The ISTSS 15th Annual Meeting, Research and Practice in Partnership: Bridging Gaps Across Disciplines, Cultures and Theoretical Perspectives, will appeal to all members' interests. Program Chair Heidi Resnick, ISTSS Vice President Rachel Yehuda and President Alexander McFarlane have developed eight tracks to give structure to parallel sessions.
Tracks will feature speakers and discussions that will enlighten participants. Presentations will highlight progress made in the study and treatment of PTSD and other post-trauma adaptations, addressing critical cross-trauma, developmental, multicultural and multidisciplinary perspectives. The tracks are:
- Bridges will feature presentations regarding the theme of the conference involving innovative integration of fields within traumatic stress. Sessions include such topics as ethics, education, media, policy and human rights, spirituality, primary care, and cross-cultural research.
- Basic Research will feature empirical studies on topics such as biology of PTSD; risk factors and coping; longitudinal course of PTSD; gender, health factors; memory; aging; and special trauma groups, such as female offenders, seriously mentally ill and substance abusers.
- Interventions, Research will feature presentation of the ISTSS treatment guidelines. A range of various empirical treatment studies of PTSD will be highlighted.
- Clinical Theory will include sessions regarding theoretical models of adaptation to trauma.
- Assessment will focus on those presentations describing assessment tools for diagnosis, therapy outcome, and quality of life regarding PTSD.
- Clinical Discussion will highlight those presentations that offer the opportunity for comprehensive discussions and debate of particular clinical issues and novel treatment approaches.
- Trauma Theory presentations will focus on examining issues related to adequacy of DSM-IV criterion A and other provocative issues that require ongoing attention for our field.
- Children & Adolescents will feature clinical, research, education and theoretical presentations on developmental issues in adaptation to trauma. This track is consistent with the society's goal of increasing representation of content related to this area.