About Barbara Van Dahlen
Barbara Van Dahlen, Ph.D.
Founder and President, Give an Hour™
Barbara Van Dahlen,
Ph.D., named to TIME's 2012 list
of the 100 most influential people in the world, is the president and founder
of Give an Hour™. A licensed clinical psychologist who has been practicing in
the Washington, D.C., area for over 20 years, she
served as an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University, where she
participated in the training and supervision of developing clinicians. She
received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in
1991, her M.A. in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1987,
and her B.A., summa cum laude, in psychology from California State College in
1982.
Concerned about the mental health implications of the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Dr. Van Dahlen founded Give an Hour in 2005 to
enlist mental health professionals to provide free services to U.S. troops,
veterans, their loved ones, and their communities. Currently the network
includes nearly 7,000 providers, who have collectively given over $15.5 million
in services.
Dr. Van Dahlen, now an expert on the psychological impact of war
on troops and families, has made Give an Hour a leader in mobilizing civilian
constituencies and communities in support of service members, veterans, and
their families. She is also leading a collection of concerned citizens,
nonprofit leaders, and leaders from the private sector who have come together
to create the Campaign to Change Direction, a national effort to change the
story in America about mental health.
Dr. Van Dahlen has received numerous awards, including the American Psychological
Association’s Presidential Citation and the 2013 Richard Cornuelle Award for
Social Entrepreneurship of the Manhattan Institute. In 2014 she was named a
Woman of Distinction by the Coastal Bend Women Lawyers Association and honored
by the Chief of Staff of the United States Army as an outstanding civilian who
has made significant voluntary contributions to our military and the United
States Army.
