About the 10th ECOTS, Opatija, Croatia, June 5-9, 2007
Click any image to start the slide show
The Chairs of the Organisational Committee (Dean Ajdukovic) and the Programme Committee (Ulrich Schnyder) were able this year to present a very impressive conference, in terms of content and programme as well as numbers.
The packed schedule included seven keynote addresses and invited plenary lectures; 25 symposia with 113 presentations; 162 oral presentations in eight thematic tracks; 31 workshops in six thematic tracks; three panel discussions; three key controversy discussions; and 38 posters.
And if that was not enough, the conference attracted just under 600 participants (596 exactly, plus 46 accompanying persons) from 42 nations.
To support the lecturers, presenters and participants, the organisational Chair set up a team students and colleagues in distinctive, bright blue T-shirts - 24 of them from the psychology department of Zagreb University, and seven of them staff of the Croatian Society for Psychological Assistance (SPA).
But the 10th ECOTS was more than an impressive conference with numerous presenters. Set in the wonderful landscape of Kvarner Bay, the host town of Opatija, a spa resort with a history that goes back to Croatia's days as part of the Habsburg empire, helped created a warm and communicative atmosphere, fostering personal and friendly as well as scientific exchange among the participants.
The seven keynote addresses and invited plenary lectures gave insight into subjects ranging from Public Health Aspects of Trauma (Norman Sartorius) to the Biology of Acute Stress Reactions (Richard Bryant).
Dinka Corkalo Biruski spoke of Trauma, Trust and Social Reconstruction, Andreas Maercker reported on the Janus Face of Posttraumatic Growth, and Benjamin E. Saunders described Empirically Supported Treatments for Traumatised Children. Paula Schnurr spoke on Trauma and Physical Health, while Zahava Solomon talked of Israel's experience In the Shadow of Terror.
The Symposia, oral presentations and workshops contributed to topics such as assessment, biomedical aspects, clinical treatments, community interventions, epidemiology, prevention and early interventions, social issues, media issues and theory.
A very successful new format - the key controversies debates - went to the heart of several currently hot topics in the trauma field. They were dedicated to
- Psychotherapy - do we need new methods or is it better to disseminate existing, effective treatments?
- Pros and cons of treatment guidelines and
- Mandatory treatment for women who are violent in intimate relationships- gender equality or gender injustice.
To complete the experience, two social events gave participants an unforgettable impression of Croatian traditions of celebration, eating, dancing and bringing people together.
A warm ESTSS thankyou to the Chairs, the Staff and all contributors who made the 10th ECOTS such an unforgettable event.
Images on this page courtesy of Ramón Lindauer and Dean Ajdukovic