Funding sources include NIH, DoD, DARPA, HHS, and private foundations. He has held positions at UCLA, Pepperdine University, UT Austin, Harvard University, Boston University, University of Washington, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), University of Pennsylvania, and Southern Methodist University.
Dr. Powers was certified in prolonged exposure therapy for PTSD and Exposure with Ritual Prevention for OCD at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders with Dr. Edna Foa and he was a Beck Scholar at the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research. He was the Chair of the APA Division 12 Presidential Task Force on Empirically Supported Treatment Dissemination and was a member of the Scientific Council at the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. He works closely with trauma medical staff, survivors of traumatic injury, first responders/law enforcement, and the military.
Dr. Powers is a member of the Garland Police Department Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT) and the Critical Incident Stress Management team (CISM). He has also participated in joint force/agency exercises such as Texas Task Force 1: Urban Search & Rescue Exercise. He conducts international workshops in EX/RP for OCD and PE for PTSD. Dr. Powers has over 150 publications including books, book chapters and journal articles. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Most recently, he was the 2019 recipient of the D CEO magazine Excellence in Healthcare Award for Achievement in Medical Research.