Topic:
"The Trauma Paradox: Lessons
of Adversity and Transformation"
Location: President's Hall, The Penn Stater
Introduction / Moderator: Rodney Erickson / Patty Satalia
Bio: Charles R. Figley, Ph.D., Paul Henry Kurzweg Distinguished Chair in Disaster Mental Health and founding member of the Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy was recruited to Tulane to help organize and participate in new doctoral and research programs. Such programs would reflect the knowledge gained from Katrina to help Tulane become a world leader in disaster mental health and focus attention on the psychosocial rebuilding of New Orleans. This is the culmination of a career that has spanned more than 35 years as a trauma scholar whose work has led to many innovations in psychology, psychiatry, and social work. These include the development of the diagnosis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the treatment of war veterans, traumatized families, and the secondary trauma of mental health professionals and other caregivers (i.e., compassion fatigue), traumatology, and the traumatology of grieving.
Professor Figley has been editor of a number of journals (e.g., the Founding editor of the Journal of Traumatic Stress) and book series (e.g., the Innovations in Psychology book series with Taylor & Francis). Dr. Figley's current editorships include Editor (founder), Traumatology, the International Journal, 1995-present and Editor (founder), Routledge (formerly Brunner/Mazel ) Psychosocial Stress Book Series , 1983-present. He has published more than 200 scholarly works including twenty books and 114 refereed journal articles that reported on more than 35 research projects focusing primarily on stress and resiliency of individuals, families, and communities. He is currently at work on three books: (1) Everson, R. B & Figley, C. R. (due in 2009). FAMILIES UNDER FIRE: A Handbook for Systemic Therapy with Military Families; (2) Figley, C. R, Huggard, P. & Charlotte Rees (Editors) (due in 2010). First Do No Self-Harm: Understanding and Promoting Physician Stress Resilience. NY: Oxford University Press; (3) Figley, C. R. & Roop, R. (due in 2009). First Strike: Preventing Human Abuse by First Documenting Animal Abuse. Washington, DC: Humane Society Press. He just received a contract from Sage Publications to produce the first Encyclopedia of Trauma.
Dr. Figley is an elected fellow of five of the leading national professional associations and is the recipient of numerous lectureships throughout the world including Northern Ireland, South Africa, England, Australia, Canada, Finland, and universities through the United States received many other honors in recognition for his scholarship. Among his many awards is a senior Fulbright Research Fellowship to conduct research in Kuwait in 2004 was named lifetime Alumni Fellow by the Pennsylvania State University, the highest honor awarded to its graduates. In 2006 he received the Humanitarian of the Year Award by the University of Missouri International Psychosocial Trauma Center (2006). In 2009 he will receive two additional awards 2009 American Family Therapy Award for distinguished Contribution to Family therapy Theory and Practice by the American Family Therapy Academy and the American Psychological Association's Award for Life Time Achievement in Trauma Psychology.