Edna Foa, an Israeli psychologist and professor of clinical psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, died on March 23, 2026.
She served as director of the university’s Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety and was recognized as an authority on psychopathology and the treatment of anxiety. Foa approached mental disorders from a cognitive-behavioral perspective.
Her research on anxiety disorders was influential, and she was an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. She also developed a program for rape survivors that is considered one of the most effective therapies for PTSD.
Edna Foa (Hebrew: עדנה פואה; 28 December 1937 – 24 March 2026) was an Israeli professor of clinical psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she served as the director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety. Foa was an internationally renowned authority in the field of psychopathology and treatment of anxiety. She approached the understanding and treatment of mental disorders from a cognitive-behavioral perspective.