John Briere, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the USC Keck School of Medicine and the USC Adolescent Trauma Training Center.
A past president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Dr. Briere is a recipient of several awards, including:
- the American Psychological Association (APA) ‘Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Trauma Psychology’
- the Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’
- the Mayo Clinic ‘William N. Friedrich Lecturer: Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Child Psychology’ award
Over his career, John has provided direct service, clinical training, consultation, and research in many areas, including:
- acute and chronic trauma
- burn recovery
- torture
- sex trafficking
- trauma assessment and diagnosis
- social discrimination and maltreatment
- intensive psychotherapy with childhood trauma and adult assault survivors
His textbook Principles of Trauma Therapy is widely used in North American universities and beyond.
A long-time student of Buddhist psychology, Dr. Briere is co-editor of the book Mindfulness-Oriented Interventions for Trauma: Integrating Contemplative Practices and the paper When People Do Bad Things: Evil, Suffering & Dependent Origination.
John Briere has been Remote Program Faculty at the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy since 2013. He has also developed various psychological tests, including the Trauma Symptom Inventory; Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children; Inventory of Altered Self Capacities; Detailed Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress; and the Detailed Assessment of Posttraumatic Stress.
Learn more about John at johnbriere.com


Drawing on his deep clinical expertise, Briere brings a fresh, skillful integration of acceptance and mindfulness into his approach and creates a trajectory toward full wellness. This book is truly a contribution to the field. Highly recommended!

Briere brings his deep compassion and soaring intellect to a set of timely issues that counselors often struggle with how to address risky and compulsive behavior in traumatized clients. He deftly integrates his decades of experience as an academic, clinician, and writer to bring forth a work that is sure to stimulate important discussion of topics such as self-harm, behavioral addictions, dissociation, the role of self-protective avoidance, and how treatment can become more sensitive to the complex interplay between these. He offers vivid case examples that evoke the emotional yearning underlying the intense push–pull dynamics of risky behaviors. Bravo for raising these essential topics and for providing a work that will be highly relevant to all levels of counselor education.

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