Mutual learning globally.

This article is about the development of the trauma field over the last 20 years from an organizational perspective, and about trauma from a global, culture-sensitive perspective. My professional career is very closely linked to the development of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ESTSS) in the 1990s. Later on, I was fortunate enough to witness, and contribute to, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies' (ISTSS) increasing focus on trauma as a global issue. I am trying to demonstrate how important the ESTSS and the ISTSS have been for me, how serving these societies has shaped my thinking, both as a clinician and a researcher, and how much I learned from these experiences.