Bio

Karestan Chase Koenen, M.A., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and Harvard School of Public Health where she does research and teaches about psychological trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger from 1991-1992. She testified about the rape she experienced while serving in Niger and the need for reform of the Peace Corps rape response protocols at the House Foreign Affairs full committee hearings “Peace Corps at 50.”

Dr. Koenen is a licensed clinical psychologist and epidemiologist who uses a developmental approach to examine the interplay of genetic and environmental factors in the etiology of stress-related mental disorders, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression. For this work, she was awarded the Chaim Danieli Young Professional Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the Robins-Guze Young Investigator Award from the American Psychopathological Association. She has published over 150 scientific papers and co-authored several books including Treating Survivors of Childhood Abuse: Psychotherapy for the Interrupted Life with Drs. Marylene Cloitre and Lisa Cohen. She has received research funding from the National Institute of Mental Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation. Dr. Koenen is currently President of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. She is also an experienced clinician who specializes in working with women with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She received her B.A. from Wellesley College, her M.A. from Columbia University, and her Ph.D. from Boston University.

Follow Dr. Koenen on Twitter @KarestanKoenen

SHARE

[SHARE]

Expert DirectLink

Articles, Publications, Appearances