Note: Final Program is online in the event portal for conference attendees
10:00 – 10:45
Plenary 1
Topic: Landscapes of trauma: A social-ecological approach to cultural diversity in mental health research, theory and practice.
Speaker: Professor Laurence Kirmayer
Chair: Professor Zachary Steel
Sponsored by: The Dart Centre Asia Pacific
11:45 – 12:00
Virtual Exhibition
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 1 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Turning off the taps for PTSD – Diet Matters!
Speaker: Dr Tetyana Rocks & Gina Howland – Food and Mood Centre
Chair: Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 1 – B
Free papers
Mechanisms of action in treatment response
Habituation of Distress During Exposure and its Relationship to Treatment Outcome in PTSD and Prolonged Grief Disorder
Professor Richard Bryant
Reappraisal-Related Neural Predictors of Treatment Response to Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Professor Kim Felmingham
Emotion response dis-concordance among trauma-exposed adults: The impact of alexithymia
Dr Andrea Putica
Chair: Professor Kim Felmingham
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 1 – C
Symposium
Refugee and asylum seeker mental health
Contextual factors associated with mental health and wellbeing of refugees across displacement environments
The relationship between coping strategies, external stressors and mental health of refugees in protracted displacement
Professor Angela Nickerson, Diah Tricesaria
The Impact of COVID-19 Stressors on Refugees Mental Health in a Context of Sustained Displacement
Dr Joel Hoffman
The association between COVID-19 related stressors and psychopathology in refugees living in Australia
Dr Belinda Liddell
Chair: Dr Joel Hoffman
13:00 – 13:45
Parallel Session 2 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Turning off the taps for PTSD – Diet Matters!
Speaker: Dr Tetyana Rocks & Gina Howland – Food and Mood Centre
Chair: Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum
13:00 – 13:45
Parallel Session 2 – B
Free papers
First responder and journalist mental health
An investigation of the impact leadership factors have on the mental health of emergency service workers
Marianne Dyer
Trauma exposure and substance use behaviours in TV news journalists
Nahisha Williams-Wynn
Protecting the wellbeing and mental health of first responders: The role of social connectedness
Dominic Hilbrink
Chair: Dr Sean Cowlishaw
13:00 – 13:45
Parallel Session 2 – C
Symposium
Gendered violence
Challenging the status quo: Preventing gendered violence
Protective factors associated with longitudinal trajectories of intimate partner violence among conflict-affect migrant and Australian born women in Sydney and Melbourne.
Dr Ruth Wells
Women’s Trauma Recovery Centre: A new model of care for women experiencing trauma from domestic, family and sexual violence
Dr Patricia Cullen
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on preventive and management services for gendered violence in pregnancy
Associate Professor Amanda Henry
Chair: Professor Susan Rees
17:30 – 18:15
Plenary 2
Topic: Transdiagnostic approaches to human distress in the aftermath of trauma
Speaker: Professor Tim Dalgleish
Chair: Professor Meaghan O’Donnell
18:15 – 18:30
Virtual Exhibition
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 3 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Does EMDR work long term and if so why?
Speaker: Chris Lee
Chair: Professor Kim Felmingham
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 3 – B
Symposium
Moral distress and moral injury in healthcare workers during COVID-19
Potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs) and healthcare workers (HCWs)
Professor Neil Greenberg
Impacts of Morally Distressing Experiences on the Well-Being of Canadian Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr Don Richardson
The experiences and mental health of Australia health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr Ellie Lawrence-Wood
Chair: Professor Andrea Phelps
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 3 – C
Symposium
Refugee and asylum seeker mental health
Roadblocks to recovery: The role of postmigration living difficulties and human rights in recovery for displaced communities in three host nations
Improved residency security is associated with immediate reductions in mental health symptoms and post-migration stressors among Farsi-Dari speaking asylum seekers and refugees in Sydney
Dr Ruth Wells
As long as we are stateless, we will have tension”: Idioms of distress and explanatory models among Rohingya Refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
Shaun Némorin
A qualitative investigation of post-displacement experiences of Syrians and Afghans in Turkey. As long as we are stateless, we will have tension”: Idioms of distress and explanatory models among Rohingya Refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
Gülşah Kurt
The mental health of asylum-seeking children and parents facing insecure Residency in Australia
Mohammad Reza Rostami
The Reassure Study: A prospective longitudinal study of the impact of restrictive immigration policies on psychosocial health among Farsi-Dari speaking refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants.
Professor Zachary Steel
Chair: Dr Ruth Wells
10:00 – 10:45
Plenary 3
Topic: Harnessing health services research and implementation science to improve care for individuals who experience intimate partner violence (IPV): Examples from the US Veterans Health Administration.
Speaker: Professor Katherine Iverson
Chair: Dr Sean Cowlishaw
Sponsored by: Open Arms
11:45 – 12:00
Virtual Exhibition
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 4 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Peers as Para-Professionals: the perspectives of lived-experience peers in service and program delivery
Speaker: Dr Jon Lane
Chair: Holly Bowen-Salter
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 4 – B
Free papers
Refugee and asylum seeker mental health
Executive functioning amongst asylum seekers and refugees with past- and future- oriented traumatic stress/threat symptoms
Changiz Iranpour
Using the tree of life drawings to explore identity and resettlement experiences of refugee youth in Australia: A case study approach
Professor Nigar Khawaja
The association between displacement context and psychological distress in resettled refugees
Professor Angela Nickerson
Chair: Professor Angela Nickerson
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 4 – C
Symposium
Australia PTSD Guidelines
Key updates on the Australian PTSD Treatment Guidelines: Information for people affected by trauma, practitioners, service planners and funders
Development of the PTSD Guidelines as a Living Guideline
Professor Andrea Phelps
Prevention, early intervention and treatment recommendations for adults exposed to trauma
Professor David Forbes
Prevention, early intervention and treatment recommendations for children and adolescents exposed to trauma
Professor Justin Kenardy
Application of Guideline Recommendations to Special Populations and Trauma Types
Dr Ros Lethbridge
Chair: Philippa Specker
12:45 – 13:00
Research Bytes: Poster & Video Session 1
Outcomes of an Inpatient Group Trauma-Informed Psychoeducation and Skills Intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Amalia Badawi
Strengthening capability of frontline workers and community leaders using a stepped care approach in the aftermath of a disaster: lessons from the 19/20 bushfires
Courtney Bowd
Sports for Development and Peace Programs for Young People in Pakistan exposed to violent extremism
Umair Asif
Computational psychophysiology for psychological trauma research
Angelica Ojinnaka
Is Parent/Carer and Child Relationship a Protective Factor in PTS Effects Following TBI/Other Traumatic Injury?
Hannah Guttman
13:00 – 13:45
Parallel Session 5 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Emotion regulation skills training for refugees with PTSD: Clinical insights on the adaptation of Skills Training in Affective and Interpersonal Regulation (STAIR)
Speaker: Professor Angela Nickerson, Avalon Tissue, Philippa Specker, Joel Hoffman
Chair: Professor Angela Nickerson
Sponsored by: St John of God
13:00 – 13:45
Parallel Session 5 – B
Free papers
Physical activity and trauma mental health
Is sports participation associated with mental health among children exposed to adverse childhood events? A systematic review.
Chiara Mastrogiovanni
Yoga for refugees healing from torture and trauma: A mixed methods evaluation
Danielle Begg
Trauma-Informed Care and Practice: Application and Consideration for Exercise and Physical Activity Interventions
Jacinta Brinsley
Chair: Dr Tetyana Rocks
13:00 – 13:45
Parallel Session 5 – C
Free papers
Aged care and burnout
From warming to burning: assessing factors of burnout in climate activists
Dr Jasmine B. MacDonald & Aidan Broadbent
Burnout in aged care workers: The impact of work-home conflict and patient aggression
Lieutenant Charbella Nandan
Chair: Dr Winnie Lau
13:45 – 15:00
Network Meeting
Allied Health Network meeting
Chair: Grace McKeon, Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum
This networking session will be an opportunity for people with an interest in allied health and trauma to come together and meet. It will be a chance to reflect on the lifestyle related content (e.g., diet and exercise) from the conference and identify ways to increase awareness and advocate for the role of lifestyle interventions for traumatic stress. During this session we will also discuss opportunities for future collaboration and ongoing involvement with the Australasian Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ASTSS).
18:15 – 18:30
Virtual Exhibition
17:30 – 18:15
Plenary 4
Topic: Toward healing, toward being free of trauma: The healing journey in Australia
Speaker: Fiona Cornforth, Healing Foundation
Chair: Professor Jane Shakespeare-Finch, Dr Ruth Wells
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 6 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Challenging the status quo: improving trauma recovery by enhancing training in the use of evidence-informed and evidence-based interventions for trauma impacted individuals and communities.
Speaker: Associate Professor Leanne Humphreys, Phoenix Australia
Chair: Alexandra Howard
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 6 – B
Symposium
Clinical supervision in humanitarian settings
Community recovery: Clinical supervision for community psychosocial workers in humanitarian settings
Challenges in psychosocial service provision in post conflict Timor Leste-1999-2013
Madhubhashini (Kalhari) Hewage
The clinical training needs of displaced Syrian psychosocial workers in liberated North-West Syria
Salah Addin Lekkeh & Dr Ammar Beetar
Cross-cultural peer learning: Qualitative findings from a clinical peer supervision program for displaced Syrian psychosocial workers in Turkey and Syria.
Dr Ruth Wells & Rouba Droish Alkaja
Differences in clinical supervision needs for Australian, Palestinian and Syrian psychologists.
Scarlett Wong
Chair: Dr Ruth Wells
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 6 – C
Free papers
Moral distress and injury
Moral Injury Appraisals in Refugees and the role of Betrayal: A Latent Profile Analysis
Dr Joel Hoffman
Measuring Civilian Moral Injury: A Comparison of the Psychometric Properties of Three Measures of Moral Injury among the General Population
Victoria Thomas
Development of a holistic preventative framework for moral suffering related to trauma exposure in first responders
Reverend Mark Layson
Chair: Professor Andrea Phelps
10:00 – 10:45
Plenary 5
Topic: Using Community Based Participatory Research Methods with refugees
Speaker: Associate Professor Heidi Ellis
Chair: Professor Angela Nickerson
Sponsored by: STARTTS
11:45 – 12:00
Virtual Exhibition
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 7 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Unpacking the Challenges of working with Refugee Client Populations In a Time of Crisis: A Case Study Approach
Speaker: Jorge Aroche, Sejla Murdoch, Joshua Hall
STARTTS
Chair: Professor Angela Nickerson
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 7 – B
Symposium
Physical activity and trauma exposed populations
A stepped-wedge evaluation of a physical activity intervention for first responders and their families
Grace McKeon
PTSD, Physical Activity, and Cardiometabolic Health among US Military Veterans
Dr James Whitworth
Physical Activity to Treat Multimorbidity among Survivors of Sexual Violence
Michelle Pebole
Relations between physical activity, sedentary behavior and mental health outcomes in firefighters: a cross-sectional study
Carlos Ramos Sanchez
Chair: Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum
Sponsored by: Guardian
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 7 – C
Free papers
Child trauma mental health
Child disaster recovery support programs – a look at the evidence.
Jane Nursey and Katitza Marinkovic Chavez
Comparative effectiveness of two parent-based interventions to support injured children
Professor Justin Kenardy
Development of a brief psychosocial intervention for youth experiencing posttraumatic stress following disaster or terror: SOLAR-Kids and Teens
Jane Nursey
Chair: Jane Nursery
13:00 – 13:45
Parallel Session 8 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Unpacking the Challenges of working with Refugee Client Populations In a Time of Crisis: A Case Study Approach
Speaker: Jorge Aroche, Sejla Murdoch, Joshua Hall
STARTTS
Chair: Professor Angela Nickerson
13:00 – 13:45
Parallel Session 8 – B
Symposium
Digital technology
Integrating digital technology into clinical practice
Regulating Emotions in Daily Life after Trauma
Hope O’Brien
Comparing objective and subjective sleep data in individuals with insomnia disorder
Maya Schenker
Emotion Response Dis-Concordance Among Trauma-Exposed Adults: The Impact of Alexithymia
Dr Andrea Putica
Chair: Dr Rahul Khanna
13:00 – 13:45
Parallel Session 8 – C
Free papers
Mixed trauma session
Humanitarian response to the refugee crises in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh: community volunteers and post-traumatic growth
Tahmina Parvin
Severe Complex Trauma and Psychoneuroimmunology: Providing Trauma Care for an adult with DID and Terminal Kidney Failure
Hadi Stambouliah
Does it take one to know one? Firefighting PTSD
Dr John Durkin
Chair: Dr Olivia Metcalf
13:45 – 15:00
Emergency Services Worker Interest Group
Chair: Nicole Sadler, Professor Zachary Steel
In this session we will facilitate a discussion about recent innovations in addressing mental health issues in emergency service workers, as well as the challenges faced by clinicians working in this field. We will start with brief updates on key initiatives being conducted within Victoria and NSW to improve mental health outcomes for emergency service workers, including through training and support for clinicians and the provision of specialist clinical services to assess and treat emergency service workers, including those with complex mental health needs. There will then be an opportunity for attendees to provide brief updates on any initiatives they are working on in their own clinical practice, followed by a discussion about opportunities to better train, support and mentor clinicians working with emergency service workers.
17:30 – 18:15
Plenary 6
Topic: Lived experience co-design and quality research in mental health and suicide prevention.
Speaker: Professor Nicholas Procter
Chair: Holly Bowen-Salter
18:15 – 18:30
Virtual Exhibition
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 9 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Blending Face-to-Face and Digital Mental Health Care: latest evidence and issues when addressing trauma exposure
Speaker: Associate Professor Sarah Bendall and Dr Lee Valentine, Orygen
Chair: Dr Rahul Khanna
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 9 – B
Symposium
Early intervention for trauma mental health
Emerging evidence for a, psychosocial skill-building program to reduce adjustment difficulties in post-trauma populations:
Development of the Skills for Life Adjustment and Resilience (SOLAR) Program
Professor Meaghan O’Donnell
The efficacy of the SOLAR program following a tropical cyclone in Tuvalu.
Dr Kari Gibson
The efficacy of the SOLAR program delivered by group format
Dr Annett Lotzin
Chair: Professor Meaghan O’Donnell
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 9 – C
Symposium
Moral distress and injury
The advancement of our understanding of moral injury in veterans – an international perspective
Beliefs about Confidentiality and Attitudes toward Disclosure of Moral Injuries
Dr Anthony Nazarov
Development and validation of an outcome scale for moral injury: the Moral Injury Outcome Scale (MIOS); an international collaboration
Dr Kim Jones
Moral Injury and ICD-11 Complex PTSD (CPTSD) Symptoms Among Treatment-Seeking Veterans in the United Kingdom
Prof Dominic Murphy
Chair: Dr Lisa Dell
Sponsored by: Soldier On
11:45 – 12:00
Virtual Exhibition
10:00 – 10:45
Plenary 7
Topic: Mental health and psychosocial responses during the COVID-19 pandemic
Speaker: Professor Bob Ursano
Chair: Professor Andrea Phelps
Sponsored by: Department of Defence
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 10 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Cognitive Processing Therapy: Overview and Application to Clinical Settings
Speaker: Larissa Roberts
Chair: Anne-Laure Couineau
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 10 – B
Symposium
PTSD and sleep
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sleep: Mechanisms and treatment implications
REM and Non-REM sleep and impact on emotional memory consolidation in PTSD
Professor Kim Felmingham
Sleep and Fear Extinction: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Maya Schencker
The relationship of fear-potentiated startle and polysomnographic measures of sleep in trauma-exposed women and men with and without PTSD: Testing REM sleep effects
Dr Anne Richards
Chair: Professor Kim Felmingham
12:00 – 12:45
Parallel Session 10 – C
Free Papers
Military mental health
A Social Return on Investment of an Arts Psychotherapy Program for Military and Emergency Services Personnel
Holly Bowen-Salter
Treatment approaches and efficacy for posttraumatic stress disorder in military populations: Protocols for a meta-analysis & systematic review
Dr Jenny Liu
The Wellness Action Through Checking Health (The WATCH Project): Thoughts, observations and experiences of health service providers and ADF members on subthreshold mental health symptoms
Dr Lisa Dell and Carolina Casetta
Chair: Dr Lisa Dell
Sponsored by: Department of Defence
12:45 – 13:00
Research Bytes: Poster & Video Session 2
Outcomes of an Inpatient Group Trauma-Informed Psychoeducation and Skills Intervention for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Amalia Badawi
Strengthening capability of frontline workers and community leaders using a stepped care approach in the aftermath of a disaster: lessons from the 19/20 bushfires
Courtney Bowd
Sports for Development and Peace Programs for Young People in Pakistan exposed to violent extremism
Umair Asif
Computational psychophysiology for psychological trauma research
Dr Rahul Khanna
Is Parent/Carer and Child Relationship a Protective Factor in PTS Effects Following TBI/Other Traumatic Injury?
Angelica Ojinnaka
13:00– 13:45
Parallel Session 11 – A
Clinical session
Topic: Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders’ and its treatment of PTSD.
Speaker: Professor Meaghan O’Donnell, Dr Winnie Lau, Amanda Pearce
Phoenix Australia
Chair: Professor Meaghan O’Donnell
13:00– 13:45
Parallel Session 11 – B
Free papers
Intimate partner violence
Intimate partner violence during infancy and cognitive outcomes in middle childhood
Priscilla Savopoulos
Recognition and responses to intimate partner violence (IPV) in support services for current and ex-service military personnel and families in Australia
Dr Sean Cowlishaw and Jennifer Veitch
Intimate partner violence (IPV) among current and ex-service military personnel and families in Australia: A systematic review of prevalence studies and framework for interventions
Dr Sean Cowlishaw
Chair: Dr Olivia Metcalf
Sponsored by: Open Arms
13:00– 13:45
Parallel Session 11 – C
Symposium
Child trauma mental health
Understanding and supporting the mental health of young children before, during and after wide-scale disruptive events
Impact of wide-scale disruptive events on mental health during early childhood
Dr Alex De Young
Birdie and the Virus: A population approach to young children’s mental health in a global pandemic
Dr Andrea Baldwin
Birdie’s Tree: Disaster Resilience Education in the Early Years
Sharleen Keleher
Chair: Dr Alex De Young
13:45 – 15:00
Network Meeting
Forced Displacement Mental Health
This networking session will be an opportunity for all those working in the field of mental health with forcibly displaced communities to come together and share experiences. Current international crises which lead to displacement show us how important it is to develop a community of practice to provide ongoing support to those affected. As clinicians, people with lived experience or researchers, this networking event will be an important opportunity to build the bridges needed continually improve our practice
Chair: Dr Ruth Wells, Professor Zachary Steel
17:30 – 18:15
Plenary 8
Topic: Mental health and COVID-19.
Speaker: Christine Morgan
Chair: Professor David Forbes
Sponsored by: St John of God
18:15 – 18:30
Virtual Exhibition
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 12 – A
Clinical session
Topic: The Trauma of Family and Sexual Violence
Speaker: Dr Karen Williams
Chair: Dr Sean Cowlishaw
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 12 – B
Free papers
Gendered violence
The role of mental health clinicians in preventing gendered violence in humanitarian settings
Wafa Al Hayek and Dr Ruth Wells
‘Girls who get Raped ask for it’: The positive and negative adult perspective of daughters raised by mothers sexually abused as children.
Tegan Stettaford
Sexual violence and mental Illness: A gender sensitive approach in psychiatric inpatient units.
Carol O’Dwyer
Chair: Dr Ruth Wells
18:30 – 19:15
Parallel Session 12 – C
Symposium
Refugee and asylum seeker mental health
Illuminating the relationship between refugee trauma and psychopathology: Mechanisms underpinning post-traumatic stress reactions.
An experimental investigation on the impact of moral injury cognitions on psychological outcomes in refugees
Dr Joel Hoffman
How can we increase help-seeking in refugees with PTSD: A path analysis
Natalie Mastrogiovanni
The effect of torture exposure on functional brain networks
Dr Belinda Liddell
An investigation of the relationship between emotion regulation and psychopathology among refugees
Philippa Specker
Chair: Philippa Specker
9:45 – 10:00
Virtual Exhibition
10:00 – 10:45
Plenary 9
Topic: Mobile Mental Health for Stress: Exploring the Research, Current Clinical Applications, and Evaluation Strategies
Speaker: Associate Professor John Torous
Chair: Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum
10:45 – 11:30
Final Session
Topic: Traumatic stress – How far have we come and where do we need to go?
Speaker: Professor Alexander McFarlane, Professor Mark Creamer, Ruth Wraith and Professor Louise Newman
Chair: Professor David Forbes
11:45 – 12:00
Virtual Exhibition
The Organising Committee is grateful for the support of our Sponsor’s. Acceptance of sponsorship is not an endorsement by ACOTS, The Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies of Phoenix Australia of the work or views of sponsoring agencies. We do however believe we share a common commitment to improving the recognition, support and care of those affected by trauma and traumatic stress. The work of the Scientific Committee responsible for the ACOTS Conference Program has been independent of, and not influenced by, decisions around sponsorship.