Dr. Shauna Springer is one of the nation’s leading authorities on trauma, close relationships, suicide prevention, and initiatives that impact the military and veteran community. She is the Chief Psychologist for Stella Center, where she helps advance innovative treatments for psychological trauma.

Known as “Doc Springer”, she is a trusted advisor for a vast network of veterans, military families and fellow thought leaders. Her uniquely perceptive insights have helped thousands of patients reconnect to hope, strengthen their relationships, and build lives driven by their values. Dr. Springer’s work has been featured on NPR, NBC, CBS Radio, Forbes, Psychology Today, and Military Times. She is co-author of the best-selling book, Beyond the Military, which explores the psychological, cultural and relational aspects of military transition. Her next book, WARRIOR: How to Support Those Who Protect Us brings the worlds of the warrior and those they protect together to shine new light on things that many of us thought we understood: Trust, Stigma, Firearms, The Imploding Mind, and Connection.

Between 2017-2020, Dr. Springer served as the Suicide Prevention Senior Advisor at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a non-profit that serves all who grieve the loss of a military loved one. Prior to that, within the VA Healthcare System, between 2009-2017, she was the lead clinician for the VA Northern California Relationship Seminar Series.

Dr. Springer is also the owner of Hidden Ivy Psychology Consulting. Launched in 2015, Hidden Ivy Consulting is her private consulting platform for offering seminars, community based lectures, training events, public speaking engagements, and consultation related to her areas of expertise.

As a practicing psychologist, Dr. Springer favors an integrative, trans-theoretical approach to therapy, using a wide range of approaches and the best of the research to inform clinical decision-making. In Dr. Springer’s view, reclaiming and embracing the creative process in the practice of Psychology promotes clinical innovation, benefits patients and allows psychologists to operate at their full potential. Her new Psychology Today blog, “Free-range Psychology,” proposes that integrative practice is the future of the field.

A few years ago, Dr. Springer became interested in how equally powerful partners form lifelong relationships. She organized and conducted The Lifestyle Poll, a survey of over 1200 well-educated women. Results showed a strikingly low divorce rate in this sample – less than 6% had divorced despite relationships averaging over seven years in length. (According to census data, the majority of couples who divorce do so within seven years). Moreover, despite acknowledging a variety of struggles and problems, her sample reported very high levels of relationship satisfaction overall. Her book, Marriage, for Equals: The Successful Joint (Ad)Ventures of Well-Educated Couples, explores these findings in light of relationship theories, marital research, and clinical observations. The end result is a guide to a marriage of equals that offers a blunt, bold and refreshingly truthful approach about what it takes to create and sustain a truly exceptional partnership.