RESEARCH CENTRE

There is growing awareness of the adverse effect of psychological trauma on people.  Although much attention has focused on survivors of war, assault, and natural disaster, there has been a relative neglect of the effects of trauma that occurs early in life.  International attention is now focusing on the personal, social, and economic costs of suffering repeated trauma, especially in the early years.  The disorders resulting from multiple aversive life events are poorly understood and frequently regarded as resistant to treatment.

Despite our relative ignorance about the causes and nature of these conditions, they do constitute a major burden, not only on individuals and families concerned, but also upon the health system. The disruption of personality development that might occur as a result of these traumatic experiences are severe and can lead to tragic outcomes; for example, these disorders have a suicide rate as high as 10% (the same as schizophrenia and major depression). Moreover, 10% of psychiatric inpatients and 20% of psychiatric outpatients may suffer the effects of complex trauma. 

Thus, complex trauma disorders create a major burden on public health resources, Industry, welfare and judicial services, as well as causing enormous costs for the individuals and their families. 

The International Research Centre for the study of Complex Trauma

This proposal represents the establishment of the first international centre for the scientific study of complex trauma disorders. It would bring together disciplines, spanning psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience, and capitalize on experts in these areas.

The centre will capitalize on Australia’s leading expertise in the domains of psychological trauma and neuroscience to forge a centre that is uniquely poised to study and develop novel treatments to reduce this neglected spectrum of psychiatric disorders.  Specifically, Russell Meares (Psychiatry), Professors Richard Bryant (Psychology), and Leanne Williams (Neuroscience) will coordinate the Centre and integrate leading national and international authorities to ensure it maintains the cutting edge approaches to understanding and treating complex trauma disorders.

The specific aims of the Centre will be to:

• Understand how aversive life events interfere with healthy brain development to produce  complex trauma disorders.

• Identify how aversive life events interact with genetic make-up and development to predispose people to complex trauma disorders over the lifespan.

• Identify the factors which determine resilience for those individuals who do not develop a complex trauma disorder

• Identify the biological-psychosocial mechanisms that maintain complex trauma disorder.

• Develop and evaluate novel prevention and treatment programs

• Develop training and educational material for health professionals and allied health workers

• Identify the disruption caused to children and those close to an individual who has developed a complex trauma

The Research Centre Committee Founders

           
Emirates Professor              Professor                             Professor                               Consultant
Russell Meares                     Richard Bryant                    Leanne Williams                      Jacqueline Reid