Dessa Bergen-Cico

• 2025 Spring
  • PHP 670 Experience Credit
  • PHP 624 Introduction to Prevention Science
• 2024 Fall
  • PHP 618 Alcohol, Other Drugs, Sex and Gambling: Dynamics of Addiction
• 2024 Summer
  • PHP 318 Alcohol, Other Drugs, Sex and Gambling: Dynamics of Addiction
  • PHP 670 Experience Credit
• 2024 Spring
  • PHP 624 Introduction to Prevention Science
• 2023 Fall
  • PHP 318/618 Alcohol, Other Drugs, Sex and Gambling: Dynamics of Addiction
• 2023 Spring
  • PHP 318 Alcohol, Other Drugs, Sex and Gambling: Dynamics of Addiction
  • PHP 499 Honors Capstone Project
  • PHP 405/605 Science and Practice of Mindfulness

Dessa Bergen-Cico is a professor in the Public Health Department, coordinator of the Addiction Studies program and faculty in the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Syracuse University. She holds a research appointment at the Syracuse Veterans Administration Medical Center for Integrative Healthcare and is a fellow of the American Academy of Health Care Providers in the Addictive Disorders.

Bergen-Cico is a Certified Addiction Specialist (CAS), Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and a Certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher. She completed MBSR Teacher Training through the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Bergen-Cico has been selected twice as a Fulbright Scholar (Republic Georgia and Thailand) and was selected as a Rotary Peace Fellow in the International Rotary Peace Program at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.

"Combatting Illicit Drug Trafficking - Distinguished Humphrey Fellows Program", Sponsored by Department of State.

"Type I Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Trial of Primary Care Brief Mindfulness Training for Veterans", Sponsored by Department of Veteran Affairs.

"Collaborative Research: SCH: Psychophysiological Sensing to Enhance Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Self-Regulation of Opioid Cravings", Sponsored by National Science Foundation.

"Mindfulness in the Mekong", Sponsored by Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

"Trauma Resiliency in Urban Environments (TRUE)", Sponsored by Health Foundation for Western and Central New York.

"Fulbright Specialist", Sponsored by U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).

• Book
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., War and drugs: The role of military conflict in the development of substance abuse. Routledge, 2015.
• Journal Articles
  • Xiao, Y., Sharma, H., Kaur, S., Bergen-Cico, D. K. and Salekin, A., "Human heterogeneity invariant stress sensing.." Association for Computing Machinery, 2025.
  • Helander, M. E., Formica, M. K. and Bergen-Cico, D. K., "The Daily Patterns of Emergency Medical Events." Journal of Biological Rhythms, 2024.
  • Cary, E. L., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Sinegar, S., Shutt, M. and Felver, J. C., "Self-regulation mediates effects of adapted Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on anxiety among college students.." Journal of American College Health, 2023.
  • Possemato, K., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Buckheit, K., Ramon, A., McKenzie, S., Smith, A. R., Wade, M., Beehler, G. P. and Pigeon, W. R., "Randomized Clinical Trial of Brief Primary Care-Based Mindfulness Training Versus a Psychoeducational Group for Veterans With Posttraumatic Stress Disorder." Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2023.
  • Willard, R., Possemato, K., Ramon, A. and Bergen-Cico, D. K., "Self-Compassion and Self-Judgment: Potential Mediators of a Mindfulness Intervention on Depression." Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, 2022.
  • Zhang, Y., Razza, R., Wang, Q., Bergen-Cico, D. K. and Liu, Q., "Mechanisms of Change Underlying Mindfulness-Based Practice Among Adolescents." Mindfulness, 2022.
  • Proulx, J., Bergen-Cico, D. K., "Exploring the adaptation of mindfulness interventions to address stress and health in Native American communities." In Beyond White Mindfulness: Critical Perspectives on Racism, Well-being and Liberation. Routledge, 2022.
  • Ramon, A. E., Possemato, K. and Bergen-Cico, D. K., "Relationship of rumination and self-compassion to posttraumatic stress symptoms among Veterans." Military Psychology, 2022.
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., Otiashvili, D., Kirtadze, I. and Park, J. J., "Social and geo-political factors influencing trends in substance use.." The SAGE Handbook of Social Studies in Health and Medicine, 2021.
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., Grant, T., Hirshfield, L., Razza, R., Costa, M. R. and Kilaru, P., "Using fNIRS to Examine Neural Mechanisms of Change Associated with Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Stress and Trauma: Results of a Pilot Study for Women." Mindfulness, 2021.
  • Razza, R., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Reid, S. and Uveges, R. L., "The Benefits of Mindfulness for Promoting Resilience Among At-Risk Adolescents: Results From the Inner Strength Teen Program." ECNU Review of Education, 2021.
  • Razza, R., Linsner, R. U., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Carlson, E. and Reid, S., "The Feasibility and Effectiveness of Mindful Yoga for Preschoolers Exposed to High Levels of Trauma." Journal of Child and Family Studies, 2020.
• Book Chapters
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., Kilar, P., Rizzo, R. and Buore, P., "Stress and well-being of first responders." In Handbook of Research on Stress and Well-Being in the Public Sector. , 2020.
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., Cico, R. D., "Age as a Predictor of Cannabis Use." In Handbook of Cannabis and Related Pathologies: Biology, Pharmacology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. , 2017.
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., MacClurg, K., "Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) Use, Addiction Potential, and Legal Status." In Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse. , 2016.
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., Scholl, S., Ivanashvili, N. and Cico, R., "Opioid Prescription Drug Abuse and Its Relation to Heroin Trends." In Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse. , 2016.
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., Wolf-Stanton, S., Filipovic, R. and Weisberg, J., "Trauma and Neurological Risks of Addiction." In Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse. , 2016.
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., Scholl, S., Ivanashvili, N. and Cico, R., "Opioid Prescription Drug Abuse and Its Relation to Heroin Trends." In Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse Volume 1: Foundations of Understanding, Tobacco, Alcohol, Cannabinoids and Opioids. , 2016.
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., Wolf-Stanton, S., Filipovic, R. and Weisberg, J., "Trauma and Neurological Risks of Addiction." In Neuropathology of Drug Addictions and Substance Misuse Volume 1: Foundations of Understanding, Tobacco, Alcohol, Cannabinoids and Opioids. , 2016.
• Case
  • Bergen-Cico, D. K., "A Report of successful programs for HIV prevention in colleges and universities (Syracuse University)." National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, 2000.
• Conference Proceedings
  • Xiao, Y., Sharma, H., Zhang, Z., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Rahman, T. and Salekin, A., "Reading Between the Heat: Co-Teaching Body Thermal Signatures for Non-intrusive Stress Detection." In Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies. Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, 2024.
  • Kalanadhabhatta, M., Roy, S., Grant, T., Salekin, A., Rhaman, T. and Bergen-Cico, D. K. (Primary Investigator), "Detecting PTSD Using Neural and Physiological Signals: Recommendations from a Pilot Study." In 11th International Conference on Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction IEEE. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2024.
  • Costa, M. R., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Razza, R., Hirshfield, L. and Wang, Q., "Perceived Restorativeness and Meditation Depth for Virtual Reality Supported Mindfulness Interventions." In Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics). , 2020.
  • Costa, M., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Grant, T., Herrero, R., Navarro, J., Razza, R. and Wang, Q., "Inspired scenes for guided mindfulness training: presence, perceived restorativeness and meditation depth." Self-regulatory Strategies to Augment Cognition, Human Computer Interaction, 2019.
  • Costa, M. R., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Grant, T., Herrero, R., Navarro, J., Razza, R. and Wang, Q., "Nature Inspired Scenes for Guided Mindfulness Training: Presence, Perceived Restorativeness and Meditation Depth." In Lecture Notes in Computer Science Sub-series Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics. , 2019.
  • Stanton, S. D., Bergen-Cico, D. K., "A relational model of the psychological and physiological trauma response: redefining trauma typology." American Family Therapy Academy, 40th Annual Meeting and Conference, 2018.
  • Costa, M. R., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Navarro, J., Razza, R., Wang, Q. and Herrero, R., "XR-based systems for mindfulness based training in clinical settings." Human Computer Interaction International 2018 Conference, 2018.
• Edited Volume
  • Surguladze, S., Bergen-Cico, D. K., "Editorial: Empathy in a Broader Context: Development, Mechanisms, Remediation." Frontiers in Psychiatry, 2020.
• Technical Report
  • Jvakhishvili, J., Otiashvili, D., Tabatadze, M. and Bergen-Cico, D. K., The Drug Situation in Georgia, Annual Report 2014. , 2016.

International Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Congress, "Using AI to develop self-regulation interventions for people with opioid use disorder" (December 11, 2024 - December 11, 2024)

Johnson, E., Possemato, K., Zappala, M., Smith, A., Sedotto, R., Bergen-Cico, D. K., 58th Annual Convention for the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, "Exploring whether a primary care brief mindfulness treatment can open doors to behavioral healthcare" (November 15, 2024)

Lisbon Addiction Conference 2024, European Union Drugs Agency, "Neuroscience of mindfulness-based practices for client recovery and support of people in the addictions workforce" (October 23, 2024 - October 25, 2024)

International Conference of Planetary Healing: Imagining the Future, Healing Beyond Borders, "Geopolitics of addiction" (October 18, 2024)

Salekin, A., Xiao, Y., Sharma, H., Zhang, Z., Bergen-Cico, D. K., Rahman, T., Association for Computing Machinery International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing , International Symposium on Wearable Computers, "Mental Health and Emotion Reading between the heat: co-teaching body thermal signatures for non-intrusive stress detection" (October 8, 2024)

Intoxicated Warfare: Psychoactive Substances, Violence and Trauma , International Great Lakes History Conference, "How war and drugs escalate in response to one another: a historical overview from the opium wars to today" (September 27, 2024)

Improving Access and Quality of Treatment Services, Council of Europe, "Accommodating increased treatment demand related to cannabis and cocaine" (May 15, 2024)

Improving Access and Quality of Treatment Services, Council of Europe, "Use of new technologies, modalities and opportunities for integrated treatment" (May 15, 2024 - May 15, 2024)

Integrated Care Conference: The Power of Perspective, "Reward deficits and neurophysiological stress response in people with opioid use disorder" (April 9, 2024 - April 9, 2024)

Annual Conference of Drug Control Networks, Council of Europe, "Effects of trauma and stress on suicide within Law Enforcement" (December 6, 2023 - December 8, 2023)

Annual Conference of Drug Control Networks, Council of Europe, "Managing trauma, stress and mental health among Law Enforcement" (December 6, 2023 - December 8, 2023)

International Drug Policy Academy on Monitoring, Evaluation and Communication, Council of Europe, "Using data and health trends for policy planning and evaluation" (October 11, 2023)

International Drug Policy Academy on Health, Safety, Human Rights., Council of Europe, "The influence of biological, psychological and socio-political factors in substance use and risk-based decision making" (June 7, 2023)

International Drug Policy Academy on Health, Safety, Human Rights., Council of Europe, "Determining policy goals, objectives and actions" (June 6, 2023)

Integrated Care Conference Mental Wellbeing: Resiliency & Transformation Across the Lifespan, Helio Health, "Neuroscience of Mindfulness-based Practices for Prevention and Sustained Recovery" (April 18, 2023)

International Drug Policy Academy on Science: Substances, Behavior and Addictions, Council of Europe, "Addiction Neuroscience: Understanding how the brain works. " (March 7, 2023 - March 10, 2023)

International Drug Policy Academy on Science: Substances, Behavior and Addictions, Council of Europe, "Addictions and Neuroscience: Major categories of psychoactive substances." (March 7, 2023 - March 7, 2023)

Substance Use, Addictions and Online Practices Executive Training for the Council of Europe's Pompidou Group, "Substance and their Effects on the Brain. Substance Use Habit Formation" (June 22, 2022)

Substance Use, Addictions and Online Practices Executive Training for the Council of Europe's Pompidou Group, "Correlations Between Different Types of Addictions" (June 21, 2022)

International Drug Policy Academy, Drug Policy Executive Course on Monitoring, Evaluation and Communication, "Using Data and Health Trends for Policy Planning and Evaluation" (April 27, 2022)

International Neuroscience and Yoga Conference 2022, "The Neurophysiology of Yoga for Addiction Prevention and Recovery" (March 20, 2022)

Council of Europe's Pompidou Group Second Symposium on Evolution of Cannabis Policies and Lessons Learned, "Lessons learned from cannabis regulation policies in the USA" (December 15, 2021)

International Drug Policy Academy Drug Policy Executive Course II, "Overview of the state of behavioral addictions research and responses related to gambling, gaming, internet addiction and other process addictions" (November 30, 2021)

International Drug Policy Academy Drug Policy Executive Course II, "Major categories of substances and cross tolerance: Depressants, Stimulants and Psychedelics" (November 29, 2021)

International Drug Policy Academy Drug Policy Executive Course II, "Understanding substance use habit formation and the application of cognitive behavioural strategies for interrupting addictive behaviours" (November 28, 2021)

International Drug Policy Academy Drug Policy Executive Course I, "Theoretical models for framing complex societal issues: Bio-Psychosocial/Socio-Political models - understanding risk and protective factors" (August 25, 2021)

Council of Europe's Pompidou Group Executive Training, "Stigmatization resulting from addiction: Compounded stigma: gender, LGBTQ, minorities, migrants'" (July 7, 2021)

European Network for Psychological Anthropology (ENPA) 2021 Conference: Mind Embedded and Embodied: Futures of Psychological Anthropology, "Mindfulness in the Mekong Delta: Predatory psychologies East and West" (June 3, 2021)

Bergen-Cico, D. K., Razza, R., Hirshfield, L., Grant, T., Costa, M., Wang, Q., Syracuse University Neuroscience Day, "Mechanisms of Mindfulness: Associations between Self-Report and Neural Change" (April 2, 2021)

Council of Europe's Pompidou Group Executive Education Seminar, "Mindfulness, a new concept for prevention" (September 24, 2020)

Bergen-Cico, D. K., Razza, R., Hirshfield, L., Grant, T., Costa, M., Wang, Q., American Psychological Society Annual Convention, "Mechanisms of mindfulness: Associations between self-report and neural change" (May, 2020)

International Drug Policy Academy, Council of Europe's Pompidou Group, "The influence of biological, psychological and socio-political factors in substance use and risk-based decision making" (June 11, 2025)

Voices of Service Research Symposium, Institute for Veterans and Military Families, "Primary Care brief Mindfulness Treatment Reduces Need for Clinical Services and Behavioral Healthcare" (April, 2025)

Voices of Service Research Symposium , Institute for Veterans and Military Families, "Veterans Advance Complementary and Integrative Mental Healthcare." (April, 2025)

International Drug Policy Academy – Science: Substances, Behavior and Addictions, Council of Europe's Pompidou Group, "Addictions and Neuroscience: Major categories of psychoactive substances." (March 25, 2025)