Suzanne Best is a Clinical Psychologist in Portland, Oregon providing psychotherapy, forensic evaluation, and consultation with extensive expertise in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related conditions.

After over a decade of directing various studies of combat veterans, police personnel, and civilian trauma survivors at the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Medical Center, Dr. Best relocated to Portland, OR. She continues to consult on clinical research trials while in her private practice she specializes in serving law enforcement professionals and military veterans, and conducts privately retained forensic evaluations.

As a PTSD Specialist

Dr. Best has researched, evaluated, and treated a wide variety of trauma sufferers including:

Police Officers
Combat Veterans
Sexual Assault and other Violent Crime Victims
Accident Victims
Domestic Violence Victims
Victims of Sudden Loss

Calling all UNSUNG HEROES!

I’m excited to be serving as the Host of the Unsung Heroes group for CAREGIVER VILLAGE, a new on-line community designed to provide support and resources to family caregivers and loved ones of those who are injured, ill, or have special needs. Unsung Heroes is for those who support veterans, police, firefighters and EMT’s facing psychological and physical injuries like PTSD, Depression, Insomnia, TBI, and chronic pain. I look forward to joining with you in supporting each other as we care for our nation’s veterans and first responders.

As a Trauma Therapist

Dr. Best provides cognitive-behavioral, evidence-based treatment to adult trauma survivors. Her style of treatment is collaborative, educative and concrete as she assists her clients to:

Increase their understanding and awareness of trauma's effects
"Learn" that their traumatic experience is now a memory and that memories are not dangerous
Develop effective coping strategies to lower their anxiety and regain control of their minds and bodies

As a Police Psychologist

Dr. Best serves local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, providing post-shooting interventions and on-going treatment of duty-related stress. She regularly presents and consults on managing critical incidents. Dr. Best recently chaired the Post-shooting Intervention Guideline Committee for the IACP Psychological Services Section and has combined her expertise in police psychology and combat stress to assist agencies in the post-deployment "repatriation" of their National Guard and Reservist officers.

In her Forensic Psychology Practice

Dr. Best conducts forensic evaluations and provides attorney consultations and expert witness testimony in personal injury, medical malpractice, and workplace stress cases with particular expertise in PTSD and post-trauma reactions.

Dr. Best has written numerous articles on PTSD and related issues (see CV). In 2006 she co-authored Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for Returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans and Their Families, a self-help book for those seeking assistance in managing combat stress and other post-deployment readjustment struggles. -NOW OVER 150,000 COPIES IN PRINT-