Summary of the 17th biennial ESTSS conference – 14-17 June 2023, Belfast, United Kingdom

In June 2023 the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS) came together again for the first time since the covid pandemic to host the 2023 ESTSS conference in Belfast, UK (see www.estss2023.com).  Five years in the making, Prof. Chérie Armour (Conference Chair), Prof. Dominic Murphy (Conference Co-chair, UKPTS President) and Dr. Joanne Mouthaan (ESTSS President) welcomed 600 delegates to Northern Ireland for four days of keynotes, workshops, flash talks, poster sessions, masterclasses and symposia at the ICC Belfast. 

The conference kicked off with a day of pre-conference workshops, featuring amongst others Prof. Anke Ehlers (University of Oxford), Prof. Neil Greenberg (King’s College London), Dr. Eric Vermetten (Leiden University), as well as the intrepid ‘Paper in a Day’ team tackling the ADJUST study on COVID-19 psychosocial responses. Keep an eye out for their output appearing soon. 

Across the three conference days at the ICC Belfast, delegates welcomed four acclaimed keynote speakers.  Prof. Sarah Halligan (UK) focused on the socio-contextual factors key in understanding and intervening in children’s post-traumatic stress.  Prof. Soraya Seedat (South Africa) continued the focus on South African research with children and adolescents.  Dr. Natalia Nalyvaiko (Ukraine) recounted powerful collected and personal testimony from the Ukraine frontline. Referencing Ukraine’s history of violence and conflict from the 1930s to the present day.  Finally, Prof. John Briere (USA), made a compelling case for social discrimination and maltreatment being classed as a traumatic stressor. 

As well as hearing from over 200 speakers from across the globe presenting on the latest developments within the field of psychological trauma, in excess of 150 posters were presented, with Jeanet Karchoud (Amsterdam UMC) awarded top prize for her work on The Functional & Economic Impact of Traumatic Injury Related PTSD: A 15yr Longitudinal Follow-up, whilst Dr Eva Alisic (University of Melbourne) received the award for best flash talk entitled Translating Trauma Through Art.   

The countdown is now on for ESTSS2025 in Tbilisi, Georgia.