Stephen J. Cozza

Stephen J. Cozza, MD is Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress. A retired U.S. Army Colonel with 25 years of service, he is board-certified in General and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

His academic credentials include:

• B.S. from United States Military Academy, West Point (1981)
• M.D. from George Washington University School of Medicine (1985)
• Transitional Internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (1986)
• General Psychiatry Residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (1989)
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (1991)

Dr. Cozza specializes in trauma psychology and military family mental health, with seminal work on bereavement, combat deployment effects, and children's responses to military loss. He pioneered the mental health response to the 9/11 Pentagon attack and directs major longitudinal studies on military grief. His clinical expertise bridges disaster psychiatry and developmental psychopathology in high-stress military contexts.

His publication record (2013-2022) reveals consistent focus on military bereavement trajectories, PTSD in family systems, and evidence-based interventions for service member families. Key patterns include cross-generational trauma transmission, gender-specific mental health outcomes, and culturally adapted grief therapies for military communities.

Major recognitions include:

• William C. Porter Award (2005)
• Frank Ochberg Award for Media and Trauma Study (2011)
• Bruno Lima Award for Disaster Response (2007)
• Order of Military Medical Merit (2003)
• Distinguished Fellow status from American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

As former Program Director of Walter Reed's Child Psychiatry Fellowship, he mentored generations of military psychiatrists. His grant portfolio includes the National Military Family Bereavement Study and Stepping Forward in Grief intervention trials, securing continuous federal funding for military family resilience research.

At the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, he leads multidisciplinary teams developing clinical protocols for combat casualty care systems and military family bereavement support networks.