BUSM Professor and Vice Chair Awarded 2012 Harold Hildreth Award for Distinguished Public Service

Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) Professor and Vice-Chair of Psychiatry Terence M. Keane, PhD, was honored with the 2012 Harold Hildreth Award for Distinguished Public Service by the American Psychological Association (APA). The award was presented at the annual APA meetings in Orlando, Fla.

Named after Harold M. Hildreth, a pioneer in psychology and a role model for dedication and achievement in serving the public, the award is the highest honor for public service given by the APA division of public sector psychologists. A former division president and council member, the award was established in Hildreth’s memory after his death in 1965.

The award recognizes Keane’s contributions toward improving the diagnosis and treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and his success in spreading this knowledge, which has impacted public sector mental health care delivery.

Keane, director of the Behavioral Science Division of the National Center for PTSD and associate chief of staff for Research and Development at VA Boston Healthcare System, is an international leader in the field of traumatic stress. He has developed assessment measures, which are widely used today, and is considered an authority on the cognitive behavioral treatment of PTSD.

Past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), Keane has published more than 250 articles on the assessment and treatment of PTSD. For the past 32 years the VA, National Institutes of Health, Department of Defense and Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration have supported his research on psychological trauma.

His contributions to the field have been recognized by many honors including the Lifetime Achievement Award (2004) from ISTSS, the Outstanding Researcher in Behavior Therapy Award from the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy (2004), the Distinguished Service Award (2002), the APA Outstanding Research Contributions Award (2000) and the Weisband Distinguished Alumnus Award from SUNY- Binghamton University (1998), where he earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology.

Keane has consulted, lectured and conducted workshops internationally on topics related to psychological trauma. His current work and interests are in the development of a national registry of PTSD patients and the construction of an internet based treatment program for returning war veterans with risky alcohol use and war trauma symptoms.