Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Journalists

Emily Sachs, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and a consultant to the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. She has provided trauma treatment for adults including refugees, veterans, survivors of sexual abuse and assault, and crisis management professionals, and held staff positions at the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture and the San Francisco VA Medical Center. She has coordinated research programs in U.S. immigration detention centers and abroad in India. Dr. Sachs has created clinical curriculums for medical professionals at the VA and doctoral students at the Wright Institute, and regularly provides trauma-informed trainings for newsrooms and other journalism organizations. She has been treating journalists in her private practice since 2015.

Elana Newman, Ph.D. is the McFarlin Professor of Psychology and Affiliate Faculty in Media Studies at the University of Tulsa; and Research Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma. Newman specializes in understanding and treating trauma-related conditions and training students and professionals from many professions about the skills they need to work effectively with people suffering from trauma-related problems. Her research in the field of traumatic stress has examined a wide range of topics including the physical and psychological effects of trauma exposure upon adults and children, health care costs and trauma, journalism and trauma, occupational health and trauma, research ethics in studying trauma survivors, correctional issues and trauma, and substance abuse and trauma. Newman’s work in journalism and trauma focuses on the occupational health of journalists, including safety, harassment, educational needs, coping with trauma exposure, ethics, and the impact of trauma news on consumers. 

She directs the creation of an online searchable database of articles related to journalism and trauma available at the Dart Center website. She also trains journalists on interviewing survivors, trauma-informed news management, covering traumatic events in local contexts including sexual violence on campus, self-care and occupational health, and general trauma information. Newman consults with journalists and documentary film makers about various ethical and professional trauma-related issues related to storytelling. Newman is a founding staff member of the Journalist Trauma Support Network to train qualified therapists to care for trauma-impacted journalists team members. She co-directed the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma’s’ first satellite office in NYC after 9-11. Newman is a past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Newman was one of the co-founders of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.

Dr. Katherine Porterfield is a consulting psychologist at the Bellevue Hospital Program for Survivors of Torture and a founding staff member of the Journalist Trauma Support Network, an initiative at the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at Columbia University. Dr. Porterfield has provided clinical care to adults, children and families who have experienced war and refugee trauma and torture for over 25 years. She has written and edited numerous publications pertaining to the care and evaluation of survivors of trauma. She regularly consults on issues pertaining to trauma and torture, including in cases at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, in US federal and state courts, and the International Criminal Court. Dr. Porterfield has worked extensively with journalists, attorneys, and human rights organizations on recognizing and managing secondary traumatic stress and building well-being practices. Dr. Porterfield was the Chair of the American Psychological Association's Task Force on the Psychosocial Effects of War on Children and Families Who Are Refugees from Armed Conflict Residing in the United States. She was trained at the legendary Second City theater and was one of the founding instructors in the Second City Training Centers in Detroit and New York. As a group facilitator, Dr. Porterfield has developed workshops and interactive programs for organizations such as the International Women’s Media Foundation, The New York Times, Washington Post, Physicians for Human Rights, Committee to Protect Journalists, NPR, Major League Baseball, Pfizer, and the Ford Foundation.  

Dr. Kirby Hockensmith is currently a Research Psychologist at the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. He has published research related to the work-life interface and improving occupational health and worker well-being. He also has prior experience consulting on research design and data analytics, developing and validating personality measures at Hogan Assessments, and designing and executing student assessment initiatives for the University of Tulsa.

Bruce Shapiro is Executive Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, a project of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism encouraging innovative reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy worldwide. An award-winning reporter on human rights, criminal justice and politics, Shapiro is a contributing editor at The Nation and U.S. correspondent for Late Night Live on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Radio National. He is Adjunct Professor and Senior Advisor for Academic Affairs at Columbia, where he teaches journalism ethics. His books include Shaking the Foundations: 200 Years of Investigative Journalism in America and Legal Lynching: The Death Penalty and America's Future. Shapiro is recipient of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies Public Advocacy Award for "outstanding and fundamental contributions to the social understanding of trauma." He is a founding board member of the Global Investigative Journalism Network.