Charles R. Figley, PhD, is a researcher, educator, and author whose work focuses on traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, and resilience. He is Professor Emeritus at Tulane University School of Social Work, where he held the Paul Henry Kurzweg Chair in Disaster Mental Health. At Research.com, he serves as an expert reviewer for counseling education and career content.
Dr. Figley earned his bachelor’s degree in human development from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, followed by a master’s degree and PhD in human development from Pennsylvania State University. His academic career has connected research on individuals and families with the study of trauma and recovery.
He held faculty positions at Purdue University and Florida State University before joining Tulane in 2008. At Florida State, he directed the doctoral program in marriage and family. Tulane named him Professor Emeritus in 2025.
Dr. Figley helped establish scholarly forums for research on trauma and family relationships. He was a founding editor of the Journal of Traumatic Stress, the Journal of Family Psychotherapy, and Traumatology. He also served as the first president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), from 1985 to 1987.
His work has extended beyond university settings. Following Hurricane Katrina, he helped organize crisis counseling support and training for practitioners working with survivors. His scholarship addresses the experiences of people affected by trauma and the professionals who support them.
As a counseling content reviewer for Research.com, Dr. Figley brings a background in trauma research, family studies, and graduate education to resources for prospective students and aspiring mental health professionals.
His review supports resources covering:
His role is to help make these resources clear, grounded in relevant research, and attentive to the responsibilities of working with people affected by trauma. This perspective helps readers connect their educational choices with the demands of a counseling career.
Dr. Figley’s primary areas of expertise include:
His publications examine both trauma exposure and the strain experienced by those who care for traumatized people. His edited books include Compassion Fatigue: Coping With Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder in Those Who Treat the Traumatized (1995) and Treating Compassion Fatigue (2002). He also co-authored Psychiatric Casualties: How and Why the Military Ignores the Full Cost of War (2021) with Mark C. Russell.
In 1994, Dr. Figley received the ISTSS Lifetime Achievement Award , recognizing his contributions to the field of traumatic stress.
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