We're excited to announce the first keynote for #ACOTS2027, Professor Debra Kaysen!
Debra L. Kaysen, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Chief of the Division of Public Mental Health and Population Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. A licensed clinical psychologist Board Certified in Cognitive and Behavioral Psychology, she has spent more than two decades developing, adapting, and disseminating evidence-based treatments for #PTSD and co-occurring substance use, depression, and anxiety.
Her research spans some of the most complex contexts in which trauma occurs: sexual assault survivors, military personnel and veterans, Native American communities, torture survivors, and sexual and gender minority populations, in settings ranging from the United States to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Iraq. Her work adapting Cognitive Processing Therapy across cultures while preserving treatment fidelity, and her research on task-sharing models that extend specialist-level care through trained community providers, has shaped how evidence-based trauma treatment is delivered in low-resource and crisis-affected settings worldwide. Her current research includes NIH-funded work developing responsible, equitable AI-based tools to train therapists at scale.
A Past President of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and President-Elect of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Kaysen has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and secured research funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, and USAID, among others. Her work continues to shape clinical practice, research, and public mental health policy internationally.
