Dr. Speckhard currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at Georgetown University, and is the Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE). She served also as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Security Studies Department in the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service teaching the Psychology of Terrorism course. Dr. Speckhard has been working in the field of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for over 30 years and has extensive experience working in Europe, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. She was the chair of the NATO Human Factors & Medicine Research and Technology Experts Group (HFM-140/RTG) on the Psychosocial, Cultural and Organizational Aspects of Terrorism, served as the co-chair of the NATO-Russia Human Factors & Medicine Research Task Group on Social Sciences Support to Military Personnel Engaged in Counter-Insurgency and Counter-Terrorism Operations and served on the NATO Human Factors & Medicine Research Task Group Moral Dilemmas and Military Mental Health Outcomes. She is a member of the United Nations Roster of Experts for the Terrorism Prevention Branch Office on Drugs and Crime and was previously awarded a Public Health Service Fellowship in the United States Department of Health & Human Services where she served as a Research Fellow.
She has provided expert consultation to numerous European governments as well as the U.S. Department of Defense regarding programs for prevention and rehabilitation of individuals committed to political violence and militant jihad. Since 2002, she has collected more than four hundred research interviews of family members, friends, close associates and hostages of terrorists and militant jihadi extremists in Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Russia, Chechnya, Belarus, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Belgium, Turkey and France.
Dr. Speckhard has consulted to NATO, OSCE, foreign governments and the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, Health & Human Services, CIA and FBI. She is a sought-after expert on the subject of terrorism frequently appearing on CNN, BBC, NPR, Fox News, MSNBC, CTV, and in Time, the New York Times, the Washington Post, London Times and many other publications. She frequently lectures on subjects related to her books and research studies. She is the author of seven books including: Talking to Terrorists: Understanding the Psycho-Social Motivations of Militant Jihadi Terrorists, Mass Hostage Takers, Suicide Bombers and “Martyrs”, Fetal Abduction: The True Story of Multiple Personalities and Murder, Bride of ISIS: One Young Woman’s Path into Homegrown Terrorism, and Timothy Tottle’s Terrific Dream, Timothy Tottle’s Terrific Crocodiles and co-author ofUndercover Jihadi: Inside the Toronto 18—Al Qaeda Inspired, Homegrown Terrorism in the West and Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy SEAL’s Journey to Coming out Transgender.
Active Assailant Prevention
Dr. Speckhard leads the “Value of Early Recognition” section of our active shooter preparedness course. Learn behavioral indicators of violence and appropriate responses that can aid in active assailant prevention. Contact us today to begin your training.