Sam D. Bernard, Ph.D., is president of Bernard & Associates, P.C. and executive director of the PAR Foundation, a Chattanooga-based firm specializing in disaster psychology and crisis response. He is a licensed Senior Psychological Examiner – Health Service Provider in Tennessee, National Certified Counselor, National Certified Psychologist & Certified Traumatologist. Academically, he graduated from Emory & Henry College in SW VA with a B.S. in psychology in 1985, Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN with a M.A. in clinical psychology in 1987, Columbia State Consortium in Huntsville, AL with a Ph.D. in counseling psychology in 1998. He has also completed postgraduate work in stress management, behavioral medicine and family therapy at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, TN. He completed a doctoral residency (1 year) with Erlanger Medical Center’s Trauma Services in Chattanooga, TN. He is an instructor with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation; Green Cross Projects and the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services. He is Board Certified in Comprehensive, School and University Acute Traumatic Stress Management (ATSM), and in Homeland Security – Crisis Intervention through the American College of Forensic Examiners International. He has been a reviewer for the Journal of Mental Health Counseling – Special Edition on Crisis Intervention through the American Counseling Association. He serves on the Advisory Boards of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network, The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, and the American College of Forensic Examiners – Crisis Intervention Division. He was a responder to New York’s lower Manhattan during 9/11; consultant to Georgia Emergency Management during the Tri-State Crematory event, Deputy Incident Commander for the Florida State University based Green Cross Projects response to the 2005 Tsunami and US Hurricanes Katrina & Rita. He is the clinical director of the Tri-State CISM Team, Lutheran Support Team, and the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network’s Postvention Response Team. He is a consultant to the TN Department of Agriculture and has served as an evaluator for the TN Dept. of Agriculture and UT College of Veterinary Medicine’s Food Terrorism Table-Top exercise in 2005 and the Agri-Terrorism Table-Top with the TN Dept. of Homeland Security, TN Dept. of Agriculture and TEMA. He has served as President of the Chattanooga Area Psychological Association and President of the Tennessee Association of Psychological Examiners. Sam the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in Civil Air Patrol, Auxiliary of the US Air Force where he serves as the Southeast Region Director for CISM services (Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Puerto Rico). He has responded to aviation incidents nationally and is survivor of an aviation incident in Karachi, Pakistan while serving as a People-To-People High School Ambassador in 1981.

Mailing address: 212 Brently Woods Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37421-4454
Office address: 5600 Brainerd Road, Suite B-42, Chattanooga, TN 37411
Telephone: 423-322-3297