Although PTSD has been the focus of scientific research for many decades, at the same time the knowledge regarding posttraumatic impacts beyond PTSD has also broadened. This course will focus on the impacts of exposure to traumatic experiences “in the shadow of PTSD”. It aims at helping clinicians to understand the diversity and complexity of the consequences of trauma and tailor more adequate treatment strategies.
First, heterogeneous trajectories of long-term adjustment following potentially traumatic events will be elaborated upon. These include chronically elevated symptoms, delayed responses, improvement and the trajectory of stable psychological health or resilience. Then, influence of psychological trauma on family systems will be discussed in depth through processes related to parenthood, spousal relationships, household conflict and aggression. Simultaneously, cultural frameworks for child and family trauma and multi modal treatment approaches for assisting children of migrating families to acculturate and adapt after adversity will be addressed. Finally, the psycho-political effects of war and terror on societies with regards to issues of safety, trust, moral judgment and attitudes towards the "other" group will be explored. The internationally acknowledged experts will present the state-of-the-art knowledge in the field, both from the clinical and research perspectives.