Marylene Cloitre, Ph.D., is the Founding Director of the Trauma and Resilience Research Program at the NYU Child Study Center. She is also the Cathy and Stephen Graham Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine.
Dr. Cloitre's clinical efforts and research focuses on the assessment and treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as well as the effects of childhood maltreatment on emotional and social functioning across the life span. Dr. Cloitre has published widely and received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and other agencies to assess and intervene in the psychological and social effects of trauma in children and adults.
Dr. Cloitre received her Ph.D. from Columbia University, and a certificate in clinical psychology from Adelphi University. She completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in psychiatric epidemiology at Columbia University. Prior to joining the faculty at the NYU School of Medicine, Dr. Cloitre was a faculty member at Weill Cornell Medical College where she was Director of the Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Program and Director of Training in Psychology for ten years. She has also served as Director of the New York City Consortium for Effective Trauma Treatment, a collaborative effort of four medical colleges in New York City, funded following 9/11 to provide programmatic training to mental health providers in the Tri-state area.
Dr. Cloitre is the President-elect of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), on the Board of Directors for the Anxiety Disorders Association of America (ADAA) and on the Advisory Board of Tuesday's Children, a grassroots organization of 9/11 families that have lost a parent. Her work has been published in a number of journals, including the American Journal of Psychiatry, the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and Behaviour Research and Therapy. She has authored and co-authored a number of treatment manuals, books and book chapters including the NYU Child Study Center publication Caring for Kids After Trauma, Disaster and Death: A Guide for Parents and Professionals—Second Edition (PDF)(see right hand side of this page). She is the lead author of a practical guide to the treatment of PTSD and its complex effects on social and emotional functioning in adults (see below).
Books by Dr. Cloitre
Treating Survivors of Childhood Abuse: Psychotherapy for the Interrupted Marylene Cloitre, Lisa R. Cohen, Karestan C. Koenen
In the News
Kidnapped: Shawn Hornbeck's Incredible Story
Marylene Cloitre, Ph.D., appeared on the season premiere of 48 Hours to discuss Shawn Hornbeck's story of survival. (September 27, 2008)
Dealing with the Loss of a Loved One
Marylene Cloitre, Ph.D., was interviewed by El Diario to discuss how different children react to the loss of a loved one. (July 14, 2008)
Coping with Holiday Loss
Marylene Cloitre, Ph.D., Director of the Trauma and Resilience Research Program, appeared on NBC’s New York Nightly News to discuss what parents can do to help children cope with the loss or absence of a loved one during the holiday season. (December 21, 2007)
Survivor's Guilt
Dr. Marylene Cloitre, Director of the Trauma and Resilience Research Program, appeared live on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, FOX's national morning show. Dr. Cloitre talked about survivor's guilt in relation to the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech. (April 19, 2007)
Starting the Healing Process
Dr. Marylene Cloitre, Cathy and Stephen Graham Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Director of the Trauma and Resilience Research Program, appeared live on The Today Show to discuss how schools can help students cope with tragedies such as the Virginia Tech shootings. (April 18, 2007)
Iraq: Four Year Later—Growing Up With War
Dr. Marylene Cloitre spoke to The Today Show (Windows Media file) about children and adolescents growing up during the Iraq War. Dr. Cloitre said that the way kids view this war is very different from the way kids 40 years ago viewed the Vietnam War, in large part because kids today are exposed to so much more hard news, sex, and violence on a daily basis through various forms of media. (March 19, 2007)
Taken: Children Lost and Found
Dr. Marylene Cloitre appeared on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° to discuss the road to recovery for children who have been abducted and then returned to their family. The interview was specifically about how children like Shawn Hornbeck, the Missouri boy who was recently found after having been missing from his family for more than four years, can regain some sense of control and normalcy after such a traumatic experience. (January 18, 2007)
Kidnapped! What to Tell Your Kids
Dr. Marylene Cloitre appeared on Good Morning America (Windows Media File) in a segment about the difficult conversation that every parent must have with their children—what to do if they are abducted. Dr. Cloitre offered suggestions for how children should react if they have an encounter with a dangerous predator. (January 17, 2007)
Back At Home
Dr. Marylene Cloitre was on the CBS Evening News (Windows Media file) with Katie Couric talking kidnapping in reference to Shawn Hornbeck, the boy who was recently found after being held captive for more than four years. Dr. Cloitre spoke about the fear and intimidation that kidnappers use against the children that they capture. (January 15, 2007)
Our Families Recovery
In a Salon article about one family coping with the loss of their beloved mother and grandmother on September 11, 2001, Dr. Marylene Cloitre says that many children are eager to shed the label of being a 9/11 kid. (September 11, 2006)
Children of 9/11 Old Enough to Ask for Daddy
Dr. Marylene Cloitre spoke about children who were born after their fathers died on September 11th in an Associated Press article. Dr. Cloitre is currently tracking 700 children who lost a parent in the attacks. (September 8, 2006)
