FACULTY VIEWPOINT Insights into terrorism, fear & politics in 2017 And the impact of the 2016 presidential election Many may categorize Dr. Justin Sinclair as an expert in terrorism and political violence and that鈥檚 correct, but it鈥檚 only part of his story. Sinclair is a thoughtful explorer of the human condition. Long ago his skill in assessing mental health intersected with his curiosi- ty about the societal impact of politics and fear and it led to an interesting and intricate career. Sinclair joined 91香蕉视频成人在线 in 2016 and is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical PsyD pro- gram and a licensed psychologist. His first priority is to build a robust curricula that teaches psychological assessment. He is well suited to the task. His earliest clinical interests were in forensic psychology and the practice of psychological and neuropsychologi- cal assessment in clinical settings. Sinclair thought that psychological assessment would become his long-term career track. Then 9/11 struck and, like all Americans, he was changed by it. When the towers came crashing down, Sinclair felt driven to understand the impact on the nation鈥檚 psyche. There was no empirical data to help decipher such terror. That is when his assessment skills inter- sected with terrorism and political violence. Sinclair founded, and was Co-Editor-in-Chief, of the academic journal Behavioral Sciences of Terror- ism and Political Aggression with an editorial board representing 14 countries and four continents. He also founded the Society for Terrorism Research in Boston, Massachusetts and led annual conferences in Spain, Poland, Northern Ireland, and Cartagena, Columbia. The work had begun to understand the horrific fabric of terrorist acts, fear and politics. Though attractive, restless government work on terrorism didn鈥檛 suit his young family. In 2010 Sinclair accepted an offer from Massachusetts General Hospital to be Director of Research for The PEaRL program where he was already a Clinical Staff Psychologist, and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. Then in 2015/16 the attacks in Paris, San Bernardi- no, California and the Orlando night club shooting occurred. CBS in New York and other media discov- ered his thought leadership on terrorism and fear and thrust him into the limelight as a subject matter expert. 鈥淚鈥檓 not entirely comfortable in that role,鈥� says Sinclair. 鈥淏ut people need to make sense of these things. The research on the psychological effects of terrorism has presented two disparate messages. On one hand, society has 鈥榥ormalized鈥� in terms of psy- chopathology rates, and we now appear as we did pri- or to 9/11. However, many people remain fearful and it influences where they work, live, socialize, their willingness to take public transportation, and more. These fears have the potential to impact individuals鈥� physical and mental health in meaningful ways.鈥� Now Sinclair brings his unique understanding of terrorism and fear into the classroom and collabo- rates with students to craft thought leadership pieces on the issue. Sinclair鈥檚 work at William James may just train the next generation who can help us to make sense of terror and its root causes. 6 RAPPORT | Short Take