Join the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress

Please feel welcome to register if you are interested in the activities of the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GC-TS). Registration is free.

​Your registration helps us to build a global network of all interested in solving trauma related problems around the world!

>> Read more

Screening for traumatic stress reactions in children and teenagers

Translations of the brief screening tool to assess a range of posttraumatic stress reactions in children (GPS-C) and teenagers (GPS-T) are now available in Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, German, Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian, Russian, Slovak and Spanish. Find them all here. 

We welcome adaptation and validation studies around the world, but please contact Emma Grace (egrace@thechicagoschool.edu) if you wish to do so.

A first Chinese study with GPS-T has been completed (Cao et al., 2021).

Assessment of trauma and its consequences in old age

​The global population is growing older. The number of people with dementia will triple by 2050. Trauma and PTSD have been associated with accelerated ageing and increased risk for dementia. However, much is unclear about the long-term impact of traumatic stress on cognition and mental health in the ageing population as well as on PTSD symptom presentation in these populations. Therefore we have two new projects: 

1. ON TRAumatiC stress and ageing: a global networK (ON TRACK) >> read more

 2. TRAuma and DEmentia (TRADE) >> read more

Would like to join? Please contact Sjacko Sobczak: sjacko.sobczak@maastrichtuniversity.nl

Measuring stress-related disorders (ICD-11) in Chile 

G-STRESS consists of collaborative projects addressing the prevalence of traumatic events, diagnosis of stress-related disorders, and related mental health issues worldwide. 

In Chile in recent years, the population has been exposed to several potentially traumatic events (e.g. earthquakes, tsunamis, bushfires, social outbreak, pandemic). However, we lack up-to-date measures able to evaluate stress-related disorders.

In this project we aim to evaluate the psychometric properties of 7 questionnaires that screen for stress-related disorders according to ICD-11 criteria among Chilean population. Similar projects are being planned in multiple European countries. 

Find more about G-STRESS and Instrument validation of under the Assessment Theme

Impact of child maltreatment on preferred interpersonal distance

The distance we choose to maintain between ourselves and others is an important aspect of social interactions and non-verbal communication. We are currently conducting an online survey to assess whether child maltreatment is related to the preferred physical distance towards friends and strangers across cultures. The survey is available in more than 10 languages. 

Please participate on your laptop or PC (participation by smartphone or tablet is not possible)

>> Read more 

Child maltreatment through a cross cultural lens

In this research group, we are focusing on how social norms about child maltreatment and their effects vary from country to country. Social norms are defined as shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups. By understanding cultural differences in social norms and their effects, we hope to discover region-specific countermeasures and protective factors. Currently, pilot studies are being conducted in four countries, with more countries to be added. 

>> Read more

Researchers - we need to hear from you

Please share your thoughts and experiences about sharing or re-using data - in the Global Collaboration’s online survey.  We have heard from about 150 researchers and trainees so far. We would especially like to hear from colleagues outside Europe and North America - to ensure that we have a broad representation of traumatic stress research around the world.

The survey is available in 7 languages - please complete the survey yourself, and share this link with your colleagues and in your networks:  https://www.global-psychotrauma.net/data-sharing

Finding & sharing traumatic stress data resources

The Global Collaboration FAIR Data Workgroup has recently added a searchable index of traumatic stress data resources that will be visible and useful for researchers and research trainees.

We invite you to contribute information about your project’s datasets to the index. The online listing includes basic information (metadata) about the data resource, along with information on how to access or request the data. Sharing this information does not mean that you must provide automatic access to the data itself.

Why is this important? Sharing information about your project’s data may lead to new collaborations and can help your work have a greater impact. We are happy to include data resources that are not yet accessible to researchers beyond the original data collectors, but which could be accessible in the future.

>> Read more  

Understanding the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on young children and their families

COVID-19 Unmasked is an online prospective longitudinal cohort study that was launched by Dr Alexandra De Young in Australia on 12 May 2020 to help understand and track the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of young children (1-5 years) and their caregivers. Partnerships have now been formed with >40 investigators from 9 countries (Australia, Cyprus, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the UK, and the United States of America).

Over 6000 families have participated in this research to date. Research findings have been disseminated widely  to increase awareness of the mental health impacts for young children and to guide clinical decision making and policy.  The Australian team have also developed and disseminated several COVID-19 related resources (Birdie’s Tree - Growing together through natural disasters).

>> Read more about the COVID-19 Unmasked 

>> Read more on all COVID-19 projects

REACH for Mental Health

Prof. Dr. Karestan Koenen, project leader of project 6. REACH for Mental Health was interviewed by Miranda Olff about her work. Karestan is an international expert in the field of PTSD and advocate for victims of sexual violence. She is breaking taboos by also sharing personal experiences. Watch it here.

The mission of the REACH project is to bring evidence-based skills on managing stress and enhancing resilience to everyone around the world. This coordinated effort to “Do the Five for Mental Health” in the COVID-19 pandemic is summarized by the acronym REACH, which stands for 'Recognize the Problem', 'Expand the Social Safety Net', 'Assist Those Most at Risk', 'Cultivate Resilience', and 'Have Empathy.'

The interview covers her global work but also her advocacy for victims of sexual violence and her leadership role in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC).

Cross-cultural approaches to trauma recovery

Trauma exposure and related responses are major contributors to the global burden of disease. There are evidence-based interventions for addressing trauma-related symptoms like PTSD, depression, and anxiety, they have predominantly been developed in Western countries. Research has been conducted into how to adapt these interventions for other communities and populations, and whether these adapted interventions are effective.

This project will engage with communities to identify additional approaches to trauma recovery, in the hopes more broadly of identifying both common elements in recovery, as well as to identify approaches that may have population specificity.  

By understanding cultural differences and similarities in the process of trauma recovery, we hope to discover general trauma recovery elements, as well as those that may be population specific. The results of this may drive future treatment development research.

Interested to join this project? Contact Dr Debra Kaysen:  dkaysen@stanford.edu

A downloadable user guide for the Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS) is now available - also for the Child and Teenager versions, including scoring instructions, norm scores per country, and more.

Find it here

From the Australian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ASTSS)

During Sept 2021, ASTSS elected a new management committee following the 21st Australasian Conference for Traumatic Stress run in partnership with Phoenix Australia. 

ACOTS 2021 was a huge success for ASTSS and a source of re-energising for the society.  The virtual format allowed us to deliver an expanded conference program at a lower cost and to create reduced rates for low-income countries & humanitarian settings (US$30) and for middle-income countries (US$70). We combined this low cost with a crowdfunding campaign which supported over 50 humanitarian workers attending ACOTS 2021. We had over 400 registrations including delegates  from resource-poor settings across 24 countries. As a virtual conference, all delegates continue to have access to the content and training sessions for 12 months with purchase on demand still available. 

The new leadership team has been busy with a new  strategic plan to guide the work of ASTSS across the next 2 years outlining key strategic objectives and aims for the work of the Society. A key strategy over this time is to increase the use of social media platforms and content development. To this end ASTSS partnered with the Mental Elf service to develop podcast interviews with a number of  the ACOTS keynote speakers that are now available: Professor Laurence Kirmayer, Professor Katherine Iverson, Professor Tim Dalgleish, and Professor Nicholas Procter.

From the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)

Global attention continues to focus on climate change, including at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference currently underway in Glasgow, Scotland. ISTSS is also making efforts on this issue as it relates to traumatic stress. Earlier this year, ISTSS released the ISTSS Global Climate Change and Trauma briefing paper, which highlights currently available evidence and the action needed in order to prioritize, promote, and protect the mental health and well-being of people, communities, and societies in the face of climate change.

Also available from ISTSS on this topic is a new podcast episode on Climate Change and Trauma, featuring several briefing paper coauthors (Jura L. Augustinavicius, PhD, McGill University and Johns Hopkins University; Sarah R. Lowe, PhD, Yale University; and Alessandro Massazza, PhD, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine); a new infographic showing the process linking climate change and trauma; and a fact sheet on what we know about the impact of climate change on mental health and wellbeing as well as what we can do to address it. Further, the recent ISTSS Annual Meeting featured an invited session on Climate Change and Mental Health: Cross-sector Perspectives on Research, Education, and Policy Change and a Networking Session on Climate Change and Trauma 

From the Canadian Psychological Association - Traumatic Stress Section (CPA TSS)

The Canadian Psychological Association is now receiving abstracts for its 2022 Convention. The convention will be held in Calgary (Canada) this year on June 17th to 19th.The Convention will be preceded by Pre-conference Professional Development workshops on June 16th. The deadline for submissions is December 3, 2021.

To submit an abstract to the Traumatic Stress Section, please click here

Development 2022, a Canadian Conference on Developmental Psychology hosted by the Pickering Centre for Research in Human Development, will precede this annual Convention at the Hyatt Regency on June 15th – 16th, 2022.

Abstracts for Development 2022 can be submitted via this link. Deadline for submissions is January 31st, 2022.