معرفی
Dr. Paula P. Schnurr serves as Executive Director of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (CSTS) at the Department of Veterans Affairs and Professor of Psychiatry at Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine. A leader at CSTS since 1989 (previously as Deputy Executive Director), she is Past-President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and Fellow of the American Psychological Association.
Dr. Schnurr earned her PhD in Experimental Psychology from Dartmouth College in 1984, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine. She previously served as Editor of the Journal of Traumatic Stress and currently edits Clinician’s Trauma Update-Online.
Her research pioneers PTSD assessment and treatment development, creating gold-standard instruments like the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and PTSD Checklist (PCL). She conducts large-scale clinical trials evaluating evidence-based therapies—including Prolonged Exposure and Cognitive Processing Therapy—for diverse populations such as female veterans, active duty personnel, and Vietnam veterans. Her work focuses on trauma risk/resilience factors and long-term health outcomes.
Major honors include:
- Health Breakthrough Award from Good Housekeeping Magazine for female veterans' PTSD research
- ISTSS Lifetime Achievement Award
- ISTSS Scientific Achievement Award
As CSTS Executive Director, she leads federally funded multi-site trials that shape national PTSD treatment guidelines. Her research directly impacts Veterans Health Administration clinical protocols through leadership of CSTS's national network encompassing suicide prevention, disaster psychiatry, and child/family programs.
Dr. Schnurr oversees CSTS's strategic direction as a hub for trauma research, training, and clinical innovation across the Department of Veterans Affairs.
