Sonja Batten
Sonja Batten
Assistant Deputy Chief Patient Care Services Officer for Mental Health
VA
Dr. Sonja Batten currently serves as the Assistant Deputy Chief Patient Care Services Officer for Mental Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Georgetown University School of Medicine and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine. Dr. Batten has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, the coordinator for the Trauma Recovery Programs for the VA Maryland Health Care System, and Associate Director for Women’s Health Research at Yale. Dr. Batten is a clinical psychologist and brings to VA extensive experience in traumatic stress, postdeployment psychological health, and the Military Health System. She also has expertise in acceptance-based psychotherapies, women’s health, and sexual trauma. Dr. Batten is an active researcher in the field of traumatic stress, and is the author of the recently published Essentials of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.