The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought many unexpected changes to our lives. Even right now, we are experiencing a world of unpredictable difficulties and challenges, but also new opportunities. Therefore, this year, the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies organised the virtual conference 'Trauma and Mental Health during the Global Pandemic'on June 17th and 18th, 2021 (with two fantastic pre-conference workshops on June 16th). One of the many highlights were the inspiring keynote lectures by Prof. Sir Simon Wessely, Prof. Soraya Seedat, and Prof. George Bonanno. Moreover, there were excellent expert panels about 'Dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic across Europe' and 'Traumatic grief research and care in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic'. On top of this, numerous parallel sessions took place covering a wide range of topics, professions, populations, and countries leading to a fruitful exchange of latest research findings and clinical work experiences. Finally, a lot of networking activities provided the opportunity to come together as a community and support each other in these difficult times. Due to the virtual format, all recorded sessions have been available on-demand for 6 more months. Thanks to everyone involved, the first virtual conference of ESTSS was a great success and has been very well received.
The Organising Committee of the Virtual Conference ESTSS 2021
Manik Djelantik, Marloes Eidhof, Anke de Haan, Annett Lotzin, and Jana Kiralj
Important info for conference participants:
The six months on-demand period for the Virtual Conference ESTSS 2021 will end on December 19th. Please do not forget to watch your favorite sessions for the last time before this date! You can rewatch recorded sessions with this link https://virtualconference-estss2021.web.indrina.com/Landing
Important links & conference statistics:
Conference website - https://www.virtual-estss2021.com/
EJPT conference abstract book - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20008198.2021.1940588
Conference statistics:
| Number of individual attendees | 277 |
| Number of individual abstracts | 133 |
| Preconference day | 1 |
| Conference days | 2 |
| Preconference workshops | 2 |
| Keynotes | 3 |
| Invited Symposiums | 1 |
| Symposiums | 16 |
| Oral Presentation Sessions | 7 |
| Flashtalk Sessions | 3 |
| Masterclasses | 3 |
| Meet-the-Expert Sessions | 4 |
| Special Interest Group Meetings | 2 |
| Panels | 3 |
| Posters | 21 |
| Invited: Lived Experience Session | 1 |
| Meditation / Energizer Sessions | 3 |
| Poster Award Session | 1 |
| Vlogs | 6 |
