Trauma conference in Jerusalem
The Second International Conference on Trauma and Mental Health conference, to be held in Jerusalem in September, will examine the impact on the mental health of innocent people in conflict zones.
WITH the World Health Organisation estimating that almost four per cent of the global population is affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), two Australian Jewish organisations will co-host a landmark conference in Israel on post-traumatic stress as a result of war and terrorism.
As war rages in Ukraine, and Israel braces for continued attacks by Hamas in Gaza, the Second International Conference on Trauma and Mental Health conference, to be held in Jerusalem on September 18-20, will examine the impact on the mental health of innocent people in conflict zones.
The conference is being co-hosted by AUSiMED, an Australian organisation fostering collaborative initiatives between Australia and Israel on medical research, and Hadassah Australia, along with Phoenix Australia – which examines the mental health impacts on people caught up in disasters – and the Hadassah Medical Organisation in Israel.
The event will explore the key issues faced by psychologists, psychiatrists, GPs, social workers, counsellors and others working with people living with PTSD, as well as the mental-health toll of COVID.
Professor David Forbes, director of Phoenix Australia and the conference’s co-chair, said, “This will be a truly international event with high-profile keynote speakers who will explore the consequences of living in long-term trauma and conflict, and the progress being made in the prevention and intervention in mental health consequences of trauma.”
Speakers at the event include Professor Richard Bryant of the University of NSW, who will speak on World Health Organisation mental health programs for refugees and displaced persons; Professor Sir Simon Wessely of King’s College in the UK, who will address trauma, the COVID pandemic and adverse impacts across Britain.
Other speakers include US academic Professor Barbara Rothbaum who will speak on her work across psychological, pharmacological and virtual reality options in the treatment of PTSD, and Professor Tine Jensen from Norway who will talk on the treatment of trauma-affected children and adolescents.
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