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The Center

History

The Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS) was established in 1987 to address Department of Defense concerns about psychological, behavioral and health care consequences resulting from threat or exposure to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as well as more common accidents amongst military and civilian populations.

The Center pioneered research on the effects of exposure to WMD through its work prior to Desert Storm in Air Force simulation exercises of chemical and biological terrorism. This early work has now generated an unprecedented body of research, scholarship and one of the world’s largest databases (over 18,000 articles) on psychological, social and behavioral consequences of exposure to traumatic events and other extreme environments (e.g., desert, space, undersea).  This includes mental health responses ranging from resilience, distress, health risk behaviors, disaster behaviors and psychiatric illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder and depression. In addition, the Center has developed an extensive knowledge and research capability to address preparing, responding to, mitigating and recovery from natural and human made disasters.