Presenter: Christine Forner, BA, BSW, RSW, MSW
Presenter Bio: Christine Forner (Ba, Bsw, Msw, Rsw) has been in the healing profession in one form or another since the age of 16 where she worked on a crisis line for teens. Christine spent the first part of her career in the front lines working at local sexual assault centres, long term therapeutic setting and shelters for domestic violence survivours. Since 2011, Christine has worked in her own private practice, which specializes in complex trauma and dissociative disorders. Christine has over thirty years of working with individuals with Trauma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, Traumatic Dissociation, Developmental Trauma and Dissociative Disorders, with specialized training in EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Psychotherapeutic Meditation techniques, Neurofeedback and Havening. Christine teaches locally and at an international level on the issue of dissociation, complex trauma, and the intersection of dissociation and mindfulness. Christine is the current President for the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. Christine has also served on the board of the ISSTD since 2010 and was the ISSTD treasurer from 2011-2017. She is the author of Dissociation, Mindfulness and Creative Meditations: Trauma informed practices to facilitate growth (Routledge, 2017). The summation of her work is to educate practitioners about the vital importance of their presence, patients and care with those who have been through the most severe and brutal injuries so that they get treated with dignity and compassion; something every human deserves to experience.

Presenter: Mary-Anne Kate, PhD
Presneter Bio: Dr Mary-Anne Kate has a professional background is in the development of national and EU policies and practices to improve quality of life outcomes for vulnerable client groups, including migrants, refugees, and people with trauma histories and mental health issues. Mary-Anne is currently teaching on the Mental Health Masters program at Southern Cross University and hold an adjunct research position at the University of New England. Mary-Anne is a Scientific Committee member of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) and has recently been awarded the Chancellor's Doctoral Research Medal and the David Caul Award for her PhD on childhood maltreatment, parent-child dynamics and dissociation. Her previous roles have included a diplomatic posting to Cairo to manage Australia’s refugee and migration programmes for North Africa and policy development for Europe’s most influential think-tank on immigration and equality issues.