About – Bio of Dr. Dan, Credentials & experience

Dr. Daniel W. Clark, Ph.D., served as the Washington State Patrol Department Psychologist for almost 30 years, providing clinical services to all Washington State Patrol (WSP) employees and their family members. He taught at the WSP Academy; provided psychological screening of Trooper Cadet, Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Officer, and Communication Officer applicants; and consulted with command staff on Agency issues. In addition, he trained and led the WSP Peer Support/Critical Incident Stress Management Team.

Dr. Clark has studied suicide for over 30 years, and has presented hundreds of hours on the topic from conference presentations to 2-day workshops. His initial interest in the subject came in the ‘80s as a graduate student in Southern California. Dr. Clark attended a conference featuring the late Dr. Ed Shneidman which inspired him to choose suicidology as his primary specialty. Throughout the years, Dr. Clark used his extensive knowledge and experience to create a series of suicide intervention related courses, culminating in his highly-acclaimed 6-hour course, Assessment, Treatment, and Management of Suicide (ATMS). This course meets the 2014 Washington State requirement for suicide prevention training for mental health and healthcare professionals.

Dr. Clark completed his internship, or residency, with the U.S. Army. His first assignment was with 3d Infantry Division in Germany where he was called to serve in 1990 with 1st Armored Division (Iron Soldiers!) as the Division Psychologist during the first Gulf War. During this experience, Dr. Clark deeply delved into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma.

After completing his time in Germany with 3ID, he served at Madigan Army Medical Center and the 98th Combat Stress Control Company. Following this assignment, he taught and eventually managed a senior level leadership course for Army officers. In late 2013, he was promoted to Colonel and assumed the position of Reserve Component Psychology Advisor.

In 1998, he developed his Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention course, which he presents with the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) around the country. He also co-wrote the Strategic Response to Crisis course with Drs. Jeff Mitchell and George Everly co-founders of the ICISF.

Currently, Dr. Clark is a faculty member of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and an Approved Instructor for: Group Crisis Intervention, Advanced Group Crisis Intervention, Assisting Individuals in Crisis, Advanced Assisting Individuals in Crisis, and Law Enforcement Perspectives for CISM Enhancement.

Dr. Clark is a past-President of the Washington Critical Incident Stress Management Network. This organization provides training and service in managing critical incidents. In March 2014, representatives from the CISM Network deployed to the Oso/SR 530 mudslide in Washington State, which killed over 40 people. Dan was one of several team members that worked in the Incident Command Post; his specific role was as the clinical advisor to the CISM team. Their mission was to assist the 1,200 responders cope with the disaster response. Members of the Network were on site for 30 days, and spoke to 3,200 responders in 1-on-1s and 732 in groups.

Dr. Clark has a variety of presentations prepared, including suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention; critical incident stress management; peer support; death notification; time, anger, and stress management; workplace violence; coping with change, communication skills, and related topics.

If you have a specific topic in mind that is not listed, contact us about developing a course to address your specific needs.

If you are interested in learning more about the instructor, review Dr. Clark’s CV