International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Name	International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Founded	1985
Headquarters	United States
Type	Professional association

Contents

International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies is a professional organization focused on advancing research, clinical practice, and policy related to psychological trauma, posttraumatic stress, and related conditions. The society brings together researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and survivors connected with institutions such as National Institute of Mental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, United Nations, and American Psychiatric Association to translate science into practice. It engages with historical and contemporary events involving trauma responses, ranging from Vietnam War veterans and Hiroshima survivors to responders to Hurricane Katrina and September 11 attacks rescue workers.

History

The society emerged in the context of growing attention to traumatic stress after the World Health Organization revisions and clinical efforts influenced by figures linked to Vietnam War research, the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, and early diagnostic work at the American Psychiatric Association. Founding efforts paralleled initiatives at universities including Columbia University, Yale University, Harvard University, University of California, Los Angeles, and Johns Hopkins University, and drew on clinical models developed by scholars associated with Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, and Cambridge Health Alliance. Early conferences featured contributors connected to Sigmund Freud-influenced psychoanalytic institutions, forensic programs tied to Harvard Medical School, and trauma programs developed after events like the Mount St. Helens eruption, the Erin Brockovich environmental case, and the Iran hostage crisis impacts on clinicians.

The society's mission integrates research agendas promoted at agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with clinical guidelines from professional bodies including the American Psychological Association and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Activities encompass collaboration with disaster response organizations like Federal Emergency Management Agency, humanitarian groups such as Doctors Without Borders, and advocacy partnerships linked to the International Committee of the Red Cross and International Rescue Committee. The society has interfaced with legal and policy frameworks influenced by cases from courts like the United States Supreme Court and international instruments such as the Geneva Conventions.

Membership historically includes academics from institutions like University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, McGill University, University of Toronto, and King's College London, clinicians from hospitals including Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, and Mount Sinai Hospital, and policymakers with affiliations to European Commission, Australian Department of Health, and Health Canada. Governance has paralleled nonprofit structures seen in organizations like American Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders with boards resembling those at National Academy of Sciences and committees similar to panels at Royal Society. Elected officers often have histories of service linked to awards from bodies such as the Guggenheim Fellowship, grants from the Wellcome Trust, and appointments at centers like the Kaiser Permanente research division.

The society sponsors peer-reviewed journals and proceedings comparable to publications from Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and the American Psychological Association publishing arm, and members contribute to journals such as The Lancet, JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Psychiatry, and British Journal of Psychiatry. Annual meetings have been convened in cities including New York City, London, Toronto, Sydney, Berlin, Tokyo, and Cape Town, often featuring symposia involving colleagues from Stanford University, Princeton University, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania, and University of California, San Francisco. Special issues and consensus statements have intersected with guidelines from organizations like the World Health Organization and task forces formed similarly to those at the Institute of Medicine.

Training programs and certification efforts have aligned with curricula from American Psychological Association divisions, continuing education frameworks at Royal College of Psychiatrists, and postdoctoral fellowships modeled on programs at Columbia University Medical Center and Yale School of Medicine. The society has promoted evidence-based therapies related to protocols developed at Massachusetts General Hospital, exposure therapies associated with work at University of Pennsylvania, and cognitive approaches informed by research at University College London. Advocacy projects have sought to inform policymakers in bodies such as the United States Congress, European Parliament, and United Nations Human Rights Council and to support survivors from incidents like the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Bosnian War.

The society confers honors and awards that parallel recognitions given by organizations like the National Institutes of Health and scholarly societies such as the Royal Society, and recipients often hold distinctions including memberships in the National Academy of Medicine, fellowships from the Royal Society of Canada, and prizes like the MacArthur Fellows Program or grants from the European Research Council. Awardees frequently have affiliations with research centers such as Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and practicing hospitals like Mount Sinai Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Category:Mental health organizations