The Sheffield Lab is located within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). The goal of our lab is to understand the psychological, cognitive, and neurobiological processes that contribute to psychotic experiences. Psychotic experiences are present in a heterogeneous group of mental health disorders that includes (but is not limited to) schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, delusional disorder, and bipolar disorder with psychotic features. While psychotic disorders are estimated to impact approximately 2 in 100 individuals throughout their lifetime, psychotic experiences (e.g. delusions, paranoia, hallucinations) exist on a continuum and are present in a larger proportion of the population. When these experiences become distressing, individuals may seek treatment.  

Psychotherapy for psychotic experiences has been shown to be helpful, but requires continued advancement. Using behavioral, neuroimaging, computational psychiatry, and clinical trials approaches, our lab aims to identify treatment targets for psychotherapeutic interventions for psychosis.