UT Tyler Professor Receives $1.2 Million to Help Improve Lives of Texas Veterans

October 8, 2025 | Hannah Buchanan

Dr. Adam McGuire, associate professor of psychology at The University of Texas at Tyler, received a $1.2 million merit award from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to help improve the lives of veterans across Texas. McGuire obtained 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. This is a web-based, self-guided intervention for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, that uses a positive emotion called 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 current 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.”

Project results will help determine if MOVED is a useful alternative approach 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 serves as director of clinical training for the UT Tyler clinical psychology doctoral program. His other research interests include positive psychology constructs, such as gratitude, as well as other trauma-related outcomes for veterans including depression, anxiety and moral injury. He holds doctoral and master’s degrees in clinical psychology from Seattle Pacific University.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 11,500 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.