Presenter: Milissa Kaufman, MD, PhD
Presenter Bio: Milissa Kaufman, MD, PhD is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. At McLean Hospital, she is Director of the Initiative for Trauma Research, Training and Care. She also is Director of the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program, and Medical Director of the Trauma Continuum. The Trauma Continuum provides treatment for over 700 individuals per year with PTSD, DID, and other trauma-related issues. Dr. Kaufman completed her doctoral training with Dr. Terry Keane at the National Center for PTSD in Boston. Then, after graduating from Boston University’s combined MD/PhD Program, she trained with Dr. James Chu within the MGH/McLean Hospital psychiatry residency program. She has 25 years of experience in assessment and treatment of PTSD and DID. She has published widely in these areas.Currently, she serves as Primary or Co-Investigator on studies designed to further our understanding of the neurobiology of PTSD and DID. Her research utilizes a sophisticated psychometric assessment paired with neuroimaging, psychophysiology, genetic, and neurocognitive techniques. She and her colleagues at McLean Hospital have received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) to study biomarkers of dissociation in traumatized individuals.

Dr. Kaufman is a distinguished Fellow of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD). She serves as Chair-elect of the ISSTD Scientific Committee and Co-Chair of the ISSTD Research and Education Fund. She has been honored to receive national and local awards for her work as a clinician, as a researcher, and as an educator. Within ISSTD, this includes the 2018 Cornelia Wilbur award for clinical work, the 2021 Pierre Janet Award for research, and the 2022 Presidential award for service. She is the former Associate Training Director for the MGH/McLean Hospital Adult Psychiatry Residency Program and currently serves as their Director of Trauma Psychiatry Didactics curriculum.

Presenter: Matthew Robinson, PhD
Presenter Bio: Matthew A. Robinson, PhD is Director of the Trauma Continuum at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, which provides partial hospital and outpatient treatment for trauma and dissociative disorders including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). He is an Instructor at Harvard Medical School and provides clinical supervision and didactic training as part of the MGH/McLean Adult Psychiatry Residency Program. Dr. Robinson is a co-investigator with the Dissociative Disorders and Trauma Research Program (DDTRP) and collaborates on federally funded studies exploring the phenomenology, neurobiology, and treatment of trauma and dissociative disorders including Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). His current research includes exploring the effectiveness and acceptability of evidence-based treatments for PTSD, innovative approaches to treatment of ICD-11 Complex PTSD and expanding treatment options and availability for DID.

Dr. Robinson provides professional training and is engaged in public outreach efforts aimed at understanding and destigmatizing DID. He helped develop and launch the Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP), a group of individuals with DID lived experience who collaborate with the Trauma Continuum and DDTRP on program development and research initiatives. He recently co-authored a manuscript with LEAP, currently in press, outlining the importance of lived experience voice in ongoing efforts to understand and provide effective treatment for DID. Dr. Robinson earned his doctorate in counseling psychology from Teachers College Columbia University and completed pre- and post-doctoral training at the Manhattan and Boston VA Hospitals, respectively.