Int’l Trauma & Dissociation Conference, Co-Sponsored by BUSSW, Features Professor Gómez & Mendez, Dean Jones, and BUSSW Trauma Specialization
The 42nd Annual Conference of the International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation (ISSTD), co-sponsored by Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW), showcased the leading role of BUSSW faculty and programming in trauma-related research and practice.
Professor Jennifer M. Gómez – who led a pre-conference workshop, paper session, and luncheon – received Honorable Mention for the Richard Kluft Award for the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation’s Best Article of 2024, and was announced as one of four plenary panelists who will headline the 2026 conference. Her concept of “dreamstorming” will be a primary discussion point for her and her fellow panelists, who she calls “giants in the field of complex trauma and dissociation”: Dr. Lynette Danylchuk, Lisa Danylchuk, LMFT, E-RYT, and Dr. Bethany Brand.
Professor Gómez was a moderator for a plenary session this year featuring Dr. Thema Bryant, who wrote the foreword to Gómez’s book, The Cultural Betrayal of Black Women & Girls. (You can learn about Professor Gómez’s other conference roles and presentations here.)
Research Assistant Professor Alicia Mendez shared a poster on a topic central to her research and expertise, “Exploring Intergenerational Posttraumatic Growth Among Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse and Their Young-Adult Children,” and Dean Barbara Jones delivered a speech at the organization’s Annual Awards Reception highlighting BUSSW and its Trauma, Violence & Justice Specialization.
BUSSW also had three MSW students in attendance – Sama Sarraj, Sophie Bailard, and Jay Woods – and sponsored the Student and Emerging Professional Lunch and Award Reception. BUSSW is an organizational member of ISSTD.