May 17th - 20th, 2023

34th Annual Boston International Trauma Conference

The 34th Annual Boston International Trauma Conference marked an extraordinary four-day journey into cutting edge innovations in trauma research. With a wonderfully diverse range of panel events, keynotes, workshops and more, the event was a triumph for therapeutic practice of the future. Stay tuned for more info on next year's conference coming soon!

Psychological Trauma:

Neuroscience, Embodiment And The Restoration Of The Self

More about the conference

Trauma Research Foundation & Bessel van der Kolk are delighted to announce the 34th Annual Boston International Trauma Conference.

For the 34th year, Bessel van der Kolk hosts some of the world’s most innovative leaders from the field of trauma, attachment, neuroscience, mindfulness, body oriented work and psychedelic studies.

May 17th - 20th, 2023

Save the date in your calendar.

Seaport Hotel, Boston

Join us in person as we host the conference live in Boston!

This conference is an opportunity to cultivate your practice by building your knowledge in three key areas:

1. Minds, brains, bodies and social organizations

Understanding how these are impacted by trauma and the optimal clinical interventions that facilitate the restoration of safety and regulation.

2. Misinterpretation of innocuous stimuli

Developing strategies that will engage clients to deal with the demands of the present

3. Populations, ethnic groups and culture

Learning the societal factors that underscore traumatic experiences

Conference brochure

Reserve Your Space

Limited spaces available

Days
Hours
Minutes

JOIN US WITH...

+ 40 Global Trauma Experts

With over 40 trauma experts in attendance the wealth of knowledge and experience they can provide is invaluable. These experts have dedicated their careers to understanding and treating trauma, and their collective expertise can help educate you. With such a diverse group of experts, attendees can learn about different approaches to trauma treatment and gain insights from a range of perspectives. 

Main Schedule

Subject to change
8:30am - 5:15pm
TBD
Jack Saul,PhD, MIke Niconchuk,PhD, VIP, Homeboys
8:30am - 5:15pm
Fostering self relationship, embodied awareness and the neurobiology of love and healing: An experiential and scientific exploration
Licia Sky, Sue Carter,PhD, Donnalea Goelz, PhD, Matt Sanford,
8:30am - 5:15pm
From trauma informed to trauma transformative practice: Moving the paradigm to create a more meaningful contemporary knowledge framework
Janise Mitchell, MSW, Stephen Porges, PhD, Ed Tronick, PhD, Joe Tucci, PhD
8:30am - 5:15pm
An introduction to the field of traumatic stress studies and neuroscience
Wendy d'Andrea, PhD
8:30am - 12:15pm
Why nothing matters: Introducing neglect informed psychotherapy
Ruth Cohn,PHD
8:30am - 12:15pm
Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Syndromes
Shai Efrati MD, Keren Doenyas-Barak MD, Ilan Kutz MD
10:30am - 10:45am
Morning Break
12:15pm - 1:30pm
Lunch Break
1:30pm - 5:15pm
Family therapy from an attachment perspective: focusing on the parent-child dyad to heal intergenerational trauma
Dafna Lender, LCSW
1:30pm - 5:15pm
Transcending Trauma with Internal Family Systems Therapy
Frank Anderson, MD
3:15pm - 3:30pm
Afternoon Break
7:30pm - 9:00pm
Afroflow Yoga
Leslie Salmon Jones, Jeff Jones
8:30am - 5:15pm
Social Justice
Sará King, PhD / Selma Quist-Moller, PhD
8:30am - 12:15pm
Introduction to Neurofeedback
Mirjana Askovic, PhD, Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, Sebern Fisher, MA, BCN, Bernhard Wandernoth, PhD, Angelika Y. Sadar, MA, Matthew Fleischman, PhD, VIP / DIANA??
8:30am - 12:15pm
Advanced Neuroscience
Ruth Lanius, MD, PhD, Wendy D’Andrea, PhD
8:30am - 12:15pm
Somatic Energy Healing: Using the body’s somatic and energetic intelligence to guide healing
John Amaral , DC
8:30am - 12:15pm
The evolution, neurology, and clinical assessment of chronic loneliness
J. Walter Freiberg, III, JD, PhD
8:30pm - 12:15pm
Prison Yoga Project/Exhale to Inhale
Josefin Wikström, TCTSY-F, e-RYT, YACEP
10:30am - 10:45am
Morning Break
12:15pm - 1:30pm
Lunch Break
1:30pm - 5:15pm
Rhythm: The heart of somatic regulation and attachment-building
Elizabeth Warner, PhD, Alexandra Cook, PhD, Anne Westcott, LICSW, Heather Finn, LICSW, Benjamin Pandev-Girard, M.Erg, Occupational Therapist
1:30pm - 5:15pm
Polyvagal Music: An innovative genre of music composed to support a journey of healing.
Stephen Porges, PhD/ Anthony Gorry
1:30pm - 5:15pm
Psychedelic assisted therapies: Promises and pitfalls
Gita Vaid,MD, Jim Hopper, PhD, Elizabeth Call,PsyD, Licia Sky, Bessel van der Kolk, MD
1:30pm - 5:15pm
Advanced Neurofeedback
Mirjana Askovic, PhD, Sebern Fisher, MA, BCN, Bernhard Wandernoth, PhD, / DIANA??
1:30pm - 5:15pm
TBD
Kevin Coleman / Shakes & Co
3:15pm - 3:30pm
Afternoon Break
5:15pm - 7:00pm
In Person Poster Session - Hors d’oeuvres and cash bar available
Wendy D'Andrea
5:30pm - 6:30pm
Book Signing
8:30am - 8:40am
Welcome
Bruce Dixson
8:30am - 9:00am
Introduction
Bessel van der Kolk
9:00am - 10:00am
Stress impairs prefrontal cortical working memory and top-down control: Neurobiological mechanisms and strategies for treatments
Amy Arnsten, PhD
10:00am - 11:00am
Psychedelics: Brain mechanisms
Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD
11:00am - 11:20am
Morning Break
11:20am - 12:20pm
Divided Mind, Divided Body: Parts work through the lens of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
Pat Ogden, PhD
12:20pm - 12:50pm
Panel Discussion & Questions
Amy Arnsted, PhD, Robin Carhart-Harris, PHd, Pat Ogden, PHD, Martin Tiecher, PhD, Sue Carter, PhD and Bessel van der Kolk, MD
12:50pm - 2:15pm
Lunch Break
1:45pm - 2:10pm
Chair Yoga (Optional)
2:15pm - 3:15pm
TBD
Julian Thayer, PhD
3:15pm - 3:35pm
Afternoon Break
3:35pm - 4:35pm
People need people: the double edged sword of our social nervous system.
Marlen Gonzalez, PhD
4:35pm - 5:30pm
Panel Discussion & Questions
9:00am - 9:15am
Opening
Bessel van der Kolk, MD
9:15am - 10:15am
TBD
Alicia Lieberman, PhD
10:15am - 11:15am
No Body, No Self: Using brain therapies to quiet fear, ease attachment shock and invite the embodied self
Mirjana Askovic, PhD
11:15am - 11:35am
Morning Break
11:35am - 12:35pm
Reopening Critical Periods with Psychedelics: Basic Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities
Gül Dölen, MD, PhD
12:35pm - 1:00pm
Panel Discussion & Questions
Alicia Lieberman, PhD, Mirjana Askovic, PhD,Gül Dölen, MD, PhD, Bessel van der Kolk, MD
1:00pm - 2:15pm
Lunch Break
2:15pm - 3:15pm
Chair Yoga (Optional)
Alicia Lieberman, PhD, Mirjana Askovic, PhD,Gül Dölen, MD, PhD, Bessel van der Kolk, MD
2:15pm - 3:15pm
TBD
Julian Thayer, PhD
3:15pm - 3:35pm
Afternoon Break
3:35pm - 4:35pm
People need people: the double edged sword of our social nervous system.
Marlen Gonzalez, PhD
4:35pm - 5:30pm
Panel Discussion & Questions

GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THE 34TH ANNUAL BOSTON INTERNATIONAL TRAUMA CONFERENCE

Purchase your tickets via our ticket booking portal to see all purchasing options, and to complete your booking.

Tickets are limited and prices include access to all 4 days of the conference. We can’t wait to see you there.

Please note that we offer financial assistance for those that need it, based on a scholarship application.

virtual ticket

$349

We are excited to offer our annual trauma conference virtually – allowing access to the conference online from the comfort of home, within 30 days.

Virtual access to the conference:

in-person ticket

Sold Out

Come and gather with us in person for the 34th Annual Conference. We will be hosting the conference live from the Seaport Hotel in Boston. 

In person:

Registration completed on external booking portal

Scholarships Available

Trauma Research Foundation is pleased to be able to increase accessibility to this event by offering financial assistance to those in need, in the form of scholarship discounts.

Please note that scholarships are only available for virtual tickets – we are unable to offer scholarship discounts for in-person tickets for this event.

Virtual FAQS

The conference can be accessed through the attendee hub, and instructions will be provided via email a couple of days before the conference starts. 

Steps on how to access the Pre-Conference Workshop & Main Conference Days:

  1. Download the PESI Events APP or go to www.pesi.com/traumacon.
  2. Click login and use your credentials to log in to the hub. 
  3. Within the Attendee hub, click on the title of the presentation from the “All Sessions” tab
  4. On the session description page, if there are less than five minutes before the presentation starts there will be a “Join session” button below the title and date of the presentation that will begin the video.
  5. There will be an “Add Session” button available instead if the start time of the session is more than 5 minutes away, which will add the session to your schedule for faster access.

We do not have any capacity limits on our virtual sessions themselves, so everyone who wants to attend a presentation will have access to it. 

Having trouble accessing your account or the conference? email us anytime at [email protected] or [email protected] or call us at 800-844-8260 Monday-Friday 7:30 am-8:00 pm Eastern Time.

A Recording Package is available for purchase through PESI, allowing unlimited access to the recordings and the ability to earn some CE credits. Click here to learn more.  Due to recording restrictions, some presentations will not be included, and CE hours and approvals may differ from live CE approvals. Final details are being confirmed and will be reflected on the schedule.

Otherwise, all conference tickets (both in-person and virtual) come with 30-day free recording access post-conference. The recordings are available 1-2 hours after the live sessions and are accessible via the conference hub.

Scholarships are available for virtual attendance only here on this page above. You will be notified within 48 hours of the decision.

CE will be offered, and we are working diligently with the CE boards for confirmation. ACCME credit is currently pending review. We will be adding updates to this website as soon as CE details become available.

PESI will be emailing a link to the evaluations for the live sessions after The 34th Annual Boston International Trauma Conference has ended.  You will identify any of the live sessions that you watched as they were occurring live, then evaluate the presentations to receive your CE certificate for those Sessions.

Please note:  If you attended some sessions in person and some sessions virtually, you will need to complete separate evaluations — one for the sessions you attended in person, and one for the sessions you attended virtually.

Partial credit is not available. In order to receive credit for a session, the session must be viewed in its entirety. Please note that you will be participating in the conference on Friday and/or Saturday, you must attend a block in its entirety to earn credit. Credit cannot be earned if a participant leaves a block part-way through.

Below are the workshops and presentations included with your virtual conference ticket.

Wednesday: Pre-Conference Workshops

Full Day  8 AM-5 PM EDT

From Empathic Distress to Compassion: Building Resilience in the Face of Trauma with Tania Singer and Ronald Siegel

Half Day 8 AM-Noon EDT

The Basic Concepts and Practice of Psychodrama and Sociometrics with Tian Dayton

Half Day 1:15 PM – 5 PM EDT

Healing Attachment Wounds and Trauma Using PBSP (Pesso Boyden System Psychomotor Therapy) with Gus Kaufman, JR 

Thursday: Pre-Conference Workshops

Half Day 8 AM – 3 PM EDT

Option 1 – How to Incorporate Neurofeedback into Trauma Treatment with Ruth Lanius, Sebern Fisher, Matt Fleishman, Bernhard Wandernoth, & Angelika Sadar 

Option 2 – Psychedelics Workshop with Bessed van der Kolk, Susan Walker, Jim Hopper, Elizabeth Call, Francis Guerriero, Rheinila Fernandes, & SungLim Shin

Half Day 1:15 PM – 3 PM EDT

IFS for Addictions with Dick Schwart 

Friday 

All Keynotes 

Saturday

All Keynotes

In-Person FAQS

We are happy to hear that you want to join us in person. Unfortunately, we have reached maximum capacity and are no longer able to offer in-person tickets. However, you can join our in-person ticket waitlist here

We are still accepting virtual registrations that can be purchased here. 

We hope ​to have you in attendance at this year’s Trauma Conference!

If you are registered to attend in person, you are required to select which workshops you will attend on Wednesday and Thursday due to limited capacities. Friday and Saturday main conference sessions are automatically included with your registration.

If you plan to attend the Evening Performances in-person, registration is required as seating is limited.

Steps to Make Your Workshop Selections

  1. Click here to log in to your registration:
    1. Enter the email address used for your registration
    2. Registration Type: Full Pass (4 Day)
    3. Enter your Confirmation Number: 
  2. Once you are logged in, click on the “Modify Registration” button.
  3. Review the information that we have on file for your registration. Do not change your registration pass type. Follow the instructions to make your workshop selections.
  4. Finalize your registration changes.

If you have any questions, just email us anytime at [email protected] or call us at 800-844-8260 Monday-Friday 7:30 am-8:00 pm Eastern Time.

A Recording Package is available for purchase through PESI, allowing unlimited access to the recordings and the ability to earn some CE credits. Click here to learn more.  Due to recording restrictions, some presentations will not be included, and CE hours and approvals may differ from live CE approvals. 

Otherwise, all conference tickets (both in-person and virtual) come with 30-day free recording access post-conference. The recordings are available 1-2 hours after the live sessions and are accessible via the conference hub. Only sessions viewed live are eligible for CE Credit.

CE will be offered, and we are working diligently with the CE boards for confirmation. ACCME credit is currently pending review. We will update the TRF website as soon as CE details become available.

PESI will be emailing a link to the evaluations for the live sessions after The 34th Annual Boston International Trauma Conference has ended.  You will identify any of the live sessions that you watched as they were occurring live, then evaluate the presentations to receive your CE certificate for those Sessions.

Please note:  If you attended some sessions in person and some sessions virtually, you will need to complete separate evaluations — one for the sessions you attended in person, and one for the sessions you attended virtually.

Partial credit is not available. In order to receive credit for a session, the session must be viewed in its entirety. Please note that if you will be participating in the conference on Friday and/or Saturday, you must attend a block in its entirety to earn credit. Credit cannot be earned if a participant leaves a block part-way through.

ADA Statement

If participants have special needs, reasonable accommodations will be made for persons who request them, consistent with ADA requirements.

Code of Ethics Statement

It is the responsibility of every attendee to abide by the standards set forth in the Code of Ethics for maintaining security and confidentiality of test materials and proprietary information presented as part of this continuing education program. Any materials used as part of this program may not be copied or otherwise distributed, and no proprietary information will be disclosed by attendees to any person not registered for this program.

Conflict of Interest Statement

There is no commercial support for this program nor are there any relationships between the CE Sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest.

Utility/Validity Statement

The content of this presentation, when applied according to psychological practice guidelines, within the expertise of the expertise of the practitioner do not pose any risks.

Target Audience

Counselors, Psychologists, Social Workers, Psychotherapists, Addiction Counselors, Therapists, Marriage & Family Therapists, Case Managers, Nurses, Physicians, Other Mental Health Professionals

Credit requirements and approvals vary per state board regulations. Please save the course outline, the certificate of completion you receive from the activity and contact your state board or organization to determine specific filing requirements.

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