Student Perspectives: Acute Stress Reactions: Learning More about Rapid Interventions for Professionals ‎in High-Risk Occupations Exposed to a Potentially Traumatic Event
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Editor’s note: ISTSS participated in the development of the Vicarious Trauma Toolkit, a repository of tools and resources that law enforcement, emergency medical, fire and victim services organizations can use to address vicarious trauma in staff and volunteers

Soldiers, police officers, firefighters, paramedics and other professionals in high-risk occupations regularly face high stress and life-threatening situations. These situations can lead to acute stress reactions (ASRs) immediately after exposure to a potentially traumatic event (PTE). Since every decision during a crisis counts, ASRs can endanger professionals and their teams through impaired decision-making and reckless behaviors (Farchi et al., 2018; Svetlitzky et al., 2019). Managing ASRs quickly and effectively on-site is therefore essential for individuals to regain adequate levels of functioning. This piece will build on two recent peer-reviewed articles on rapid interventions aimed at reducing ASRs (Farchi et al., 2018; Svetlitzky et al., 2019).

President's Message

I am truly honored and humbled to serve as the president of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, especially during these trying times due to the global pandemic. 

I can only start this column by addressing how challenging 2020 was for us all. 2020 will be remembered as a year that saw a range of unprecedented threats to the existence and welfare of our communities and to our planet as a whole, with events ranging from major wildfires to mounting political tensions to a global pandemic.

Announcing the Awardees for the Inaugural Journal of Traumatic Stress ‎Editorial Fellowship for Underrepresented Scholars
To reach the goals of achieving real and lasting change that will effectively redress institutional racism and its adverse effects on science and practice calls for more than issuing statements of support; it calls for action. To this end, this year I initiated the Journal of Traumatic Stress Editorial Fellowship for Underrepresented Scholars to pave a pathway toward leadership positions in scholarly publishing for diverse emerging scholars in the field of traumatic stress studies.

SIG Spotlight: Moral injury and Systemic Betrayal in the United States ‎
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As the world enters the second calendar year of the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, the United States (U.S.) faces another ongoing national issue – racism, marginalization and oppression of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). While the pandemic is brand new, the issue of oppression is older than the country. Although incomparable, they share similar psychological sequelae including depression, anxiety, substance misuse and posttraumatic stress (e.g., Salari et al., 2020; Williams, Printz, & DeLapp, 2018).

Trauma and Diversity: The Bidirectionality of Trauma and Social Determinants of Health: A Call for Enhanced ‎Conceptualization of Intersectionality
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Editor’s note: For more information on this topic, see ISTSS’ free webinar recording, Trauma from an Intersectional Perspective, and scroll down for additional resources from the presenters.

A burgeoning body of trauma research has emerged over the past few decades. In particular, we as a field have developed an understanding of the sequelae of trauma exposure, including medical (e.g., cardiovascular health) and mental health (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], depression) multimorbidity (Breslau, 2009; Schnurr et al., 2007). Furthermore, several evidence-based treatments have been established, facilitating recovery among trauma survivors (Beck & Sloan, 2020).

Clinician's Corner: The Assessment and Treatment of PTSD in South Africa: ‎ A Move Towards Effectiveness
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Over the last few decades, several trauma-focused psychotherapies have accrued substantial evidence to effectively treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Further development in the field of traumatic stress research has been the evaluation of empirically supported treatments (ESTs) such as prolonged exposure therapy (PE) and cognitive processing therapy (CPT), among others, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (see Kaysen et al. 2020; Rossouw et al., 2020). Yet even with the availability of several efficacious trauma therapies for PTSD, the uptake and implementation of these treatments remain relatively sparse in LMICs such as South Africa. 

Global Perspectives: The Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress
The Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GC-TS) is a rapidly growing collaborative of traumatic stress societies from all over the world, with professionals committed to promoting globally significant traumatic stress related activities that are best performed by means of international collaboration. The GC-TS covers a wide range of themes and projects, including research projects and activities relevant for practitioners.

Trauma and World Literature: She’s Gotta Have It
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She’s Gotta Have It, Episode 5
Written by Barry Michael Cooper
Produced and Directed by Spike Lee
First aired on Netflix November 23, 2017