Edna Foa () is an Israeli professor of clinical psychology at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, where she serves as the director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. Foa is an internationally renowned authority in the field of psychopathology and treatment of anxiety. She approaches the understanding and treatment of mental disorders from a cognitive-behavioral perspective.

Academic career

Foa was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family and earned her BA in psychology and literature from

Bar Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

in 1962, and her MA in clinical psychology from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 1970. In that same year she completed her PhD in clinical psychology and personality at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. Her research, aimed at determining causes and treatments of

anxiety disorders Anxiety disorders are a group of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause phys ...

, has been highly influential. Foa is an expert in

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

s (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The program she has developed for rape survivors is considered to be one of the most effective therapies for PTSD. She has published several books and over 200 articles and book chapters, has lectured extensively around the world, and was the chair of the PTSD work group of the

DSM-IV The ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'' (''DSM''; latest edition: ''DSM-5-TR'', published in March 2022) is a publication by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) for the classification of mental disorders using a com ...

. Foa's research interests are development and evaluation of cognitive-behavioral treatment for

obsessive compulsive disorder Obsession may refer to: Psychology * Celebrity worship syndrome, obsessive addictive disorder to a celebrity's personal and professional life * Obsession (psychology), a persistent attachment to an object or idea * Fixation (psychology), persi ...

(OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and

social anxiety disorder Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by sentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impairing ability to function in at least some asp ...

(SAD); experimental psychopathology of

, especially post-traumatic stress disorder,

social phobia Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by sentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impairing ability to function in at least some as ...

, and obsessive-compulsive disorder; and dissemination of evidence-based treatment to mental health professionals.

Awards and honors

Foa is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including: * ''

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'' magazine's

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for 2010 * Distinguished Scientist Award from the Scientific section of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

* The First Annual Outstanding Research Contribution Award from the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy
ABCT
* The Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Clinical Psychology Award from the

* Lifetime Achievement Award from the

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies is a professional association established on March 2, 1985, in Washington, D.C. It aims to disseminate the state of the science as it pertains to the effects of trauma. History The organizati ...

* Exemplary Contribution to the Field of Psychology and Humanity

Philadelphia Society of Clinical Psychologists Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 1,603,797 in the 2020 census. The city is the urb ...

* Exemplary Substance Abuse Prevention Program Award from SAMHSA/CSAP, CADCA, and NASADAD * Annual Signature Service Award from

Women Organized Against Rape A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

* Honorary Doctorate Degree of Philosophy by

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

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Lifetime Achievement Award

References

External links

"Queen of Broken Hearts"
''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

''. August 6, 2010. Interview with Foa on the treatment of PTSD. {{DEFAULTSORT:Foa, Edna 1937 births Obsessive–compulsive disorder researchers Israeli psychologists Living people Israeli women psychologists APA Distinguished Scientific Award for an Early Career Contribution to Psychology recipients

Academic career

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links