David S. Riggs PhD

David Riggs, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Center for Deployment Psychology, is a clinical psychologist and Research Associate Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Dr. Riggs has served as the Executive Director of the CDP since its founding in 2006. He received his B.A. (Psychology) from the University of Kansas and earned his Ph.D. at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (1990). He completed a clinical psychology internship at the Medical University of South Carolina (1989). Prior to taking the Director position at the CDP, Dr. Riggs held clinical research positions at the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety and the National Center for PTSD at the Boston VA Medical Center. He has previously held academic appointments at the Medical College of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Boston University, and the University of Pennsylvania. 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 numerous student and mental health professionals from the United States and other countries in techniques for treating PTSD, OCD, and other anxiety disorders. This included training professionals in ways to address the needs of survivors of international terror, natural disasters, military trauma, and sexual and physical assault. Dr. Riggs has published over 60 articles and book chapters and presented over 200 papers and workshops on topics including posttraumatic disorder, domestic violence, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and behavioral therapy.