‘Alternative approach’: UT Tyler professor leads project to help veterans with PTSD

‘Alternative approach’: UT Tyler professor leads project to help veterans with PTSD

Published 10:35 pm Saturday, October 25, 2025

An East Texas college professor is working to improve the lives of veterans in the state thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dr. Adam McGuire, who is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Tyler, received a $1.2 million merit award from the federal department to help improve the lives of veterans not just in the region, but across Texas.

McGuire secured the research funds through his dual appointment as a research investigator and clinical psychologist with the VA’s Veterans Integrated Service Network 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans in Waco.

As the project’s principal investigator, McGuire will conduct a clinical trial of an intervention he  designed called MOVED. It is a web-based, self-guided intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, that uses moral elevation — feeling inspired by others’ virtuous actions.

“This project will recruit veterans from across Texas to see if MOVED leads to decreased PTSD  symptoms, increased social functioning and improved quality of life,” said McGuire, whose research aims to identify ways in which positive psychology constructs could be integrated into the treatment of PTSD and trauma-related outcomes.

“There is a significant need for accessible, alternative approaches to trauma-focused treatment, especially in the state of Texas with a large veteran population who are at greater risk of trauma exposure.”

Over 100,000 veterans live in East Texas, according to CampV and the East Texas Veterans Alliance. The study will recruit 250 veterans from across the state, especially those who’ve been dealing with PTSD for over a year.

Veterans taking part in the study will go through eight sessions over four weeks. It’s all self-guided, online, and on their own time. McGuire said it’s also about helping veterans feel more connected — to others and themselves.

“Some folks might not be ready to talk to a therapist. We have all these great in-person therapy options, but for a lot of different reasons they might just not be ready for that,” McGuire told CBS19. “So, providing an alternative approach where they can do it online and they can do it by themselves, they might be more open to trying that first — and that kind of greases the wheels a little bit, gets folks interested in pursuing additional therapy in the future if needed.”

Project results will help determine if MOVED is a useful alternative to target trauma recovery among veterans with PTSD, McGuire said, noting the four-year project will also create  opportunities for UT Tyler clinical psychology doctoral students to gain valuable clinical and  research experience working with veterans.

McGuire joined UT Tyler in 2019. He also is director of clinical training for the UT Tyler clinical psychology doctoral program.