National Crime Victims Center > About Us > Faculty > MUSC/NCVC faculty - Connie L. Best, Ph.D.					Print This Page

Connie L. Best , Ph.D.    
[NCVC rotation]

Dr. Best is a Professor with Tenure in the Department of Psychiatry. As a senior faculty member at the National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center (NCVC), Dr. Best has served as the Director of Adult Services since 1985. Dr. Best has been the Principal Investigator on 10 grants and Co-Investigator on 16 others from funding sources such as NIMH, NIDA, HRSA, DOJ, and SAMHSA. She has an extensive list of scientific publications and invited presentations before national audiences. She has served on numerous National Advisory Committees (e.g., the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine; the Joint NIMH/DOD/DOJ Mental Health and Mass Violence Consensus Committee; the Secretary of Defense Advisory Committee on Women; the International Association of Chiefs of Police). The focus of her research and clinical work is in the areas of the effects of criminal victimization, psychological trauma, and the effects of natural disasters. Prior to September 2001, Dr. Best was actively involved in the effects of terrorism and is currently an investigator on a HRSA-funded bio-terrorism and a NIMH disaster and terrorism grant. Dr. Best also has a University level appointment as the Director of the Office of Gender Equity for MUSC.

Research Interests:  the diagnosis and treatment of crime-related trauma; physically injured crime victims; psychological effects of large scale disasters; sexual harassment, individual and community effects of terrorist events; effective training of mental health professionals in disaster response.

Subject Matter Expert: (partial listing)
U.S. Air Force, Office of Special Investigations, for sexual assault investigations; the 2003 U. S. Army Sexual Assault Task Force; 2002 U. S. Air Force Sexual Assault Prevention Program, the 2004 Department of Defense Joint Task Force on Sexual Assault; the 2000 NIMH, DOD, DOJ, DVA, and the American Red Cross Committee on Mass Violence and Early Intervention

Honors/Awards:

Visiting Professorships:

• Distinguished Visiting Professor; the United States Air Force Departments of Psychology & Psychiatry
• Distinguished Visiting Professor, St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas
• Visiting Professor, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky

Select Publications:

• Best, C.L. (2007). Military sexual trauma. The Crime Victims Report, 11(3), 35 & 44.
• Shealy, R.M., Simpson, W.M., Lee, F.W., Best, C.L., Kennedy, E., Carson, D.S., & Garr, D.R. (2006). The gaping hole: Physicians are missing from the front line of disaster preparedness training. The Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association, 102(1), 11-13.
• Galea, S., Nandi, A., Stuber, J., Gold, J., Acierno, R.E., Best, C.L., Bucuvalas, M., Rudenstine, S., Boscarino, J., & Resnick, H. (2005). Participant reactions to survey research conducted in the general population after terrorist attacks. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 461-465.
• Lewis, S.F., Resnick, H.S., Ruggiero, K.J., Smith, D.W., Kilpatrick, D.G., Best, C.L., & Saunders, B.E. (2005). Assault, psychiatric diagnoses, and sociodemographic variables in relation to help seeking behavior in a national sample of women. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 97-105.
• Ruggiero, K.J., Smith, D.W., Hanson, R.E., Saunders, B.E., Kilpatrick, D.G., Resnick, H.S., & Best, C.L. (2004). Is disclosure of childhood rape associated with mental health outcome? Results from the National Women's Study. Child Maltreatment, 9, 62-77.

Select Presentations:

• Best, C.L. (2007, April). When disasters strike: How to assist the public health professional. Paper presented at the South Carolina Public Health Association annual conference, Myrtle Beach, SC.
• Best, C.L. (2006, Nov). Psychological aspects of disasters or emergencies. Presentation for the 26th Annual School Nurses Conference, Charleston, SC.
• Best, C.L. (2006, Oct). Psychological first aid in disaster response and implications for health care curriculum development. Invited presentation for the Annual Meeting of the National Network of Health Care Programs in Two-Year Colleges, Charleston, SC.
• Best, C.L. (2006, Oct). Responding to the Unthinkable: The Role of Mental Health. Invited presentation to the Charleston Area Psychiatric Association Meeting, Charleston, SC.
• Best, C.L. (2006, Sept). Responding to trauma. Invited presentation to the SC, NC, and GA Chapters of Employee Assistance Program Association 6th Annual Conference, Greenville, SC.
• Best, C.L. (2006, July). Psychological First Aid in Emergencies and Disasters. Invited presentation to the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control, Region Seven, Charleston, SC.

Curriculum Vitae  (2007) (Requires Adobe® Reader to view)

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