The 36th Annual Boston International Trauma Conference — Day Three

8:45am - 12:45pm : Innovative Approaches to Trauma Healing

Day three was a little less scientific, and more aimed at alternative treatment approaches and guidelines to connecting with policymakers. Just because something isn’t necessarily evidence based, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. You should always stay skeptical, but also be open to change or new information, especially if it can help somebody heal—

Jennie Noll, PhD — Addressing and preventing the unique, pernicious, and enduring consequences of child sexual abuse; a message of HOPE through science.

She had some interesting longitudinal studies, that followed child sexual abuse (CSA) individuals over their lifetimes. What she discovered, was a strong correlational relationship to obesity and inflammation. She also demonstrated how to make CSA changes on a societal level, through her own example of policy change that she accomplished throughout Pennsylvania. Her work brought some important relationships to our attention as well as showed us just how possible it is to make a difference, on a large scale. Her papers to substantiate these claims are in the references below.

Interesting bits of information—

• She shared a useful graphic of the HPA axis image similar to this one:

Illustrates the feedback loop for how our bodies are supposed to manage the stress hormone. Dr. Noll notes that this feedback loop malfunctions in individuals who dealt with CSA, and other forms of developmental trauma, which often shows up as constistent BMI increase and overbearing inflammation.

Janina Fisher, PhD — Repairing the Past: New Perspectives on Treating Traumatic Memory.

Janina, on the other hand, was more focused on our therapeutic approaches to trauma. Steering the conversation away from “talking” about trauma while homing in on the implicit physical and unconscious emotional responses that keep old traumas alive and well inside our clients. Rather than risking retraumatization, she hopes to create a functional repair model— a model that focuses on shifting the focus from fear and shame, to hope and safety.

The types of therapy she recommended with this approach in mind were:

• Sensorimotor Psychotherapy / Somatic Experiencing

• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

• Internal Family Systems (IFS)

• Trauma Informed Stabilization Treatment (TIST)

• Psychedelic Treatment

Dr. Fisher also spoke about the inherent value and power of transformative witnessing— it involves observing and acknowledging change in oneself or others, not just passively, but actively by being present, attentive, and supportive. This really highlights the power of our focused attention, especially in a population that likely didn’t receive the necessary attention needed to develop in younger more fragile years. Dr. Fisher really stressed that while being present and supportive are valuable, slow and empathetic interruptions can be just as important and growth provoking.

Phil Wolfson, MD — A brief history of The Psychedelic Landscape through Time and Space — A view from an Elder Participant and Observer.

Dr. Wolfson was a man from my own heart. A spiritual leader in a time when the spirit is oft left neglected and forgotten. His presentation was not entirely scientific, yet more of a memorial for his late son and a time-lapse of the development of his psychedelic therapy program.

I can’t say I gained all that much from his presentation, but I can say it was refreshing to see and hear a new perspective on why and how we can use psychedelic experiences to interrupt the trauma cycle in our brains and bodies. Dr. Wolfson’s primary psychedelic was Ketamine, as it is currently the only legal psychedelic approved for clinical use, especially in treating PTSD. He and his cohort are actively working on ways to implement other psychedelics into medical settings in a safe and controlled manner.

2:15pm - 4:15pm : What’s Happening in Psychedelic Therapies? An Update

This was more of a deep dive on what Dr. Wolfson grazed over in his psychedelic landscape presentation. He was joined by by Bessel van der Kolk MD , Licia Sky, Gita Vaid MD, Ronald Siegel PsyD, and Jim Hopper PhD.

They were advocating for the power of various mind altering substances (MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine) which have been shown to have powerful effects on PTSD, depression, and addiction. They grazed over the available scientific data and their own personal clinical experiences, particularly with MDMA and ketamine. These “enhanced” experiences can help reorganize peoples experiences of themselves— leading to increased self compassion, room for intimacy, and capacity for self regulation— which in turn leads to increased efficacy of any attended psychotherapeutic processes.

Psychedelic medicines— when dosed correctly and in a safe and managed context, can act as powerful catalytic tools for healing, repair, and help shift individuals towards their own self actualization.

Oddo’s Takeaway:

This day was a doozy! As a child who grew up surrounded by trauma and addiction, I have always kept most psychedelics at a safe distance from myself, assuming they are just as dangerous and debilitating as other addictive chemicals. As someone who has since tried psilocybin in a controlled therapeutic environment, I can personally attest to the mushrooms power to open us up to both ourselves and to others. Janina and Jennie’s workshops reiterated that it is not enough to “just talk” about trauma, especially developmental trauma, as it throws a wrench in our ability to manage/handle stress (the hpa axis). Dr. Wolfson gives me hope, as a fellow explorer and spiritual teacher, I hope one day to find my own ways to make such a difference.

References:

Noll, J. G., Felt, J., Russotti, J., Guastaferro, K., Day, S., & Fisher, Z. (2025). Rates of population-level child sexual abuse after a community-wide preventive intervention. JAMA Pediatrics, 179(5), 521. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.6824

Omisakin, O. A., Park, H., Schwartz, S. E., Noll, J. G., Buxton, O. M., Marquez‐Velarde, G., Lim, S., & Reither, E. N. (2025). Body mass trajectories from adolescence to adulthood in the United States: Effects of racial identification and adverse childhood experiences. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 35(2), e70025. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.70025

Wolfson, Philip E., et al. “MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy for Treatment of Anxiety and Other Psychological Distress Related to Life-Threatening Illnesses: A Randomized Pilot Study.” Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 1, Nov. 2020, p. 20442. www.nature.com, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75706-1.