Dr Jonathan Bisson

Dr Jonathan Bisson

Dr Jonathan Bisson

Dr Jonathan Bisson is a Clinical Reader in Psychiatry at CardiffUniversity. He developed his interest in traumatic stress during his time as a psychiatrist in the British Army, now leads a traumatic stress service in Cardiff and is an active researcher in this area. He is widely published, is the President of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and co-chaired the guideline development committee for the UKNICE guidelines for PTSD.

Professor Chris Brewin

Chris Brewin was appointed Professor of Clinical Psychology at University College London in 1999, a post jointly funded by UCL and the Camden & Islington Community Health Services NHS Trust. Chris contributes to the clinical service provided by the Traumatic Stress Clinic.

Dr Walter Busuttil

Dr Walter Busuttil is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Medical Director to Combat Stress the National Charity dedicated to the mental health needs of Combat Veterans and Ex- Service personnel.

He joined the RAF, where her served for 16 years, as a medical student cadet qualifying in medicine in Manchester in 1983. In the RAF he played a key role in the setting up and implementing novel PTSD rehabilitation programmes for servicemen and veterans. He was part of the team that rehabilitated the British Hostages released from Beirut and the First Gulf War POWs. In 1997 he moved to TicehurstHouseHospital, East Sussex as Co-Director of the Trauma Service where he set up a national tertiary referral service for the treatment and rehabilitation of Complex PTSD sufferers who were mainly women adult survivors of sexual abuse. In 2004 he took up the post of Medical Director at the DeneHospital, an all women’s medium secure forensic hospital, in West Sussex, where he set up a unique Psychological Trauma Service. In June 2007 he became the first full time Medical Director of Combat Stress. He has been a member of the UK Trauma Group since 1998 and a founder board member of the UK Psychological Trauma Society. He has published and lectured widely in the field of Traumatic Stress.

Dr Oscar Daly

Dr Oscar Daly is a consultant in general adult psychiatry working in Northern Ireland. Since his appointment, in 1990, he has had a particular clinical and research interest in the psychological problems experienced by those affected by the conflict in Northern Ireland. He has had a number of publications in the field and has presented papers at numerous national and international meetings.

He has been a member of the UK Trauma Group since its inception in 1995. He has been a member of both ESTSS and ISTSS (European and International Societies for Traumatic Stress Studies) since 1993 and served on the Board of Directors of ESTSS between 2001 and 2005. He was Secretary to the Board between 2002 and 2005.

He has acted in an informal, advisory capacity to a variety of organisations working in the field and is a member of the Local Health Authority’s Trauma Advisory Panel and Trauma Implementation Group. He was lead author for the development of guidelines on the management of post traumatic stress disorder in adults published by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Belfast in 2003.

He has worked with the media for a number of years, previously as Public Education Officer for the Irish Division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, that role including responsibility for the launch of the anti stigma campaign in Belfast in 1999.

He was clinical director for psychiatry in the Down-Lisburn HSS Trust 2002-2007 and the South Eastern HSC Trust 2007.

Professor Anke Ehlers

Anke Ehlers is a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow and professor at the Psychology Department at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, and is co-director of the Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma, MaudsleyHospital, London. Shetrained as a clinical psychologist in Germany and the United States, and worked at the universities of Stanford, Marburg, Berlin, Göttingen and Oxford before moving to London. Anke Ehlers has published widely on PTSD, including several randomised controlled trials. She was co-chair of the Guideline Development Group for the NICE Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Guidelines published in March 2005.

Dr Chris Freeman

Dr Freeman was appointed to the first Consultant Psychotherapist post in cognitive behavioural psychotherapy in 1984 and three years later opened the Cullen Centre the first cognitive behavioural psychotherapy department in Scotland specialising in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety disorders and depression using CBT. He began regular training courses in CBTleading to the setting up of the South of Scotland Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy course.

In 1996 Dr Freeman set up the Rivers Centre for the treatment of traumatic stress reactions. This was the first traumatic stress clinic in Scotland, named after William Halse Rivers who practiced in Craiglockhart during World War I. This is now called the Edinburgh Traumatic Stress Centre and has grown to the largest traumatic stress service in the UK.

In 1996 he trained in interpersonal psychotherapy IPT in Toronto, Canada and then set up IPTUK the National organisation for the training and supervision of interpersonal psychotherapy. Dr Freeman continues his interest in ECT having set up SEAN the Scottish ECT Accreditation Network and ECTAS (the ECT accreditation service for England and Wales) under the auspices of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2002.

In 2003 Dr Freeman started the ANITT (Anorexia Nervosa Intensive Treatment Team) which pioneered the use of intensive home based treatment for patients with severe anorexia nervosa who would normally be admitted to hospital.

He has been editor of the Edinburgh Companion to Psychiatric Studies, published books on research methods, eating disorders and psychotherapy and over 200 peer reviewed research papers. He is currently chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Ethics Committee, has been chair of the UK Trauma Group for three years and is President of the inaugural board of the UK Psychological Trauma Society.

Dr Claire Fyvie

DrClaire Fyvie is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Edinburgh Traumatic Stress Centre. Shehas worked in the field of traumatic stress formore than fifteen years and sees patients who have experienced a range of traumatic events,including: survivors of acts of human violence; victims of serious road traffic collisions; emergency service personnel; and refugees and asylum seekers. A large proportion of her patients are veterans of the British Armed Forces and she is currently working with the MOD, the Scottish Government and ex-Service charitiesto set up improved mental health services for Scottish veterans.

Dr Jamie G H Hacker Hughes

Dr Hacker Hughes is Head of Defence Clinical Psychology, Ministry of Defence and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Military Psychology at King’s College London. He is a Consultant Chartered Clinical Psychologist, Clinical Neuropsychologist, Cognitive-Behavioural Psychotherapist and EMDR Consultant.

Jamie has a particular interest in the psychological preparation of troops for military operations and in clinical interventions, especially early interventions, to minimise any psychological after-effects and has visited several operational theatres including Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. He has researched and published widely in the areas of clinical hypnosis, cognitive behavioural therapy, PTSD, EMDR and psychological effects of military operations and is a reviewer for several journals. Jamie is a former Chair of the Eastern Counties Branch of BABCP and Council Member of the UK & Ireland EMDR Association and is currently on the Board of the UK Psychological Trauma Society and a member of the ESTSS Task Force on Managing Trauma in the Uniformed Services. He is Vice Chair of the NATO Task Group on Stress and Psychological Support in Modern Military Operations and represents NATO Psychologists on the NATO Military Psychiatry Panel. He is a co-author of the recent NATO Joint Medical Committee and Senior Civil Emergency Planning Committee on Psychosocial Care for People affected by Disasters and Major Incidents.

Dr Lesley Hunter

Lesleyis a chartered clinical psychologist who has worked in a variety of NHS settings including most recently, the Lothian Chronic Pain Service where she was responsible for the management and delivery of psychology services to the anaesthetist led pain clinic at the Western General Hospital Edinburgh. Previously, she was a management consultant with the Human Resources Team at KPMG, Edinburgh where she was involved in the provision of business psychology services to clients. Lesley joined theteam at Edinburgh Traumatic Stress Centre in June 2003.

Neil J Kitchiner

Neil J Kitchiner is currently seconded from the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust Dept of Liaison Psychiatry and Traumatic Stress Service to facilitate the Veterans Community Mental Health Service. He is a registered mental health nurse with over 23 year’s experience of working within mental health in the UK and Australia and holds a Masters Degree in Nursing (1995). He has worked in forensic secure environments in England, Wales and Australia.

Neil also has a degree in Behavioural Psychotherapy from SheffieldHallamUniversity (1998) and has worked as a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist since 1997 in HM Prisons, the PrioryHospital, Bristol, and for the past 7 years at the Department of Liaison Psychiatry, the Traumatic Stress Service, with responsibility for the NHS partnership with the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service.

Dr Deborah Lee

Deborah is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Head of Berkshire Traumatic Stress Service. She is also an honorary Senior Lecturer at University College London.

Dr Lee has worked in the field of trauma for 16 years and specialises in the treatment of PTSD and complex Trauma. Her particular area of clinical and research interest is in shame based PTSD and self-criticism. She has developed the use of compassion based treatments including the use of compassionate imagery in shame based flashbacks to enhance clinical practice in this field. She has widely contributed to the dissemination of her clinical knowledge through writing and delivering clinical workshops. She has authored many papers and book chapters on this topic.

Gill Moreton

Gill began her professional career as a child and family social worker specialising in child protection. In 1996 she was involved in the immediate response to the shootings at DunblanePrimary School and in the establishment of the Support Centre where she worked for the next five years in the multidisciplinary team providing a practical and therapeutic service to those affected by the incident. Since then she has specialised in the treatment of children and adults affected by trauma, and is trained in CBT and EMDR. Previously, she was co-ordinator of a Child Sexual Abuse team within CAMHS in NHS Lothian and continues to supervise colleagues there. Gill joined the Edinburgh Traumatic Stress Centre in June 2002 and is the lead clinician for work with the Emergency Services.

Professor Mick Power

Mick Power is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Edinburgh. He has previously worked as a clinical psychologist in the MaudsleyHospital and the Institute of Psychiatry, and has worked as a research scientist for the Medical Research Council and the World Health Organization. His main interests are in the application of emotion theory to psychopathology, the links between emotion and quality of life, and the adaptation of existing psychological therapies for specific disorders.

Stephen Regel

Stephen is Principal Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist/Co-director of the Centre for Trauma, Resilience and Growth, Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust & Special Lecturer in the School of Sociology and Social Policy, NottinghamUniversity. Since 2002, he has been visiting therapist/consultant at the Family Trauma Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He has over 25 years experience working with trauma and PTSD, dividing his time between, clinical, teaching and research activities. Currently he is a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Copenhagen and contributing to teaching at the Multi-Ethnic Centre for Trauma Research and the Institute of Health MA in Disaster Management. Since 1998 has been a consultant to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Reference Centre for Psychosocial Support. Assessment and training missions for the IFRC have included assignments in Korea, Japan, Estonia, Kenya, Somalia, Russia and the recent conflict in Georgia. In 2000/2001 he acted as consultant to the UNHCR peer support programme in Kosovo. Since 2006, he has been a member of the British Red Cross Psychosocial Support Team, assisting UK nationals affected by incidents abroad. He is consults and trains extensively with UK police forces on the provision of post trauma support.

Professor Suzanna Rose

Professor Suzanna Rose works for Berkshire Healthcare Foundation NHS Trust where she is the Professional Head of Psychological Therapies and the Academic Lead for Research and Development. She was the founder member of Berkshire Traumatic Stress Service and was its leader from 1999-2007. She currently treats patients there one day a week.

She has been a member of the British Red Cross since the age of eleven and, more recently, became the elected Chairman of the Volunteers for Berkshire Red Cross.

She has worked as a Red Cross psycho-social advisor at disasters in the UK, Egypt, Cyprus and Iraq.

She has published extensively and spoken at conferences in the UK, Europe, Canada and the USA. For a list of publications please see

Liz Royle MBACP (Accred), MA, EMDR Consultant

As an experienced trauma psychotherapist and EMDR Consultant, Liz Royle works with clients suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and trauma reactions including those following multiple fatalities, serious assaults, accidents, child sexual abuse and major incidents. Up until 2004, Liz was responsible for leading a team of police welfare officers in the provision of 24 hour trauma support for police officers. This included proactive initiatives to address vicarious trauma in specialist officers and social workers. She now works with Local Authorities, transport and security companies, police forces and federations and the voluntary sector providing crisis interventions, psychotherapeutic support and proactive initiatives for managing trauma. She also trains mental health professionals in working with trauma and supervises EMDR practitioners across the region.

She has had several papers published on subjects such as vicarious trauma and EMDR case studies. Her research into police firearms officers and trauma led to changes being implemented by Greater Manchester Police in their approach to trauma support. She leads the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies task force on Managing Psychological Trauma in the Uniformed Services. Liz specialises in crisis intervention and the treatment of complex PTSD.

Dr Stuart Turner

Dr Stuart Turner is current President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), the leading society in this field. He is one of the four clinicians who established the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS), having been Chair of the European Trauma Foundation from 1991 to 1993, the precursor organisation. In 1995, he became second President of ESTSS. In 1996, he established the UK Trauma Group, a managed clinical network.

Professor Simon Wessely

Simon is Professor of Epidemiological and Liaison Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at King’s and MaudsleyHospitals.

His Masters and doctorate are in clinical epidemiology. His main areas of research are in the grey areas between medicine and psychiatry, psychiatric injury and military health. His first paper was called “Dementia and Mrs Thatcher”, but since then he has published over 500 papers on many subjects, including many different aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome and also other unexplained syndromes, post traumatic stress, psychological debriefing, history, chronic pain, Gulf War illness, military health and terrorism.

His main current research is around various aspects of military health, including the so called “Gulf War Syndrome”, physical and psychological stressors of military life, protection against chemical and biological warfare, PTSD, risk communication, risk and benefits of military service, screening and health surveillance within the Armed Forces, social and psychological outcomes of ex service personnel, and historical aspects of war and psychiatry. He founded the CFS Research Unit and is Director of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research Unit, both based at King’s College London.

Professor Wessely is Honorary Civilian Consultant Advisor in Psychiatry to the Army, and one of the Foundation Senior Investigators of the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR). He is a PI on a Home Office funded study of psychological and behavioural reactions to the London bombings and CBRN terrorism in partnership with the Health Protection Agency, and a study of the impact of the recent polonium incidents in London. In 2008 he joined the Defence Scientific Advisory Council (DSAC).

Dr Felicity de Zulueta , BSc. MA(Cantab), MBChB, FRCPsych, FRCP

Is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy and Lead clinician of the Traumatic Stress Service in the MaudsleyHospital where she specialises in the assessment and treatment of people suffering from complex PTSD and other psychiatric disorders resulting from the effects of war, torture, rape and abuse of all types.

She is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Institute of Psychiatry, a biologist and author of a book ‘From Pain to Violence, the traumatic origins of destructiveness’ (2nd edition by John Wiley and Sons, 2006) where she outlines the case for PTSD to be understood as an attachment disorder.

In the workshop on ‘Complex PTSD’ Dr de Zulueta will outline her service’s multidisciplinary approach to the assessment and treatment of patients suffering from the severe effects of childhood and adult traumatisation, with particular reference to survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and refugees and she will illustrate the use of a specific attachment test (TAIT) in time limited focused individual and group therapy.