Submit a Manuscript to the Journal
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
For a Special Issue on
Trauma and Family
Manuscript deadline
Special Issue Editor(s)
Prof Dr. Trudy Mooren,
ARQ Centrum'45 and Department of Clinical Psychology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
[email protected]
Dr Irma Hein,
Levvel, Department of Therapeutic Foster Care and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Amsterdam UMC, The Netherlands
[email protected]
Trauma and Family
Trauma and PTSD in one or more family members can significantly affect all relationships within the family system. Yet, these relational dynamics are not routinely studied or systematically addressed in clinical practice. What impact do traumatic experiences have on the family as a whole? What are the consequences for individual family members? And how do these experiences shape the development and mental health of both children and parents?
PTSD not only disrupts the relationships of those affected by the disorder, but it is also shaped by those very relationships. There is a reciprocal, bi-directional relationship between PTSD and close interpersonal bonds. In recent decades, research on trauma within the family context has expanded, with studies focusing on diverse populations such as the offspring of Holocaust survivors, combat veterans, refugees, and victims of interpersonal and community violence. These investigations have deepened our understanding of how parental or child PTSD impacts the parent–child relationship.
This article collection aims to contribute to the evolving perspective that moves from an individual to a systemic understanding of trauma and its consequences—while highlighting implications for therapeutic practice. We particularly welcome contributions that examine trauma exposure and close relational processes to better understand risk and protective factors at the family level; studies on interventions that help disrupt the intergenerational transmission of trauma; mechanisms that support improved parent-child interactions after trauma—such as emotion regulation and mentalizing capacities; and clinical innovations for mitigating the impact of trauma in families exposed to severe adversity. Our goal is to bring together research that is grounded in, or directly applicable to, clinical practice.
In this Collection, we invite submissions on the following topics:
- Family resilience
- Parent-child relationship impacted by traumatic events
- Intergenerational impact of trauma and its pathways
- Interventions for family members after trauma
- Communication and disclosure within families about traumatic experiences
- Assessment of family dynamics and stress symptoms in response to trauma
Submission Instructions
All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisors for this Collection will be handling the manuscripts but will not be involved in peer review. Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.
Manuscripts are processed as they are submitted, so we encourage submitting as soon as your manuscript is ready.
The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 30 June 2026.
The Guest Advisors do not have any Conflicts of Interest to disclose.
Prof Dr. Trudy Mooren works as a clinical psychologist and family therapist at ARQ Centrum'45 and is professor by special appointment at the Department of Clinical Psychology of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Utrecht University. She is head teacher of the postgraduate training for clinical psychologists and psychotherapists at the RINO group. She researches the effects of psychotrauma on family relationships, especially in refugee populations, and publishes and presents about her work. She holds licences in CBT, EMDR and family therapy and has specific expertise in Multifamily Groups (MFT). She supervises and lectures and is involved in trainings in (post)conflict areas, besides publishing in (inter)national scientific journals.
Institutional page: https://www.uu.nl/en/research/clinical-psychopathology-lab/trudy-mooren
ORCID page: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0819-8640
Dr Irma Hein is a child psychiatrist at Levvel, department of therapeutic foster care, and associate professor at Amsterdam UMC, department of child and adolescent psychiatry. She specializes in research on decision-making capacity and strengthening autonomy in mentally vulnerable children. Her line of research concerns children who have experienced child abuse, the intergenerational transmission of negative events, family psychiatry and trauma and attachment. She focuses on improving the participation of young people; and on prevention, earlier detection and better treatment of symptoms of trauma and attachment in all family members. Irma has co-developed and implemented in the Netherlands the treatment model Integrative Attachment-Promoting Trauma Treatment for children (IGT-K), in which treatment techniques for trauma and family relationships are coordinated. She publishes scientific articles and books, presents regularly (inter)nationally and is an associate editor at the European Journal of Psychotraumatology.
Institutional page: https://pure.amsterdamumc.nl/en/persons/irma-hein
ORCID page: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4664-2784