Richard F. Mollica, MD, MAR is the Director of the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma (HPRT) at Massachusetts General Hospital and a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He received his medical degree from the University of New Mexico and completed his Psychiatry residency at Yale Medical School. While at Yale, he also trained in epidemiology and received a philosophy degree from the Divinity School. In 1981, Dr. Mollica co-founded the Indochinese Psychiatry Clinic (IPC). For over the past four decades, HPRT/ IPC have pioneered the mental health care of survivors of mass violence and torture in the U.S. and abroad. HPRT/IPC’s clinical model has been replicated throughout the world.
Dr. Mollica has received numerous awards for his work: In 1993, he received the Human Rights Award from the American Psychiatric Association. In 1996, the American Orthopsychiatry Association presented him with the Max Hymen Award. In 2000, he was awarded a visiting professorship to Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, for his contributions to assisting survivors of the Kobe earthquake. In 2001, he was selected as a Fulbright New Century scholar. In 2022, Dr. Mollica received the Equity, Social Justice, and Advocacy Lifetime Achievement Award from Harvard Medical School for his leadership and life-long service to provide and improve health and mental health care for vulnerable populations experiencing healthcare disparities.
Under Dr. Mollica’s direction, HPRT conducts training, policy, clinical, and research activities for populations affected by mass violence and displacement around the world. HPRT’s screening instruments are considered a gold standard in the field and have been widely translated into over thirty languages. HPRT’s scientific work has helped place mental health issues at the center of the recovery of post-conflict societies. Dr. Mollica is currently active in clinical work, research, and the development of a Global Mental Health curriculum, focusing on trauma and recovery. The Harvard Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery certificate program was the first of its kind as training in global mental health and post-conflict/disaster care.
Dr. Mollica is the author of the book called, Healing Invisible Wounds: Paths to Hope and Recovery in a Violent World (2006), and his most recent published books, A Manifesto: Healing a Violent World (2018) and Manifesto IV: Healing a Violent World, The Will to Heal and Survive in an Apocalyptic World (2022). He has published over 160 scientific articles. Dr. Mollica and the HPRT team over the past forty years have cared for over 10,000 survivors of extreme violence worldwide.