Laura Murray

Laura Murray is a Senior Scientist at Johns Hopkins University, affiliated with the Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Mental Health and International Health. A clinical psychologist by training, she co-founded the Applied Mental Health Research (AMHR) group and developed the Common Elements Treatment Approach (CETA), a scalable mental health intervention for low-resource settings.

• Education:
  • PhD in Clinical Psychology, Western Michigan University (2002)
  • MA in Clinical Psychology, Western Michigan University (1999)
  • BS in Psychology, Drake University (1996)

Her research spans global mental health, child trauma, implementation science, and cross-cultural interventions, with fieldwork in Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Lebanon, and other conflict zones. She has led clinical trials on CETA's effectiveness for trauma, depression, and substance abuse in diverse populations, including Syrian refugees and orphans in sub-Saharan Africa.

Recent publications highlight CETA's adaptability via telehealth in humanitarian crises (2025) and its role in addressing HIV-mental health comorbidities (2024). Her work emphasizes cost-effective training models, software solutions like CareConfidence™, and capacity-building in low-income regions.

For grants and collaborations, she has partnered with NGOs and academic institutions across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, focusing on mental health workforce challenges and policy-relevant research.