Beattie Smith Public Lecture: The Long Shadow of Childhood Trauma

Join us for the 2026 Beattie Smith Public Lecture, presented by Professor Soraya Seedat from Stellenbosch University, South Africa.

Lecture Overview:

The Long Shadow of Childhood Trauma: Perspectives from the Global South and Beyond.

Childhood trauma and maltreatment are powerful and enduring determinants of psychopathology, and are associated not only with elevated PTSD risk, but also with more severe symptom profiles, complex presentations, and high levels of psychiatric comorbidity, particularly in contexts characterised by ongoing adversity, interpersonal violence, and structural inequality. Yet much of the empirical narrative on early life trauma is shaped by data generated in high-income countries, with limited attention to contextual, cultural, and structural influences on exposure, expression, and outcome. In this talk, empirical and conceptual work on childhood trauma, with a particular focus on research conducted in a global South context, will be synthesised.

Drawing on studies across different populations, various forms of maltreatment—both in isolation and in combination—shape trajectories of mental health risk, resilience, and disorder. Methodological challenges and emerging advances in the cross-cultural assessment of childhood trauma will be critically examined. Integrating evidence on biological embedding—such as alterations in inflammatory and stress-responsive systems—within a translational framework that connects developmental science, biological mechanisms, and clinical practice could help explain the heterogeneity in symptom profiles, comorbidity, and treatment response, representing a step-change particularly relevant for mental health professionals in resource-limited settings.

Presented by Professor Soraya Seedat:

Soraya Seedat is Professor of Psychiatry and Executive Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa. She is also Director of the South African Medical Research Unit on the Genomics of Brain Disorders. Her contributions to the field of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, and neuro-HIV reflect a commitment to applying multidisciplinary, multilevel, mechanistic approaches, centred on the investigation of risk and resilience, in adolescent and adult populations, and to improving the mental health and overall well-being of people affected by trauma and adversity, especially in low resource contexts. She has led and been extensively involved in mental health capacity building, leadership development, and mentorship of mental health researchers and neuroscientists on the African continent and in other low- and middle- income countries.

She has contributed over 600 original, peer-reviewed articles, co-authored 30 book chapters, and co-edited 6 books, with a Scopus h-index of 95 and > 100,000 citations. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Colleges of Medicine South Africa, and Associate Editor for Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience and the European Journal of Psychotraumatology. Soraya is the Immediate Past President of the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) and President-Elect of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP).

More information:

For any questions regarding this event, please contact psychiatry-comms@unimelb.edu.au.

Light refreshments will be available after the lecture from 6pm.

Please note: This is an in-person only event and will not be recorded.

Register now to secure your place. Limited availability.