Paula Thomson, PsyD
Paula Thomson, PsyD is Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She is a licensed Clinical Psychologist and works in private practice in California with a specialization in treating complex trauma. She is Co-Director of the Performance Psychophysiology Laboratory at CSUN where they investigate the psychophysiological effects of stress on performing artists, athletes, and healthy control participants. Several current and ongoing research studies include investigating the risk and protective factors of stress and traumatic exposure, the effects of abuse perpetrated by coaches and teachers, heart rate variability and dysautonomia, ethnic diversity related to flow, creative processing, adversity and coping strategies, and climate change anxiety. She is Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar at York University’s Departments of Theatre and Graduate Studies (Canada). She is a reliable Adult Attachment Interview coder and actively conducts research investigating attachment, early trauma, and creativity. She is the co-author of two books, Creativity and the Performing Artist: Behind the Mask and Creativity, Trauma, and Resilience and author of multiple chapters and peer-reviewed articles. She is a Fellow with the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation and a member of the Mental Health Working Group with the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science. She was a professional dancer and continues work as choreographer and movement coach in dance, theatre, and opera. Past professional choreographic company work includes Canadian Opera Company, Canadian Stage Company, Stratford Shakespearean Festival, Northern Lights Dance Theatre, Ballet Jorgen, UCLA On the Edge of Chaos., and LACPA Theater of the Mind. In 2013, she was named one of the top 20 female professors in California.

Ruth A. Blizard, PhD
Ruth A. Blizard, PhD is a psychologist practicing in the Binghamton, NY, area with over 40 years of experience in treating persons with severe trauma, dissociation, and personality disorders. She received her BA in psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and her PhD in clinical psychology from Alliant University, Fresno, CA. She has presented at every ISSTD conference but one since 1995, at ESTD from 2006 - 2019, and in Germany and Isreal. Among her published articles and chapters are, “Therapeutic alliance with abuser alters in DID: The paradox of attachment to the abuser,” “The role of double-binds, reality testing and chronic relational trauma in the genesis and treatment of borderline personality disorder,” “Masochistic and sadistic ego states: Dissociative solutions to the dilemma of attachment to an abusive caretaker,” “Disorganized attachment, development of dissociated self-states, and a relational approach to treatment,” “Double binds, dissociation and attachment to the perpetrator in families and oppressive groups,” “Lost-in-the-Mall: False Memory or False Defense?” (with Morgan Shaw) and “Chronic relational trauma disorder: A new diagnostic scheme for borderline personality and the spectrum of dissociative disorders,” (with Elizabeth Howell). She has taught the official ISSTD course, “Diagnosis and Treatment of Dissociative Disorders.” She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, and is past editor of the ISSTD News and Division 56 of the APA, Trauma Psychology News. She is currently on the ISSTD Scientific Committee, and has served on the Executive Board, Program and Membership Committees. She enjoys folk music, hiking, social activism and most of all, being a grandmother.