Keynotes and Panelists

Professor Debra L. Kaysen

Debra L. Kaysen, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Chief of the Division of Public Mental Health and Population Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. A licensed clinical psychologist Board Certified in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology, she has spent more than two decades developing, adapting, and disseminating evidence-based treatments for PTSD and co-occurring substance use, depression, and anxiety.


Her research spans some of the most complex contexts in which trauma occurs: sexual assault survivors, military personnel and veterans, Native American communities, torture survivors, and sexual and gender minority populations, in settings ranging from the United States to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Iraq. Her work adapting Cognitive Processing Therapy across cultures while preserving treatment fidelity, and her research on task-sharing models that extend specialist-level care through trained community providers, has shaped how evidence-based trauma treatment is delivered in low-resource and crisis-affected settings worldwide. Her current research includes NIH-funded work developing responsible, equitable AI-based tools to train therapists at scale.


A Past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and President-Elect of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Kaysen has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and secured research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and USAID, among others. Her work continues to shape clinical practice, research, and public mental health policy internationally.

Kaysen will also be facilitating a half-day workshop as part of the pre-conference workshops, titled "Adapting Evidence-Based Trauma Treatments Across Culture and Context"


Professor Angela Nickerson

Angela Nickerson is a clinical psychologist and Professor in the School of Psychology at UNSW Sydney, where she is Director of the Refugee Trauma and Recovery Program. Her research focuses on the mental health of refugees and people affected by forced displacement, with particular interests in post-traumatic stress, emotion regulation, moral injury, and the development and implementation of effective psychological interventions.

Professor Nickerson has led major research programs in Australia and internationally, including longitudinal and intervention studies with refugee communities in Australia and Indonesia. Her work has examined how experiences following displacement, including visa insecurity, ongoing adversity, and post-migration stressors, shape psychological adjustment and recovery. A major focus of her current research is understanding why some people respond well to psychological interventions while others do not, and identifying the mechanisms that can be targeted to improve treatment outcomes.


She has published extensively in the fields of traumatic stress and refugee mental health, and has been supported by competitive fellowship and grant funding throughout her career, including an National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)Investigator Grant. Her research has involved partnerships with refugee communities, settlement and clinical services researchers and policy stakeholders.


Professor Nickerson is a Past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). In her work, she is committed to generating research that is both scientifically rigorous and directly relevant to improving services, policy and mental health outcomes for refugees and other populations affected by trauma and displacement.

Panels

Stay tuned for a range of different panels with national and international experts on trauma, in the topics of:

  • Military and first responder trauma
  • Psychosocial risks and workplace trauma
  • Gender Based Violence
  • Lived and living experience of trauma