Editorial

. 2025 Dec;16(1):2496125.

doi: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2496125. Epub 2025 May 8.

Experts in traumatic stress are concerned about global impact of what is happening in U.S

Joan M Cook¹, Debra L Kaysen^{2

3}, Jackie June Ter Heide⁴, Cherie Armour⁵, Marianne Skogbrott Birkeland⁶, Sandra L Bloom^{3

7}, John Briere^{3

8}, Eric Bui^{3

9

10}, Eve Carlson^{3

11}, Marylene Cloitre^{3

12}, Marie-Ève Daspe¹³, Charles R Figley^{3

14}, Julian D Ford^{3

15}, Bonnie L Green^{3

16}, Talya Greene¹⁷, Rodrigo Gillibrand^{18

19}, Maj Hansen²⁰, Nathaniel G Harnett^{21

22}, Irma M Hein²³, Jinhee Hyun^{24

25}, Jana D Javakhishvili^{26

27}, Debra Kaminer²⁸, Nancy Kassam-Adams^{3

29}, Karestan C Koenen^{3

30

31

32

33}, Catrin Lewis³⁴, Alexander McFarlane^{3

35}, Alessandra Minelli^{36

37}, Candice Monson³⁸, Frank Neuner³⁹, Elana Newman^{3

40

41}, Angela Nickerson^{3

42}, Meaghan O'Donnell^{3

43}, Misari Oe⁴⁴, Matthew Price⁴⁵, Patricia Resick^{3

46}, Neil P Roberts⁴⁷, Carolina Salgado⁴⁸, Ulrich Schnyder^{3

25

49

50}, Soraya Seedat^{3

51}, Antonia V Seligowski^{52

53}, Marit Sijbrandij^{3

54}, Stuart Turner⁵⁵, Bessel van der Kolk^{3

56

57}, Miranda Olff^{3

25

58

59

60}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
² Division of Public Mental Health & Population Sciences, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
³ Past President, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), USA.
⁴ ARQ Centrum '45, Diemen/Oegstgeest, The Netherlands.
⁵ Trauma and Mental Health Research Centre, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
⁶ Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway.
⁷ Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁸ Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁹ University of Caen Normandy, Caen, France.
¹⁰ Caen University Hospital, Caen, France.
¹¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹² New York University Silver School of Social Work, New York, NY, USA.
¹³ Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
¹⁴ Disaster Mental Health, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
¹⁵ University of Connecticut Health Center, Farminghton, CT, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical School, Washington, DC, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
¹⁹ President, Chilean Association for Traumatic Stress (ACET), Chile.
²⁰ Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
²¹ Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
²² Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
²³ Amsterdam UMC Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁴ Department of Social Welfare, Daegu University, Gyeongsan City, South Korea.
²⁵ Past President, Korean Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (KSTSS), South Korea.
²⁶ School of Arts and Sciences, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia.
²⁷ Past President, European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS), The Netherlands.
²⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
²⁹ Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³⁰ Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Boston, MA, USA.
³¹ Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Boston, MA, USA.
³² Massachusetts General Hospital, Psychiatric Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Boston, MA, USA.
³³ Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
³⁴ Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
³⁵ Discipline of Psychiatry, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
³⁶ Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
³⁷ Genetics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.
³⁸ Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada.
³⁹ Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
⁴⁰ Department of Psychology, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA.
⁴¹ Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, New York, NY, USA.
⁴² School of Psychology, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
⁴³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Phoenix, Australia.
⁴⁴ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
⁴⁵ University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
⁴⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke Health, Duke University, NC, USA.
⁴⁷ Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
⁴⁸ Past president, Asociación Chilena de Estrés Traumático (ACET), liaison with Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress, Talca, Chile.
⁴⁹ University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁵⁰ Co-chair, Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GCTS), The Netherlands.
⁵¹ SAMRC Genomics of Brain Disorders Extramural Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁵² Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵³ Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁵⁴ Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵⁵ Past President, European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS), Andijk, The Netherlands.
⁵⁶ Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵⁷ Trauma Research Foundation, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience & Public Health, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵⁹ ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands.
⁶⁰ Chair, Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GCTS), The Netherlands.

PMID: 40336338
PMCID: PMC12064102
DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2496125

Editorial

Experts in traumatic stress are concerned about global impact of what is happening in U.S

Joan M Cook et al. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2025 Dec.

. 2025 Dec;16(1):2496125.

doi: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2496125. Epub 2025 May 8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
² Division of Public Mental Health & Population Sciences, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
³ Past President, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS), USA.
⁴ ARQ Centrum '45, Diemen/Oegstgeest, The Netherlands.
⁵ Trauma and Mental Health Research Centre, School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland.
⁶ Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, Oslo, Norway.
⁷ Dornsife School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁸ Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁹ University of Caen Normandy, Caen, France.
¹⁰ Caen University Hospital, Caen, France.
¹¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
¹² New York University Silver School of Social Work, New York, NY, USA.
¹³ Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
¹⁴ Disaster Mental Health, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
¹⁵ University of Connecticut Health Center, Farminghton, CT, USA.
¹⁶ Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical School, Washington, DC, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
¹⁹ President, Chilean Association for Traumatic Stress (ACET), Chile.
²⁰ Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
²¹ Division of Depression and Anxiety, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
²² Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
²³ Amsterdam UMC Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
²⁴ Department of Social Welfare, Daegu University, Gyeongsan City, South Korea.
²⁵ Past President, Korean Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (KSTSS), South Korea.
²⁶ School of Arts and Sciences, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia.
²⁷ Past President, European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS), The Netherlands.
²⁸ Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
²⁹ Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
³⁰ Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Boston, MA, USA.
³¹ Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Boston, MA, USA.
³² Massachusetts General Hospital, Psychiatric Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Boston, MA, USA.
³³ Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
³⁴ Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
³⁵ Discipline of Psychiatry, Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
³⁶ Department of Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.
³⁷ Genetics Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.
³⁸ Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Canada.
³⁹ Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
⁴⁰ Department of Psychology, The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, USA.
⁴¹ Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, New York, NY, USA.
⁴² School of Psychology, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
⁴³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Phoenix, Australia.
⁴⁴ Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
⁴⁵ University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
⁴⁶ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke Health, Duke University, NC, USA.
⁴⁷ Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
⁴⁸ Past president, Asociación Chilena de Estrés Traumático (ACET), liaison with Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress, Talca, Chile.
⁴⁹ University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
⁵⁰ Co-chair, Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GCTS), The Netherlands.
⁵¹ SAMRC Genomics of Brain Disorders Extramural Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁵² Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵³ Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁵⁴ Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Amsterdam Public Health Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵⁵ Past President, European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS), Andijk, The Netherlands.
⁵⁶ Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵⁷ Trauma Research Foundation, Boston, MA, USA.
⁵⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience & Public Health, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵⁹ ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre, Diemen, The Netherlands.
⁶⁰ Chair, Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GCTS), The Netherlands.

PMID: 40336338
PMCID: PMC12064102
DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2496125

Abstract
in English, Spanish, Spanish

Trauma is a global issue and public health concern. Political decisions may directly impact rates of trauma exposure, be it individual trauma or mass disaster, and guide how we deal with the consequences of trauma. In this editorial, we warn that the current U.S. administration's decisions are impacting exposure to and consequences of trauma worldwide as well as disrupting the field of traumatic stress in research and practice.

El trauma es un problema mundial y una preocupación de salud pública. Las decisiones políticas pueden impactar directamente las tasas de exposición a trauma, ya sea por un trauma individual o por desastres masivos, y orientar la forma en que abordamos las consecuencias del trauma. En esta editorial, advertimos que las decisiones de la actual administración de los E.E.U.U. ya están afectando la exposición y consecuencias del trauma nivel mundial, así como también perturbando el campo del estrés traumático en la investigación y práctica clínica.

Los investigadores y clínicos especializados en el estrés traumático advierten que las actuales decisiones de la administración de los EE. UU están afectando la exposición y las consecuencias del trauma en todo el mundo.
Estas decisiones podrían disminuir la salud física y mental, el funcionamiento social y ocupacional, la calidad de vida y el acceso a la atención médica.
Es necesario que los EE. UU vuelva a participar en la investigación del estrés traumático y en las actividades globales para mitigar los efectos del trauma en tiempos de crisis y avanzar en la ciencia del estrés traumático.

Keywords: PTSD; TEPT; Trauma; global mental health; impacto social; investigación en estrés traumático; salud mental global; societal impact; traumatic stress research.

Plain language summary

Researchers and clinicians who specialize in traumatic stress warn that the current U.S. administration’s decisions are impacting exposure to and consequences of trauma worldwide.These decisions might decrease physical and mental health, social and occupational functioning, quality of life, and access to health care.Re-engagement of the U.S. in traumatic stress research and global activities is needed to mitigate the effects of trauma during times of crisis and advance the science of traumatic stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

References

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Experts in traumatic stress are concerned about global impact of what is happening in U.S

Affiliations

Experts in traumatic stress are concerned about global impact of what is happening in U.S

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract
in English, Spanish, Spanish

Plain language summary

Conflict of interest statement

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Research Materials

Abstract in English, Spanish, Spanish

Plain language summary

Conflict of interest statement

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Research Materials

Abstract
in English, Spanish, Spanish