Reconsolidation-Based Interventions for Traumatic Stress: A Primer
Tracks
Prince Room and Virtual via OnAIR
Monarch Room - In Person Only
Marquis Room - In Person Only
| Tuesday, March 3, 2026 |
| 3:00 PM - 3:45 PM |
Overview
Alain Brunet, Director of the National PTSD Centre and UniSC’s Thompson Institute
Details
Three Key Learnings:
Understand the theoretical foundations of memory reconsolidation Critically evaluate the clinical evidence for Reconsolidation Therapy in PTSD Apply reconsolidation principles to clinical and translational contexts
Understand the theoretical foundations of memory reconsolidation Critically evaluate the clinical evidence for Reconsolidation Therapy in PTSD Apply reconsolidation principles to clinical and translational contexts
Speaker
Professor Alain Brunet
Director
National Ptsd Research Centre (Thompson Inst. - UniSC)
Reconsolidation-based Interventions for Traumatic Stress: A Primer
Presentation Overview
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has traditionally been conceptualised as a disorder of maladaptive fear learning, with psychological treatments largely aimed at promoting new inhibitory learning through extinction-based mechanisms. While these approaches have benefited many patients, they are also characterised by substantial dropout, relapse, and residual symptoms, highlighting the need for alternative conceptual and therapeutic frameworks. Over the past decades, advances in the neuroscience of memory have revitalised interest in reconsolidation—the process by which reactivated memories become temporarily labile and susceptible to modification before being restabilised.
This keynote provides an integrative overview of the theoretical foundations and clinical evidence supporting Reconsolidation Therapy (RT) as an intervention for PTSD. Drawing on converging findings from animal models and human laboratory studies, the talk will outline the conditions under which memory reconsolidation impairment can durably attenuate PTSD symptoms without relying on prolonged exposure or extinction learning.
The keynote will then review the clinical evidence base for reconsolidation-based interventions in PTSD, including randomised controlled trials, replication studies, and long-term follow-ups. Methodological considerations—such as memory reactivation procedures, boundary conditions, and individual differences—will be critically examined to clarify when and for whom RT is most likely to be effective. Finally, the broader implications of reconsolidation theory for psychotherapy integration, scalability, and global mental health will be discussed.
By bridging basic memory science with clinical innovation, this keynote aims to situate Reconsolidation Therapy as a theoretically grounded and empirically supported approach that challenges prevailing assumptions about how traumatic memories can—and cannot—be therapeutically changed.
This keynote provides an integrative overview of the theoretical foundations and clinical evidence supporting Reconsolidation Therapy (RT) as an intervention for PTSD. Drawing on converging findings from animal models and human laboratory studies, the talk will outline the conditions under which memory reconsolidation impairment can durably attenuate PTSD symptoms without relying on prolonged exposure or extinction learning.
The keynote will then review the clinical evidence base for reconsolidation-based interventions in PTSD, including randomised controlled trials, replication studies, and long-term follow-ups. Methodological considerations—such as memory reactivation procedures, boundary conditions, and individual differences—will be critically examined to clarify when and for whom RT is most likely to be effective. Finally, the broader implications of reconsolidation theory for psychotherapy integration, scalability, and global mental health will be discussed.
By bridging basic memory science with clinical innovation, this keynote aims to situate Reconsolidation Therapy as a theoretically grounded and empirically supported approach that challenges prevailing assumptions about how traumatic memories can—and cannot—be therapeutically changed.
Biography
Professor Alain Brunet is the Director of the National PTSD Centre and UniSC’s Thompson Institute.
He has investigated the impact of trauma exposure on individuals for more than 20 years, with a special focus on characterising risk factors and developing effective treatments for PTSD.
Professor Brunet has developed a novel treatment called reconsolidation therapy which has been used with victims of terrorism in the Bataclan (Paris, France). This treatment made the top ten discoveries list for 2008 in the magazine Québec Science.
In 2001, Professor Brunet developed the Peritraumatic Distress Inventory, or PDI, the first instrument to assess the recalled amount of distress experienced at the time of a traumatic event. The PDI is now used by more than 40 teams across the world and has been translated into 12 languages.
Professor Brunet is a past co-editor of the Journal of Traumatic Stress, the premier specialty journal in the field of traumatic stress. He was a vice-president and a board member of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS).
He is a co-recipient of several grants from the CIHR, the IRSST, and from the U.S. Army to pursue work on Reconsolidation Therapy for PTSD.
In 2006, he was listed on MacLean’s annual honor roll as one of 39 Canadians who make the world a better place to live and was named ""Personality of the Week"" by the Montreal newspaper La Presse.
In 2015 he was listed by GEO Magazine among the people who are changing our world for the better.
Professor Brunet has been a member of the CAHS (Canadian Academy of Health Sciences) since 2021. In 2022 he won the career award of the Canadian Psychological Association – Traumatic Stress Section. In 2023 he won the Leo-Pariseau Award which annually recognizes the excellence and influence of an individual’s work in the field of biological or health sciences.
His expertise in trauma and stressor related disorders is ranked among the top 1 percent in the world by Expertscape.
Professor Brunet also has a background as a clinical psychologist.
