11th Annual San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference, Thursday-Friday, Oct. 29-30
Media contact: Steven Lee, lees22@uthscsa.edu, 210-450-3823
On-site contact: Julie Collins, collinsjr@uthscsa.edu, 210-218-8746
SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 28, 2026 – Researchers, clinicians and policymakers from across the U.S. and around the globe will gather at the Westin Riverwalk in San Antonio Thursday and Friday, Oct. 29-30, to discuss the psychological impact of modern warfare and new frontiers in treating war-related trauma.
They will be taking part in the 11th Annual San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference, put on by the STRONG STAR Consortium and UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Recognized as the premier scientific gathering on military psychological health, the conference shares the state of the science on post-traumatic stress disorder and co-occurring conditions affecting military service members and veterans.
Each year, the conference attracts professionals from within the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as well as from academic institutions and the civilian sector. Numerous military personnel, veterans and community members with an interest in military psychology also join the proceedings, as do students and professional trainees.
“This is a one-of-a-kind event, and Military City USA is the perfect place to host it,” said Alan Peterson, PhD, director of the STRONG STAR Consortium and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the UT San Antonio Long School of Medicine. “We bring together leaders in the field and look at the latest advances in research and clinical care, where we see challenges and knowledge gaps, and what steps we need to take to keep moving things forward.”
The conference will carry that idea throughout its two-day agenda, which will include several underlying themes.
The program will kick off Thursday morning, Oct. 29, with its highly acclaimed and always inspiring “Profiles in Resilience” segment. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Kim Campbell, who served as a distinguished fighter pilot and senior military leader during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will discuss lessons she learned about overcoming trauma and leading with vulnerability and courage.
She will be followed by a series of presenters who are creating a path to the future with cutting-edge research on emerging interventions. The audience will hear about novel approaches such as:
- Integrating stellate ganglion block or ketamine into PTSD treatment with evidence-based psychotherapies
- Miniaturized vagus nerve stimulators to help treat PTSD
- Stopping chronic headaches due to brain injury before they start by using artificial intelligence to predict headache onset
- Treating PTSD and insomnia with electrical vestibular stimulation
Friday morning, Oct. 30, the conference will feature a compelling lineup of speakers with unique insight into the impact of and response to the challenges of modern warfare. Beginning with keynote Tetiana Nickelsen, PhD, of the Texas A&M University Vashisht School of Medicine, and then colleagues from Ukraine and Israel, presenters will discuss the added physical and psychological toll of drones and other elements of modern warfare, challenges and successes in delivering evidence-based PTSD treatment in a warzone, evidence-based prevention strategies for high-risk professionals and lessons learned from the front lines.
Rounding things out will be presentations on complementary and integrative interventions for PTSD, updates on new advancements and clinical research being launched by STRONG STAR, and clinician-focused presentations and panel discussions.
“This conference is a great opportunity for all those interested in the needs of our warfighters to come together, grow in knowledge and skills, and gain inspiration in our work,” said Peterson. “It’s all geared toward moving the field forward in service to our military members and veterans.”
For more information on the San Antonio Combat PTSD Conference, visit www.combatPTSDconference.com. The full agenda is available at https://combatptsdconference.com/agenda/.
UT Health San Antonio is the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio), offering a comprehensive network of inpatient and outpatient care facilities staffed by medical, dental, nursing and allied health professionals who provide more than 2.5 million patient visits each year. It is the region’s only academic health center and one of the nation’s leading health sciences institutions, supported by the schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions, graduate biomedical sciences and public health that are leading change and advancing health-related fields throughout South Texas and the world. To learn about the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit UTHealthSA.org.
The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UT San Antonio) is listed among U.S. News & World Report’s best medical schools, among the top 5% of universities globally for clinical medicine research and ranked as the third-highest medical school in Texas for medical research funding by the National Institutes of Health. The Long School of Medicine supports the university’s academic health center, UT Health San Antonio.
Stay connected with UT Health San Antonio on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.