Dr. Dawn Bounds is certified as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. She has worked with children and adolescents in a variety of settings including inpatient psychiatry, partial hospitalization, juvenile detention, and school based health. Her current clinical work includes working with adolescent girls in a partial hospitalization program. Her clinical experiences have shaped her research interests in commercial sexual exploitation. Dr. Bounds’ research interests include exploring the phenomenon of sex trafficking, the psycho-neuro-immunological impact of complex trauma, and the link between trauma and juvenile justice. Dr. Bounds’ dissertation research was a critical discourse analysis of online posts of men who are interested in buying sex to explore how commercial sexual exploitation was normalized on an online forum. Dr. Bounds is a project director of a NIH funded intervention study focused on increasing the engagement of non- resident African American fathers in the lives of their children. Dr. Bounds teaches in the CON, providing clinical supervision for psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner students.

Research Areas are Adolescent behavioral health, Commercial sexual exploitation, Complex trauma, Complementary and alternative approaches to health care.