Forces for Health - Webinar Series 2018

William Cantrell, Associate Director of Chaplaincy Related Seminars and Products

Father

VA Mental Health and Chaplaincy

Father Bill Cantrell is Associate Director of Chaplaincy and faculty for VA Mental Health and Chaplaincy in the Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) in Durham, North Carolina.  A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Chaplain Cantrell was commissioned in the United States Navy in 1994.  He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at Texas A&M University, and his Master of Divinity from Nashotah House Theological Seminary, Nashotah, Wisconsin.  He completed five units of Clinical Pastoral Education and is a NAVAC Board Certified Chaplain.

CAPT Cantrell currently serves as U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa / U.S. 6th Fleet Chaplain (Reserves).  Chaplain Cantrell’s broad range of experience as parish priest, President/CEO of St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, Navy Chaplain on four deployments, one three year recall to active duty involving  extensive work at Naval Medical Center San Diego working with combat wounded and PTSD patients as well as a recent one year mobilization as 4th Marine Division Chaplain.   

His current work and ministry in the Department of Veterans Affairs is focused on VA-DOD joint training initiatives for chaplains in the VA and all Services in the Department of Defense in Mental Health and Pastoral Care related topics, clergy and faith community education in mental health and professional collaboration among caregiving domains.

Jason Nieuwsma Related Seminars and Products

Associate Professor

Duke University Medical Center

Dr. Jason Nieuwsma is a clinical psychologist who is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University Medical Center and who serves as the Associate Director for VA Mental Health and Chaplaincy. His work focuses on increasing the availability and cultural relevance of evidence-based psychosocial approaches across various contexts, with areas of expertise in health psychology, cross-cultural psychology, dissemination and implementation science, and spirituality and health. In recent years, Dr. Nieuwsma has helped to lead multiple national-level projects aimed at more effectively integrating chaplaincy and mental health care services.

Sheela Raja, PhD Related Seminars and Products

Director of Clinical Behavioral Sciences

Colleges of Dentistry and Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago

Sheela Raja, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and author of Overcoming Trauma and PTSD, The Sexual Trauma Workbook for Teen Girls, and The PTSD Survival Guide for Teens. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she teaches Health Communication and Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Raja received her PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed internship and post-doctoral training at the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Boston, MA. Her research focuses on the health effects of trauma, and trauma-informed healthcare. She is a highly sought after speaker and consultant and and frequent media contributor on the topic of PTSD and coping with traumatic events.

Amy Street, PhD Related Seminars and Products

Deputy Director,

National Center for PTSD, Women's Health Sciences Division VA Boston Healthcare System

Dr. Amy Street is a clinical psychologist who serves as the Deputy Director of the Women’s Health Sciences Division of the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, housed at VA Boston Healthcare System. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Street is a researcher interested in the stressors that women face during military service (including military sexual harassment and assault and combat exposure) and a clinician who provides mental health care for women veterans.  Dr. Street’s larger program of research focuses on the examination of gender differences in traumatic stress exposure and stress-related disorders. Her research has received funding from many agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Institutes of Health and has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals.  

Megan Gerber, MD, MPH Related Seminars and Products

Medical Director

Women’s Health, VA Boston HCS

Megan Gerber, MD, MPH is a general internist and the Medical Director of Women’s Health at VA Boston and serves as a Senior Consultant to Women’s Health Services, VA Central Office (Washington DC).  She has had a career-long focus on the medical care of trauma-exposed women and has experience in delivery of trauma-informed care, research and program design /advocacy.  Most recently, she has co-chaired the national VA Task Force that developed a system-wide response to IPV. She has authored a number of peer-reviewed publications in the field and is currently editing a book on Trauma Informed Medical Care directed at frontline providers and health systems.

Dr. Gerber is a medical educator and Associate Professor at Boston University School of Medicine. She holds an adjunct appointment as Lecturer on Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

David Riggs, Ph.D. Related Seminars and Products

Deputy Director

Center for Deployment Psychology

David Riggs, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair, Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology (MPS) at the Hérbert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland and also serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP). As Professor and Chair of MPS, Dr. Riggs leads the Ph.D. program to train active duty psychologists for the military services as well as civilian clinical psychologists who train as scientist-practitioners to deliver outstanding patient care and contribute to clinically-relevant science in psychology. As Executive Director of the CDP, Dr. Riggs oversees the development and delivery of training seminars for behavioral health professionals to prepare them to provide for the needs of warriors and their families.

Dr. Riggs earned his doctorate at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and completed a clinical psychology internship at the Medical University of South Carolina. Prior to taking the position to lead CDP, Dr. Riggs held clinical research positions at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania and the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) at the Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center.

As a clinical and research psychologist, much of Dr. Riggs’ work has focused on trauma, violence and anxiety with a particular interest in the impact of PTSD and other anxiety disorders on the families of those directly affected. He has trained and supervised numerous student and mental health professionals from the United States and other countries in techniques for treating PTSD, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and other anxiety disorders. This included training professionals in ways to address the emotional and psychological needs of survivors of combat, international terror, natural disasters, and sexual and physical assault. Dr. Riggs has published more than 80 articles and book chapters and presented more than 250 papers and workshops on topics including PTSD, domestic violence, and behavioral therapy.

Friedhelm Sandbrink, MD Related Seminars and Products

Acting National Program Director for Pain Management

Specialty Care Services, VACO; Director Pain Management, Dept. of Neurology, Washington DC VAMC

Dr. Friedhelm Sandbrink is the Acting National Program Director for Pain Management in the Veterans Health Administration. He joined the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2001 and since then has been leading the comprehensive interdisciplinary Pain Management Program at the Washington VA Medical Center. He was appointed Deputy National Program Director in VHA in 2014, and became Acting National Program Director for Pain Management in October 2016. 

He completed his residency in Neurology at Georgetown University in Washington DC, and fellowship in Clinical Neurophysiology at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. He is board-certified in Neurology, Clinical Neurophysiology and Pain Medicine. He is Clinical Associate Professor in Neurology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD and also has academic appointments at Georgetown University and George Washington University. 

Eric Schoomaker, PhD Related Seminars and Products

Lieutenant General U.S.Army (RET), Director

Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences (USU) Leadership Education and Development

 Prior to his retirement in 2012 after 32 years of active service, Lieutenant General (Retired) Eric B. Schoomaker, MD, PhD served as the 42nd U.S. Army Surgeon General and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command. 

He currently serves as a Professor and Vice-Chair for Centers and Programs in the Department of Military & Emergency Medicine at the nation’s only Federal health university, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda, MD. His principal interests are in both Complementary and Integrative Health & Medicine (CIHM) in the shift from a disease management-focused healthcare system to one more centered on the improvement and sustainment of health & well-being leading to optimal human performance and in leadership education. He is examining the incorporation of CIHM education and training into the education of physicians and other health & healthcare professionals. Doctor Schoomaker is also exploring the central importance of leadership education and training for health professionals, so as to realize USU’s vision as the nation’s “health leadership academy”. 

Doctor Schoomaker committed his career to meeting the health needs of soldiers, their families and veterans through initiatives that Army Medicine implemented throughout its facilities in the U.S., Europe and the Pacific, focusing on soldier medical readiness, enhancing battlefield care, establishing a comprehensive behavioral health system of care, fostering a culture of trust, advancing comprehensive pain management, and promoting health by preventing combat wounds, injury and illness. 

Doctor Schoomaker is an internal medicine physician with a PhD in Human Genetics. In uniform he held many assignments including command of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, the Army’s Medical Research & Materiel Command and Fort Detrick, MD, an Army academic medical center, a community hospital, deployable medical brigade and two Army regional medical commands. 

Doctor Schoomaker is the recipient of numerous military awards, including those from France and Germany, the 2012 Dr. Nathan Davis Awards from the American Medical Association for outstanding government service, an Honorary Doctor of Science from Wake Forest University, a Doctor of Letters in Medicine from the Baylor College of Medicine, and the Philipp M. Lippe Award from the American Academy of Pain Medicine for outstanding contributions to the social and political aspect of Pain Medicine. 

He is married to Audrey, a former Army Nurse Corps Officer and therapeutic yoga instructor; they have a high school-aged son and two daughters, one currently in college and the other pursuing graduate studies in teaching & education.

Jennifer L Murphy, Ph.D. Related Seminars and Products

National Trainer, Clinical Director Chronic Pain Management,

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Dr. Jennifer Murphy has spent her career specializing in the behavioral treatment of individuals with chronic pain and is a nationally recognized expert in this area. She is the lead trainer and author the VA’s Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Pain (CBT-CP) protocol and therapist manual, and has trained over 500 providers across the VA system. Dr. Murphy routinely serves as a consultant for the development of non-pharmacological treatments for chronic pain and is frequently an invited national speaker on the topic. She is co-investigator on multiple funded studies investigating CBT for chronic pain applications and outcomes. Other areas of clinical research include the effects of opioid cessation on pain-related clinical functioning and Dr. Murphy serves on the editorial board of Pain Medicine.

Derek Coy Related Seminars and Products

Derek Coy currently serves as the Veterans’ Health Officer at the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) where he focuses on expanding veterans’ access to community-based services and leveraging external funding to increase resources available to returning veterans in New York State. For more than a decade, he has served as a thought leader, convener, and advocate to improve the health of returning veterans and their families.

Prior to joining NYSHealth, Mr. Coy was a nonprofit consultant, where he used his experience in advocacy and the nonprofit sector to help clients diversify their fundraising efforts, modernize internal structures to adapt to changing environments, and reinforce their brands through targeted messaging and social media. Previously, Mr. Coy served in a variety of different roles at leading nonprofits, such as The Doe Fund, American Civil Liberties Union, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. 

Mr. Coy has considerable experience working in the veteran space and has used his passion and understanding of the community to advocate for changes in our nation’s capital. He has appeared in numerous television, print, and radio outlets, including CNN, NBC, ABC, and SiriusXM Radio. He is a regular contributor to Task & Purpose, and has had pieces shared by the Obama White House.  

Mr. Coy received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Houston Clear Lake, and his Master of Middle Eastern History degree from the City College of New York, where he focused on 20th century Iran. He is also a former Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and served a yearlong deployment to Iraq’s Anbar Province in 2005, as well as another aboard the USS Essex in 2007. He currently resides in the Bronx.   

Carrie Farmer Related Seminars and Products

Carrie Farmer, Ph.D., is a senior policy researcher and associate director of the Behavioral and Policy Sciences Department at the RAND Corporation. Her areas of research include military and veterans health policy; quality of behavioral health care; and treatment and recovery from traumatic brain injuries. She has led multiple studies to assess the delivery of health care to veterans and service members, including a recent study of behavioral health care in the Military Health System and an analysis of the impact of repealing the Affordable Care Act on veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs. She is currently conducting studies to assess the capacity of community providers to meet the health care needs of veterans.

Dr. Farmer was the study director for a large, comprehensive assessment of the Veterans Health Administration required by the Veterans, Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014. She was also the co-director for a study of innovative approaches for treating psychological health problems and traumatic brain injury in the Department of Defense and led the largest assessment to date of care received by service members following a mild traumatic brain injury. She received her B.A. in psychobiology from Wellesley College and Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard University.