Meet Dr. Bernard

Dr. Bernard began her career working in the Department of Veterans Affairs for nearly a decade as a psychologist and combat trauma specialist. During that time she gained extensive experience in triage and crisis intervention.

Dr. Bernard is a subject matter expert in moral injury- guest lecturer, public speaker, and clinical provider. In 2018, she co-founded the first moral injury group treatment at the Syracuse VA, including protocol development.

Dr. Bernard is a certified DCJS negotiator and instructor for the New York Association of Hostage Negotiators in both basic and advanced negotiation coursework. She is co-author of the ‘Pivot Model’ - Negotiating with subjects who exhibit anti-social behaviors, published in Tactical Edge Magazine.

As a call-out Psychologist Dr. Bernard will consult and support organizations during officer involved shootings, complex hostage and crisis negotiations, and line of duty deaths across New York

A large part of her practice is dedicated to consultation with command staff and executive coaching for ‘boots on the ground’ responders. Using coping ahead strategies, Dr. Bernard provides organization-specific wellness response protocols, tailored to the culture of the job and nature of the critical incident. Organizations also gain comprehensive evidence based debrief programming, a local provider network, and a sustainable infrastructure.

Dr. Bernard also served for 3 years as a medical examiner with the Veterans Benefits Administration. She is now providing diagnostic evaluations in the private sector using evidence-based psychological assessments for PTSD. Note: a nexus letter may be available for DoD, VA or 207c evaluations

“How strange that we should ordinarily feel compelled to hide our wounds when we are all wounded!”

-M. Scott Peck