Michael Christopher, PhD

Professor | Director of Clinical Training
mchristopher@pacificu.edu
503-352-2498
UC Box 
A-191
HPC-2, Room 268

Mindful Health and Resilience Lab Website

Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard Medical School/Cambridge Hospital, Behavioral Medicine Program, 2005
  • PhD, The University of South Dakota, Department of Psychology, doctor of philosophy in clinical psychology, 2004
  • Doctoral Intern, Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital, 2003
  • MS, Loyola University Maryland, Department of Psychology, master of science degree in clinical psychology, 2000                           
  • BA, Loyola University Maryland, Department of Psychology, bachelor of arts in psychology, 1996

Recent Publications (*lab student/alumni co-author)

*Simmons, A., *Vasquez, A., *Green, K., Christopher, M., & *Colgan, D. D. (in press). The impact of ethnic discrimination on chronic pain: The role of sex and depression. Ethnicity & Health. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13557858.2023.2208315?journalCode=ceth20

*Flowers, J., *Eddy, A., *Hoke-Kennedy, C., *McCullough, N., & Christopher, M. (in press). Acceptance and commitment therapy processes differentially predict aspects of mental health. Psychological Reports. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00332941231169673

Galante, J., Friedrich, C., Aeamla-Or, N., Arts-de Jong, M., Barrett, B., Bögels, S. M., Buitelaar, J. K., Checovich, M. M., Christopher, M., Davidson, R. J., Errazuriz, A., Goldberg, S. B., Greven, C. U., Hirshberg, M. J., Huang, S. L., Hunsinger, M., Hwang, Y. S., Medvedev,  O., Rosenkranz, M. A., Schellekens, M. P. J., Siebelink, N. M., Singh, N. N., Speckens, A. E. M., Tang, F. C., Tomfohr-Madsen, L., Dalgleish, T., Jones, P. B., & White, I. R. (2023). Systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials assessing mindfulness-based programs for mental health promotion. Nature Mental Health, 1, 462-476. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-023-00081-5

Siriphadung, S., & Christopher, M. (2022). Sociodemographic predictors of Buddhist religious engagement among Thai adolescents and young adults. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 18, 2-23.     https://www.religjournal.com/articles/article_view.php?id=165

*Green, K., *Eddy, A., *Flowers, J., & Christopher, M. (2022). A confirmatory factor analysis of the PROMIS sleep disturbance among law enforcement officers. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 37, 141-145.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-021-09471-w

*Rehder, K., *Eddy, A., *Kaplan, J., *Bergman, A., & Christopher, M. (2021). The relationships between reduced alcohol use and decreased burnout following Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training in law enforcement officers. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 27, 984-990. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2021.0052

*Colgan, D. D., *Green, K., *Eddy, A., Brems, C., Sherman, K., Cramer, H., Oken, B., & Christopher, M. (2021). Translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and psychometric validation of the English version of the Posture Awareness Scale. Pain Medicine, 22, 2686-2699. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnab200

*Eddy, A., *Bergman, A. L., *Kaplan, J. B., Goerling, R. & Christopher, M. S. (2021). A qualitative analysis of the experience of mindfulness training among law enforcement officers. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 36, 63-71. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34149158/

*Colgan, D. D., Christopher, M. S., Bowen, S., & *Eddy, A. (2021). Mindful nonreactivity moderates the relationship between chronic stress and pain interference in law enforcement officers. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 36, 56-62. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34421195/

Ribeiro, L., *Colgan, D. D., *Kennedy Hoke, C., Hunsinger, M., Bowen, S., Oken, B. S., & Christopher, M. S. (2020). Differential impact of mindfulness practices on aggression among law enforcement officers. Mindfulness, 11, 734-745. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34257735/

Christopher, M., Bowen, S., & Witkiewitz, K. (2020). Mindfulness-based resilience training for aggression, stress and health in law enforcement officers: Study protocol for a multisite, randomized, single-blind clinical feasibility trial. Trials, 21, 236. https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-020-4165-y

*Kaplan, J. B., *Bergman, A. L., *Green, K., *Dapolonia, E., & Christopher, M. (2020). Relative impact of mindfulness, self-compassion, and psychological flexibility on alcohol use and burnout among law enforcement officers. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 26, 1190-1194. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33017172/

Hunsinger, M., Christopher, M. S., & *Schmidt, A. M. (2019). Mindfulness training, implicit bias, and force response decision-making. Mindfulness, 10, 2555-2566. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8372824/

*Colgan, D. D., Christopher, M. S., Bowen, S., Brems, C., Hunsinger, M., *Dapolonia, E. & Tucker, B. (2019). Mindfulness-Based Wellness and Resilience Training for interdisciplinary primary care teams: A mixed-methods feasibility and acceptability trial. Primary Health Care Research & Development, 20(e91), 1-8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6609991/

Knowlton, C. N., Kryvanos, A., Poole, M., Christopher, M. S., & LaFavor, T. (2019). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the treatment of chronic pain and coexisting depression: A single case study. Clinical Case Studies, 18, 254-269. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534650119839156

Trombka, M., Demarzo, M., Campos Bacas, D., Beira Antonio, S., Cicuto, K., Salvo, V., Almeida Claudino, F. C., Ribeiro, L., Christopher, M., Garcia-Campayo, J., & Sica Rocha, N. (2018). Study protocol of a multicenter randomized controlled trial of Mindfulness training to reduce burnout and promote quality of life in police officers: The POLICE study. BMC Psychiatry, 18, 151. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29801444/

Christopher, M. S., Hunsinger, M., Goerling, R., Bowen, S., Rogers, B., Gross, C. R., *Dapolonia, E., & Pruessner, J. (2018). Mindfulness-Based Resilience Training to reduce health risk, stress reactivity, and aggression among law enforcement officers: A feasibility and  preliminary efficacy trial. Psychiatry Research, 264, 104-115. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29627695/

*Kaplan, J. B., Christopher, M. S., & Bowen, S. (2018). Dispositional mindfulness moderates the relationship between occupational stressors and perceived stress among law enforcement personnel. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 33, 227-232. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-017-9246-9

Schroeder, D. A., Stephens, L., *Colgan, D., Hunsinger, M., Rubin, D., & Christopher, M. S. (2018). A brief mindfulness-based intervention for primary care physicians: A pilot randomized controlled trial. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 12, 83-91. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30202383/

*Kaplan, J. B., *Bergman, A. L., Christopher, M. S., Bowen, S., & Hunsinger, M. (2017). Role of resilience in mindfulness training for first responders. Mindfulness, 8, 1373-1380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0713-2

*Colgan, D. D., Wahbeh, H., Besler, K., Pleet, M., & Christopher, M. S. (2017). A qualitative study of mindfulness among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: Practices differentially affect symptoms, aspects of well-being, and potential mechanisms of action. Journal of Evidence-Based Complimentary & Alternative Medicine, 22, 482-493. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587216684999

Charoensuk, S., Pitaksongkram, P., & Christopher, M. S. (2016). [ความหมายและปัจจัยบ่มเพาะสติ จากประสบการณ์ของสตรีไทยที่ปฏิบัติธรรม]. Meaning and cultivating factors of mindfulness as experienced by Thai female monks and experienced dhamma practitioners. Nursing Journal of the Ministry of Public Health, 25, 170-183. https://he02.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/tnaph/article/view/47288

*Colgan, D., Christopher, M. S., Michael, P. G., & Wahbeh, H. (2016). Mindful breathing and body scan differentially impact the relationship between mindfulness facets and treatment outcomes in veterans with PTSD. Mindfulness, 7, 372-383. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32863982/

*Bergman, A. L., Christopher, M. S., & Bowen, S. (2016). Changes in facets of mindfulness predict stress and anger outcomes for police officers. Mindfulness, 7, 851-858. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0522-z

Christopher, M. S., Goerling, R. J., Rogers, B. S., Hunsinger, M., *Baron, G., *Bergman, A., & Zava, D. T. (2016). A pilot study evaluating the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention on cortisol awakening response and health outcomes among law enforcement officers. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 31, 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-015-9161-x 

Instructor

  • Integrative Seminar in Psychology Research
  • Scientific Communication
  • Evidence-Based Practice Sample 

Professional Memberships & Affiliations

  • Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (Mindfulness SIG)
  • Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
  • American Psychological Association