As science reshapes our understanding of trauma, a panel talk on the Sunshine Coast will bring together mental health experts to discuss new ways of alleviating the impacts.
In the first of the University of the Sunshine Coast's new public event series, multi-award-winning journalist Dr Norman Swan will lead the thought-provoking discussion about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on Thursday 6 November at Maroochydore.
Dr Swan is a renowned Australian broadcaster and medically qualified journalist who created ABC Radio National's long-running Health Report and co-hosts the popular podcast What's That Rash?
The panel will include UniSC Professor Alain Brunet, a clinical psychologist and global authority on trauma-related mental illness.
Director of the National PTSD Research Centre at UniSC's Thompson Institute, Professor Brunet developed a pioneering brain treatment to help update people's memories of trauma to reduce the emotional effects.
Called Reconsolidation Therapy, it offers a healing pathway for people diagnosed with PTSD.
"More than 1.4 million Australians live with PTSD and many more deal with the impacts of psychological trauma every day," Professor Brunet said
"PTSD diagnosis remains complex. Lasting and effective treatments are elusive, and the root causes are still not fully understood. But new research is paving the way."
Additional experts will include:
- Dr Rachel Brand, UniSC clinical psychology academic researching the intersection of trauma and psychosis,
- Lieutenant Colonel Pip Weiland CSC, Acting Director General of Mental Health and Wellbeing at the Australian Defence Force, and
- Dr Timothy Hicks, psychiatrist with Queensland Health at Gympie Hospital and former British Army combat medic.
They will discuss topics such as neurobiological predictors and early, targeted screening methods to prevent mental illness before conditions become severe and more difficult to treat.
The first event in UniSC's Building Better series has sold out, but there's more to come!
Register your interest to stay updated on future events in the Building Better series.
