Back to Basics: Integrating Clinical and Scientific Knowledge to Advance the Field of Trauma—Highlights of the ISTSS-2015

T he 31st Annual Meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), November 5Á7, 2015, was a vibrant and stimulating conference, with many highlights from the opening on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina; the keynotes of Anke Ehlers, John Krystal, and Regina Sullivan; the vivid panel discussions with recognized leaders in the field of traumatic stress studies; inspiring and eloquent presentations by master methodologists and clinicians; and much more. The atmosphere was excellent, not only within the conference venue, but also outside*we were in The Big Easy. For those who missed it, and for those who like to refresh their memories, we have assembled here in this special issue the highlights of the ISTSS-2015! The topic of the meeting was ''Back to Basics: Integrating Clinical and Scientific Knowledge to Advance the Field of Trauma.'' Basic science in the field of stress and trauma has always been an important platform for the development of evidence-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In the past 20 years, research on the effects of trauma and processes of recovery has evolved at great pace. We also know that, despite these advances, the vast majority of those affected by traumatic stress still do not receive optimal care, and even when they do, many patients are not cured after treatment and remain deeply affected by their experiences This meeting was a great occasion to reflect on what we have learned so far. The keynote speakers gave excellent overviews on three key research domains in the field of trauma and PTSD. John Krystal took a historical perspective and highlighted advances from 25 years of research, providing an impressive overview on validated pharmacotherapy options for PTSD and ways that the neurobiology of PTSD informs the development of new therapeutic strategies. A review paper on this topic (Kelmendi et al., 2016) can be found in this special issue. Anke Ehlers gave an eloquent overview of the research she and her colleagues conducted to empirically validate and develop evidence-based trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). She described how systematic observations of re-experiencing in PTSD led to hypotheses about possible cognitive mechanisms that may explain core characteristics of these symptoms and their persistence, and how trauma-focused CBT addresses these mechanisms. In her contribution in this special issue, Anke Ehlers and colleagues describe a promising series of pilot studies on Internet-delivered versions of cognitive therapy for PTSD (Wild et al., …