This panel explores a critical gap within trauma-informed neuroscience: the limited recognition of trauma arising from family and sexual violence across the lifespan, particularly as it intersects with gendered power dynamics. While trauma-informed frameworks have advanced understanding of the neurobiological impacts of adversity, they often insufficiently account for the cumulative, relational, and patterned nature of harm experienced by victim-survivors in intimate and familial contexts.
Drawing on the concept of betrayal trauma, this panel examines the profound neuropsychological consequences of sustained exposure to violence perpetrated by trusted loved ones. For many victim-survivors, years—sometimes decades—are spent in states of chronic fear, fundamentally shaping neural pathways associated with threat detection, attachment, and self-regulation. The irreconcilable nature of this betrayal frequently results in enduring disruptions to self-esteem, trust, sleep, and daily functioning. Over time, a person’s life story may become organised around managing the impacts of abuse, rather than enabling safety, wellbeing, and growth.
The presentation is informed by family and sexual violence specialisation developed over decades of delivering trauma-informed therapeutic responses to victim-survivors. It reflects an ongoing process of critical review and adaptation of therapeutic modalities to better support healing, recovery, and trauma integration. This includes recognising the limits of standardised approaches when applied to complex, ongoing, and relational trauma, and the importance of tailoring interventions to the lived realities of victim-survivors.
The panel will advocate for the integration of a family violence-informed (feminist) framework within neuropsychology research and practice. Such a framework strengthens conceptual clarity around how trauma is produced, reinforced, and sustained within systems of gender inequity, while remaining attentive to intersecting experiences of marginalisation. By bridging neuropsychology with specialist practice knowledge, this approach offers a more accurate and ethically grounded understanding of trauma, and supports the development of responses that are both scientifically rigorous and socially responsive.

Learning Outcomes
Critically analyse the limitations of current trauma-informed neuroscience and neuropsychology frameworks in addressing family and sexual violence across the lifespan.
Explain the neurobiological and psychological impacts of betrayal trauma arising from violence perpetrated by trusted individuals.
Apply a family violence-informed (feminist) framework to enhance trauma research, clinical practice, and responses to victim-survivors.