Barbara Olasov Rothbaum, Ph.D.
Associate Vice-Chair of Clinical Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine
Director, Emory Healthcare Veterans Program
Director, Emory Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program
Paul A. Janssen Chair in Neuropsychopharmacology
Barbara Olasov Rothbaum, Ph.D., is Director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program. She is a professor and Associate Vice Chair of Clinical Research at Emory School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Director of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program. She holds the Paul A. Janssen Chair in Neuropsychopharmacology.
Dr. Rothbaum specializes in research on the treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly PTSD. She was a member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Study on Assessment of Ongoing Efforts in the Treatment of PTSD and briefed the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs and Armed Services on the IOM report results in 2014.
Dr. Rothbaum has been studying PTSD treatments since 1986 and has developed, tested, and disseminated some of the most innovative and effective treatments available for PTSD. She is an inventor of virtual reality exposure therapy and a pioneer in applying it in the treatment of PTSD in combat veterans. She has authored over 350 scientific papers and chapters, published 11 books on the treatment of PTSD, and edited 4 books on anxiety.
She received the Diplomate in Behavioral Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology and is a past-President of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies. She is on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Anxiety Disorders Association of America and National Center for PTSD and on the Executive Committee of the Warrior Care Network. She is a Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, the National Academy of Inventors, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Division 56 (Division of Trauma Psychology).
Dr. Rothbaum received the Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of Trauma Psychology in 2010 for APA Division 56 and received the Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Her outreach efforts include training community clinicians in evidence-based treatment for PTSD.
