., Mukherjee, S., Priebe, A., Glynn, S.M., Abel, A., & Vaught, A.S. (2015, November). Effectiveness of Clinical Video Technology – Delivered Structured Approach Therapy for PTSD with OEF/OIF/OND Veterans and their Partners. Presented at the International Studies for Traumatic Stress Society Annual Convention in New Orleans, LA.
Sautter, F.J., Cretu, J.B., Glynn, S.M., & Senturk, D. (2015, November). Structured Approach Therapy to Reduce Combat-Related PTSD in Returning Veterans: Changes in Emotion Regulation Play a Role in Symptom Improvements. Presented at the International Studies for Traumatic Stress Society Annual Convention in New Orleans, LA.
Cretu, J.B. (2015, July) Enhancing Empathy and Communication in Individuals with OCD and their Romantic Partners. Presented at The International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation Annual Conference in Boston, MA.
Cretu, J.B., Sautter, F.J., Glynn, S.M. (2015, April). An Overview of Structured Approach Therapy for PTSD: A behavioral couple-based PTSD intervention for Returning Veterans and their partners. 90 minute clinical training workshop presented at the annual convention of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America in Miami, FL.
Sautter, F.J., Glynn, S.M., Cretu, J.B., Senturk, D. (2015, April). Structured Approach Therapy for Combat Related PTSD: Partial Mediation of Treatment Effects by Changes in Emotion Regulation. Poster presented at the annual convention of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America in Miami, FL.
Cretu, J.B., Armelie, A., Sautter, F.J., Glynn, S.M., Senturk, D. (2015, March) Couple-Based Behavioral Intervention for PTSD and Intimate Partner Relationship Problems: Therapeutic Outcomes. Presented at the annual conference of the Southeast Chapter of the Association of Contextual Behavioral Science in Lafayette, LA.
Cretu, J.B., Sautter, F.J., Glynn, S.M. & Yufik, T. (2014, November). Maintaining therapeutic change following structured approach therapy for PTSD: An examination of PTSD, relationship functioning, and emotion regulation at three month follow-up. Poster presented at the 30th Annual Convention of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies in Miami, FL.
Vaught, A.S., Sweeton, J., Cretu, J.B., Coughlin, J. & Bratkovich, K (2014, May). Telemental health burnout: Why telemental health providers are at risk, and what can be done. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Association of VA Psychology Leaders in San Antonio, TX.
Sautter, F.J., Glynn, S.M, Cretu, J.B., & Yufik, T. (2014, March). Structured Approach Therapy for PTSD: Studies of the efficacy of a behavioral couple-based PTSD treatment for OEF/OIF
Veterans and their partners. Presented at the annual convention of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America in Chicago, IL.
Cretu, J.B., Sautter, F.J., Glynn, S.M, & Yufik, T. (2014, March). Structured Approach Therapy for PTSD in OEF/OIF Veterans: Therapeutic change in posttraumatic stress, relationship functioning, and emotion regulation. Poster presented at the annual convention of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America in Chicago, IL.
