Dear friends and colleagues,
This Giving Tuesday I would like to encourage you to make a contribution to the Trauma Research Foundation which, when seen as the outgrowth of its predecessor, the Trauma Center in Boston (founded in 1982), has now been active for more than 40 years. Our mission has always been to identify, practice, research, and disseminate innovative treatments for the long-term effects of trauma in children and adults.
Over the decades, our work has contributed to several significant developments in the trauma field. We conducted one of the earliest NIH‑funded studies on EMDR, initiated the first scientific study of yoga for PTSD, led a series of neurofeedback investigations in children and adults, and participated in the major MAPS‑initiated clinical trial of MDMA‑assisted psychotherapy for PTSD.
This past year we have undergone a thoughtful internal reorganisation, and I am delighted to share that Araminta Jonsson and her remarkable team now serve as the leadership and management arm of TRF, helping us refine our strategic direction and strengthen our global reach.
Our work continues with renewed energy in the coming year. From May 27 to 30, 2026, we will host our 37th Annual Boston Trauma Conference. This year’s faculty includes Stephen Porges, Eve Ensler (V), Dick Schwartz, John and Julie Gottman, Martin Teicher, Ruth Lanius, and Reuben Jonathan Miller, among others. In addition, our Chief Science Officer, Wendy D’Andrea, has been cultivating a cadre of brilliant early‑career clinicians, researchers, and policy leaders working with diverse communities worldwide. Their innovative work will be featured prominently at the conference.
For the past 20 years, we have also offered a comprehensive 40‑week certificate programme in trauma theory and intervention, taught by an extraordinary faculty and taken by thousands of students and clinicians around the globe. This year, thanks to our colleagues in Mexico and Brazil, the course is being offered for the first time in both Spanish and Portuguese.
One of our most important commitments is to bridge emerging science with real-world clinical practice. With your support, TRF has been able to fund programmes delivering and evaluating neurofeedback in a variety of settings; support a theatre‑based intervention for justice‑system‑involved youth; and contribute to reconciliation and community healing initiatives in Rwanda. We have also supported two major scientific investigations: one at the University of Zürich examining how different forms of neurofeedback influence brain connectivity, and another led by Ruth Lanius and her team at Western University exploring the perception of touch in trauma survivors. The results of both studies will be presented at the 37th Annual Trauma Conference.
We hope you will join us in sustaining and expanding this vital work, work that is more urgently needed than ever in these troubled times.
With gratitude,
Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD
President, Trauma Research Foundation
