Peter Tuerk

Peter Tuerk is a clinical psychologist who specializes in evidence-based treatments for anxiety spectrum disorders, related research and training, and the integration of technology into clinical care.

Dr. Tuerk serves as Director for UVA’s Sheila C. Johnson Center, a community-facing outpatient and training clinic serving the region with evidence-based assessments and interventions related to psychology, speech language pathology, neurodevelopmental disorders, audiology, and reading. Previously, Tuerk served as section chief of the PTSD Clinical Team and PTSD Telehealth Programs at the Charleston VA Medical Center, helping to expand training in, and regional access to, effective care via telehealth technologies. He conducts research and clinical trials focused on the enhancement of evidence-based treatments in disseminated settings, serving as PI on NIH, DoD, VA, and foundation funded research awards, and is author of 120 publications and commissioned government reports related to mental health service delivery and science.

Tuerk’s clinical training is informed by the scientific literature and by his professional experiences and public service. He has served as a psychotherapy trainer, providing clinical education in multiple national-level initiatives and trainings, 22 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally, collaborating with government agencies in Australia and Japan to help disseminate evidence-based treatments (EBTs) in clinical settings. For a number of years, he also served as director of research training for the APA-accredited Charleston Consortium Clinical Psychology Internship at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), and as Chief Science Officer for the VA’s Suicide Prevention Office. He chaired of the National Strategy Taskforce for Evidence Based Treatments via Telehealth, and serves as editor for Springer International’s Behavioral Telehealth Series. Tuerk was recently named a Top 100 producer in the U.S. Purpose Economy for scientific and clinical contributions and he is the recipient of VA’s highest honor, the Olin E. Teague Award for outstanding career achievement.

Tuerk’s current research focuses on augmentation and dissemination of evidence-based treatments for PTSD and childhood OCD via the development of specialized crowd-sourcing and asynchronous telehealth technologies, and the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) technologies for the treatment of childhood social and school anxiety.

Ph.D., University of Virginia, 2007
M.A., University of Virginia, 2004
B.A. James Madison University, 1995

Curriculum Vitae