Edna B. Foa is a Professor of Clinical Psychology in Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. She has devoted her academic career to the study of psychopathology and the treatment of anxiety disorders, primarily obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Her research activities include the formulation of theoretical frameworks for understanding the mechanisms underlying these disorders, the development of targeted treatments for these disorders, and the elucidation of treatment mechanisms that can account for their efficacy. The treatment program she developed for PTSD sufferers has proven to be highly efficacious and has been widely disseminated in the United States and around the world. She has published 18 books and over 350 articles and book chapters, and her work has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, among them the Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Clinical Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association, the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Association for Behavior and Cognitive Therapies, inclusion in TIME’s 100 most influential people of the world, the 2010 Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Trauma Psychology Award from the American Psychological Association, and the Inaugural International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation Outstanding Career Achievement Award.
Seth J. Gillihan is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at Haverford College. His research has addressed the assessment of PTSD among adults and adolescents, PTSD treatment mechanisms, as well as neuroimaging of genetic risk for psychopathology and the uses of neuroimaging in psychiatry. This work has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Richard A. Bryant is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Scientia Professor in Psychology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. His research has focused on acute and chronic psychological responses to trauma. He has conducted research into the core biological and cognitive factors that underpin posttraumatic stress, as well as controlled trials of cognitive behavior therapy for acute stress disorder and PTSD. He has served on the DSM-5 and ICD-11 committees for traumatic stress disorders. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed journal articles, 50 book chapters, and has coauthored the major text of acute stress disorder. He serves as a consultant to many international civilian and military agencies on managing trauma reactions.
