Roster: APA Guideline Update Panel for the Treatment of PTSD in Adults

Priscilla M. Schulz, LCSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker who served on the panel that developed APA’s previous clinical practice guideline on treatment of PTSD (2017). Schulz has broad experience in treating traumatic stress in migrant and refugee communities, in low-income urban communities, and with families of homicide victims. She founded and directed the War Trauma Recovery Project, a behavioral health program for limited-English-proficient war survivors. Schulz served as a consultant to both the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs (2007–2017) and Defense (2008–2012) facilitating trainings in evidence-based PTSD treatments. From 2012 to 2017 she worked with the U.S. Peace Corps as staff therapist to Corps’ Volunteers, and as a trainer and consultant in evidence-based treatments and clinical practice guidelines to agency staff in the U.S. and abroad. Schulz led a review and update of the U.S. Peace Corps’ mental health policies and services which resulted in incorporation of current evidence-based approaches into the agency’s work. She has also consulted on treatment implementation studies at Ryerson University in Toronto and Boston University, and on the delivery of effective mental health care to refugee and immigrant communities with Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago. Schulz has been appointed as a Fulbright Specialist by the U.S. Department of State to train and advise professionals in limited-resource countries on evidence-based mental health practices.

Lucindra Campbell-Law, PhD, ANP, APRN, PHMHNP, BC, is a full professor and holds the Cullen Trust for Healthcare Endowed Chair in Nursing at the Peavy School of Nursing of the University of St. Thomas, in Houston, Texas, where she also serves as Divisional Dean for Graduate Programs. Campbell-Law has more than 40 years of behavioral health practice and academic teaching experience related to populations with chronic and persistent mental illnesses. Her practice focuses on the screening and detection of posttraumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries, especially among pre- and postdeployment military service members. Campbell-Law’s area of research includes mood disorders and substance use disorders.

Daniel V. Foster, PsyD, MSCP, is a licensed psychologist at Fort Belknap Tribal Health Department in Harlem, Montana, where he provides clinical supervision for the Integrated Behavioral Health Program. Foster has extensive experience within the Indian Health Service in treating veterans and Native American populations with PTSD, other mental health conditions, and substance use disorders. He has provided consultation and group therapy in the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Alcohol and Drug/Methamphetamine Treatment Program and served as cochair of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Suicide Prevention Task Force. He also served as the first director of the Yukon Koyukuk Mental Health Program in Galena, Alaska, and director of the Substance Abuse Program at the Federal Medical Center (a unit of the Federal Bureau of Prisons) in Rochester, Minnesota. While at the Federal Medical Center, he helped develop the American Indian Self-Help Program, which increased participants’ sobriety in posttreatment years. Foster has received APA, federal, state, and tribal awards for his contributions to advancing mental health services for Native American populations.

Bita Ghafoori, PhD, is a professor of counseling psychology and a licensed clinical psychologist at California State University Long Beach. Ghafoori is also director of the Long Beach Trauma Recovery Center, which implements a comprehensive model of trauma and mental health care for victims of crime and their families, including those from underserved communities. Ghafoori’s research focuses on mental health equity and mental health services in trauma-exposed groups. She has broad experience as a clinician and provides clinical supervision to students learning adult psychotherapy skills at the Long Beach Trauma Recovery Center.

Carmen P. McLean, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and researcher in the Dissemination and Training Division of the National Center for PTSD at the Palo Alto VA Health Care System and a clinical associate professor (affiliate) in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. McLean has major experience delivering prolonged exposure therapy among military and civilian populations with PTSD. She has also studied the effects of exposure therapy in various populations and delivered in various formats with the goal of increasing the availability of effective PTSD care.

Elana Newman, PhD, is the McFarlin Professor of Psychology, research director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, and codirector of the Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Adversity and Injustice, at the University of Tulsa. Newman’s teaching, research, and service are focused on assessment and treatment of both adults and children who have experienced trauma, as well as on the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based trauma services. Her research has addressed a variety of groups, including interpersonal violence survivors, military personnel, immigrants, disaster survivors, and juveniles and adults involved in the criminal justice system. Her current research and practice focus on trauma-related concerns of journalists (occupational health as well as trauma-informed reporting and organizational practices) and disaster mental health. Newman is a faculty member in a pilot training and referral program, the Journalist Trauma Support Network, which prepares trauma psychologists to work effectively with news professionals. Newman has contributed to the development of several clinical guidelines, including the Nato guidelines for early trauma intervention.

Nnamdi Pole, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, professor of psychology, and adjunct professor of social work at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. He is an associate editor of Psychological Bulletin, as well as associate editor of the APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology and lead author of its chapter “Stress and Trauma Disorders.” He is an APA Council representative for APA’s Division 56 (Trauma Psychology) and a former board member of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Pole’s areas of interest and expertise include psychotherapy research, trauma in first responders, psychophysiological correlates of trauma, and cultural variation in trauma. He provides regular consultation on diversity issues in clinical practice (including the relevance of race and racism), and he regularly teaches courses on evidence-based practice to aspiring psychotherapists.

Mark B. Powers, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and director of trauma research at Baylor University Medical Center. His research focuses on the treatment and prevention of PTSD and related disorders. Powers has more than 150 publications including journal articles, books, and book chapters. He is also editor-in-chief of the journal Cognitive Behaviour Therapy.

Barbara Robles-Ramamurthy, MD, is a triple-board certified adult, child and adolescent, and forensic psychiatrist and assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. She is also the founder of TEKU, an online community supporting parents, caregivers, educators, and clinicians to support child, family, and community mental health and well-being outside of clinical settings and practices. Robles-Ramamurthy’s areas of particular expertise include trauma, health disparities, mental illness, counseling, psychotherapeutic processes, and child and adolescent psychiatry with particular expertise in working with Latino/a/x populations, as well as children and families impacted by the legal and immigration system. She has been a presidential appointee to the American Psychiatric Association’s Spanish Resource Workgroup as well as the American Psychiatric Association Presidential Task Force on Racism, Resource Workgroup. Additionally, she currently serves as a member of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Program (AACAP) committee in charge of planning the AACAP annual meeting. She has served on various other committees and boards focused on health and other disparities and diversities. Robles-Ramamurthy has been recognized with numerous awards for her work, including her leadership, advocacy, mentorship, and more. She has many presentations, publications, as well as diverse media experience. She also served as an ad hoc reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Journal of Medical Ethics as well as guest editor for Frontiers in Psychiatry on the topic of intersectional, cultural, and systems-based approaches in treating youth with substance use disorders.

Anthony Sgherza, PhD, has a professional background in physical therapy, athletic training, and strength and conditioning, and has experience as an advocate for health promotion and disease prevention in diverse and underserved populations. Sgherza leads a peer-support group for a study funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, “Comparing Ways to Help Sexual and Gender Minority Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Reduce Distress and Engage in Treatment.” The study, conducted at the Department of Psychiatry at Yale University, is examining the effects of a six-session online peer-led group on depression, anxiety, and other mental health symptoms. In this role, he has received and applies training in trauma-informed interaction and motivational interviewing.