Briana Nelson Goff, associate professor of marriage and family therapy at Kansas State University, has dedicated her research to examining post-traumatic stress disorder and the effects of traumatic stress on couple and family systems.

Nelson Goff, who joined Kansas State University in 1998, has spent time in Bosnia-Herzegovina over the past few years, researching how war affects children. She also spent time there working in children's homes and has sent graduate students from K-State to aid orphans as well. Nelson also has been a member of the Riley County Critical Incident Stress Management Team, and the Flint Hills Chapter of the American Red Cross, where she has served as a member of the Disaster Action Team, the Service Delivery Team and the Chapter Board. Her efforts have taken her to Guam, for example, where she provided emergency assistance to residents affected by Super Typhoon Pongsona in December 2002.

She is a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, the Kansas Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. She also is the adviser to the Trauma Research, Education and Consultation at K-State Team, or TRECK Team. The TRECK Team has been involved in developing trauma based research and clinical programs, presenting at state and national conferences and publishing articles on traumatic stress in academic journals. Recently, the TRECK Team research has focused on the impact of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan on soldiers and their families.

Nelson Goff received bachelor's degrees from K-State in psychology and life sciences, a master's degree in marriage and family therapy from K-State, and a doctorate in marriage and family therapy from Texas Tech University. She is a licensed clinical marriage and family therapist.

In 2003, Nelson Goff received the Dawley-Scholar Award for Faculty Excellence in Student Development from the College of Human Ecology for her work in helping students assess and meet their educational and professional goals. In 2007, she received the Texas Tech University College of Human Sciences New Achiever Award

Recent speaking engagements:
August 2008:  Fort Riley Military Family Survey. Victory Leaders Symposium, Fort Riley, KS.
May 2008:  Family systems approaches to trauma: Understanding the impact when trauma hits home. Keynote presented at the Mental Health America of Greater Indianapolis Conference, Indianapolis, IN.
April 2008: Compassion fatigue: Understanding secondary traumatic stress for ALL. Workshop presented at the Annual Kansas Crime Victims Rights Conference, Topeka, KS.
September 2007: Kansas All- Hazards Behavioral Health Program: Preparedness, response, and recovery for Kansas communities. Workshop presented at the Kansas Emergency Management Association Annual Conference, Hays, KS.