Barbara Burns, Ph.D.

Professor and Director of the Services Effectiveness Research Program, Department of Psychiatry, Duke University School of Medicine
[email protected]
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​Barbara J. Burns, Ph.D., is a Senior Faculty member of the IDEAS Center.  She is Professor of Medical Psychology and Director of the Services Effectiveness Research Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University, School of Medicine. Dr. Burns is a nationally recognized mental health services researcher. She has co-authored over 250 publications and was the lead author for the review of effective treatment for mental disorders in children and adolescents for the 1999 U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health. She also has had a key role in the SAMHSA Implementing Evidence-Based Practices Project. Her research career emerged from clinical practice in an integrated health/mental health center and interest in exploring the implications of that model. For nearly a decade at the National Institute of Mental Health, she focused on improving mental health services from primary care to tertiary care. Current studies are investigating the effectiveness of an enhanced model of long-term treatment foster care, best practices for child trauma, the effectiveness of group homes, and mental health services for children in the child welfare system. Her primary focus is on strategies to increase the spread of evidence-based interventions for youth with severe emotional disorders. Throughout her research, teaching, clinical practice, and policy career, Dr. Burns has studied and advocated for responsive and innovative community-based treatment. 

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