Rate My Professor David Berle

Associate Professor David Berle serves in the School of Medicine and Psychology at the Australian National University, where he is the Psychology Clinical Program Convenor and Leader of the Psychological Trauma Research Group. He earned a BA (Hons) from the University of Sydney, a Master of Psychology (Clinical) and a PhD from the University of New South Wales. An endorsed clinical psychologist and supervisor registered with the Psychology Board of Australia, he has practiced in community-based and inpatient mental health settings since 2001, with particular expertise in treating anxiety disorders. He supervises postgraduate research projects but is not available to supervise new higher degree research students commencing in 2026.

David Berle’s research seeks to optimise treatment outcomes for individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), complex PTSD (CPTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, and other anxiety disorders by translating research into routine clinical practice. His work emphasizes trauma-focused therapies and interventions that reduce intrusive trauma-related memories and nightmares. Key research themes include memory processes in PTSD, the prospective course of PTSD and factors influencing adjustment to trauma, and trauma adjustment in occupational contexts and among displaced populations. Prior to ANU, he held a Senior Research Fellowship in trauma and mental health at the University of New South Wales School of Psychiatry and St John of God Health Care Richmond Hospital, followed by an academic position at the University of Technology Sydney. He received the National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship (2017-2020) and has served as chief investigator on projects funded by the Australian Research Council and Australian Rotary Health. His scholarly output includes 126 research publications, such as “Behavioural experiments for intolerance of uncertainty: A brief intervention delivered via videoconference for adults with generalised anxiety disorder” (2026, Journal of Anxiety Disorders), “Personality and impulsivity traits associated with problematic online gaming and poker playing” (2026, Scientific Reports), “Predictors of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Trajectories Across Six Months” (2026, International Journal of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), “A Comparison of the Long and Short Forms of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in Adults with Generalised Anxiety Disorder” (2025, Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment), and “A network analysis investigation of the symptoms which 'bridge' depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)” (2025, European Journal of Psychotraumatology).