Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress

Our society is partner in the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (https://www.global-psychotrauma.net/).

The Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress consists of researchers and clinicians representing traumatic stress societies worldwide who work together on traumatic stress topics of global importance. 

As part of a package of global activities the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress was initiated by ISTSS in 2012 (See Olff, 2014; 2015; Schnyder, 2013, Schnyder & Olff, 2013,  Schnyder, et al., 2017) when the global project team with representatives from eight traumatic stress societies first met and decided on the first topics to collaborate on.

The aims of the Global collaboration are:
“To identify objectives, facilitate development, and coordinate activities of global importance [..]  the community of traumatic stress researchers and practitioners should develop collaborations, and ultimately structures, that would enable them to optimally respond to those tasks that are best addressed by means of international collaboration” (Schnyder et al., 2017).

Currently, the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress works on five themes with projects addressing important global traumatic stress issues.

Global Collaboration on Traumatic StressISTSS members are invited to check out the themes and projects and to participate where possible. To learn more, click here.

For specific interest in one of the projects find out more on the projects page: https://www.global-psychotrauma.net/projects

 

The following professional societies are currently partnering in the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress:

  • International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS)
  • European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS)
  • Japanese Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (JSTSS)
  • Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ASTSS)
  • Argentina Society for Psychotrauma (SAPsi)
  • Asian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (Asian STSS-Hong Kong)
  • Canadian Psychological Association Traumatic Stress Section (CPA TSS)
  • German-speaking Society for Psychotraumatology (DeGPT)
  • Asociación Chilena de Estrés Traumático (ACET)
  • (South) African Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (in formation)

Chair: Miranda Olff
Co-Chair: Ulrich Schnyder
(Full Steering committee is listed here)

For more see Partners. Other groups engaged in traumatic stress related issues are welcome.

Current Projects:

Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS)

Summary

The GPS is a brief instrument meant to screen for a range of trauma related psychological problems, as well as for risk and protective factors. It consists of 22 items to be answered in a yes/no format.

The GPS was constructed by 1) reaching consensus on the domains, including trauma related problems, but also risk and protective factors. 2) Selecting scales or items -as much as possible- from existing valid and reliable measures that were available without barriers to access.

The domains are:

  • PTSD
  • Complex PTSD
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Sleep problems
  • Self-injurious behavior
  • Dissociation
  • Other physical, emotional or social problems
  • Substance abuse
  • Other stressful events
  • Childhood trauma
  • History of mental illness
  • Social support
  • Psychological resilience

The GPS is currently available in 18 languages.

For more information or for participating in research with the GPS: https://www.global-psychotrauma.net/gps

Project group

PI: Miranda Olff,  Amsterdam UMC, Dept of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, location AMC & ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands (email: m.olff-AT-amsterdamumc.nl)

Project group: Dean Ajdukovic, Anne Bakker, Doug Brewer, Marylene Cloitre, Grete Dyb, Paul Frewen, Juli Lanza, Brigitte Lueger Schuester, Gladys Mwiti, Misari Oe, Janaina Pinto, Rita Rosner, Carolina Salgado, Ingo Schaefer, Julia Schellong, Ueli Schnyder, Jun Shigemura, Kitty Wu.

Key/Core References

Schnyder, U., Schafer, I., Aakvaag, H. F., Ajdukovic, D., Bakker, A., Bisson, J.I., Brewer, D., Cloitre, M., Dyb, G.A., Frewen,P., Lanza, J., Le Brocque, R., Lueger-Schuster, B., Mwiti, G.K., Oe, M., Rosner, R., Schellong, J., Shigemura, J., Wu, K., & Olff, M. (2017). The global collaboration on traumatic stress. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 8,1 .https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2017.1403257

Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS)

http://www.istss.org/assessing-trauma/carts.aspx

Summary

The CARTS is a “computer-based self-report measure designed to assess overt instances of childhood maltreatment, as well as the general warmth, security and supportiveness of individuals within the respondents’ family and external environment” (Simonelli et al., 2017). It is a computerized survey of individuals’ recollections of the quality of their relationships with their family members during childhood, and of relational traumatic experiences occurring during childhood (Frewen et al., 2013, 2015).

We are currently investigating the use of a novel online survey methodology assessing childhood trauma history called the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS) in several different languages and cultures.

You are invited to complete the CARTS as a survey about individuals’ recollections of the quality of their relationships with their family members during childhood, and of relational traumatic experiences occurring during childhood. 

Please click here to complete the survey in ENGLISH (https://frewen.ca/cartsml/?profile=ISTSS)

Please click here to complete the survey in FRENCH (https://frewen.ca/cartsml/?profile=French)

Please click here to complete the survey in GERMAN (https://frewen.ca/cartsml/?profile=German)

Please click here to complete the survey in JAPANESE (https://frewen.ca/cartsml/?profile=Japanese) 

Please click here to complete the survey in CROATIAN (https://frewen.ca/cartsml/?profile=Croatian) 

Please click here to complete the survey in DUTCH (https://frewen.ca/cartsml/?profile=dutch)

Project group

PI: Paul Frewen, PhD, C.Psych, Western University, Canada, e-mail: pfrewen-AT-gmail.com

Project group: Dean Ajdukovic, Anne Bakker, Doug Brewer, Marylene Cloitre, Grete Dyb, Paul Frewen, Juli Lanza, Brigitte Lueger Schuester, Gladys Mwiti, Misari Oe, Miranda Olff, Janaina Pinto, Rita Rosner, Carolina Salgado, Ingo Schaefer, Julia Schellong, Ueli Schnyder, Jun Shigemura, Kitty Wu.

References

Frewen, P. A., Evans, B., Goodman, J., Halliday, A., Boylan, J., Moran, G., … Lanius, R. A. (2013). Development of a childhood attachment and relational trauma screen (CARTS): Arelational-socioecological framework for surveying attachment security and childhood trauma history. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 4, 1–17. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v4i0.20232

Frewen, P. A., Brown, M. F. D., De Pierro, J., D’Andrea, W., & Schore, A. (2015). Assessing the family dynamics of childhood maltreatment history with the childhood attachment and relational trauma screen (CARTS). European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 6(1), doi:  10.3402/ejpt.v6.27792.

Simonelli, A., Sacchi, C., Cantoni, L., Brown, M., & Frewen, P. A. (2017). Italian translation and cross-cultural comparison with the Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS). European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 8(1). doi: 10.1080/20008198.2017.1375839