Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

After two packed days at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies conference, I was exhausted, even though I didn't make it the conference's liveliest evening session (see picture). But between meetings with Dart Center and Dart Society leaders on the third and final day, I still managed to sit in on several significant panels, all speaking directly to the interface between journalists and the traumatic human experiences they cover ... More »

After my last post, at the end of my first day at the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies' annual conference, the ISTSS gave out their annual awards. Of particular note: the 2008 Frank Ochberg Award for Media and Trauma Study was given to the Dart Center's founding director, Roger Simpson, for his groundbreaking research work ... More »

Once a year, you can find the world's trauma experts, the Dart Center's staff and the journalists who won Dart's annual Ochberg Fellowships in one place: the annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. This year the place is Chicago, and while the fellows are bonding in their fourth day of seminars, I'm wandering in and out of panels learning about the cutting edge of trauma research from psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, counselors, administrators, advocates, journalists, and even clergy. Today through Sunday, I'll be blogging their nuggets of wisdom here. More »

n clinical news, a study published in Archives of General Psychiatry found Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in 70% of those with implanted cardioverter-defibrillators, while a study in the British Journal of Psychiatry found adolescents with psychotic symptoms were more likely to be bullies as well as victims of bullying and to have been exposed to domestic violence. Iraqis in Iraq were reported to be at a much lower risk for PTSD than Iraqis who emigrate. A new VA report found 15% of veterans have experienced sexual trauma. A study of mice suggested that a shot of cortisol after a stressful event could prevent traumatization ... More »

One in four homeless people in the United States are veterans. Nearly half of those homeless veterans have a diagnosable mental illness. More »