[Kizzie]

The ISTSS 35th Annual Meeting Nov 14-16, 2019 in Boston doesn't have much on its agenda for the meeting dealing directly with Complex PTSD/Trauma (mostly PTSD and developmental trauma in CHildren & youth), but here are two sessions involving a number of the clinicians/researchers who are pushing to conduct research and spread the word about CPTSD in adults.  You may recognize some of the names, especially Judith Herman who was the first to identify Complex PTSD in the 1990's:

Complex PTSD: Charting a Course Forward - Concurrent Session Three Thursday, 3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.Salon J/K, 4th Floor Panel: Discussant: Carolyn Yeager, Judith Herman, Elizabeth Carll, Christine Courtois, Thanos Karatzias, Denise LeBoeuf

Assessment and Treatment of ICD-11 Complex PTSD - Concurrent Session Eight Friday, 4:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.Berkeley/Clarenden, 3rd Floor Workshop: Marylene Cloitre, Philip Hyland, Neil Roberts, Thanos Karatzias

Hopefully as time passes there will be much more about Complex PTSD in adults because treatment and services round the world depend on these researchers, academics & clinicians. 

[Kizzie]

One thing I've noticed is that ISTSS tends to group survivors by the type of causation that leads to the dev of PTSD (military, first responders, refugees, etc) and dev trauma in children, but adults with CPTSD don't seem to be a distinct/visible group yet.

It's something I'm hoping to talk up to ISTSS and the Complex Trauma Special Interest Group I'm a Co-chair for. Any thoughts on the term "relational trauma survivors"? It encompasses all forms of ongoing abuse/neglect by others with some degree of authority/importance (family, the workplace, education, sports/recreational/religious groups, etc) that leads to the dev of CPTSD.   

[bluepalm]

Kizzie, I think the term "relational trauma survivors" is an excellent term for the reasons you state. It gets to the essence of the damage done - by one human to another, relatively powerless, human for reasons inherent in the perpetrator's psyche.

[Kizzie]

Tks for weighing in BluePalm (glad you're back  ).

I hope I can get them to hear me about this.  I won't be attending the meeting unfortunately but can certainly ask one of my fellow CoChairs who is to broach this at the panel session. The panelists are all well known leaders in the field of trauma so it couldn't hurt and there's nothing to lose really. If nothing else it may plant a seed.

[Jazzy]

Sounds good to me. Hope it helps!

[Kizzie]

If/when I do hear back about this I will post about it of course. 

[Kizzie]

I think so too and it would mean we're an identified group which I hope will go a LONG way to getting treatment, services and supports specifically for us. I haven't asked my Co-chairs yet what they think and whether they would pose this to the members at the meeting as they've both been on vacation but will soon. Fingers crossed.