Unspeakable: Trauma, Memory, and Violence

Please join us for this lecture by forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead, author of Unspeakable: Stories of Survival and Recovery from Trauma (Faber, 2026). In this lecture, Dr Adshead will discuss trauma and exposure to traumatic events as a complex human experience that effects many people in different ways. She will explore the relationship between trauma and memory, and how trauma shapes the stories we tell about who we are. Her talk will also consider the link between trauma and violence, as both complex and occasionally connected.

There will be ample time for discussion and questions; all are welcome, and attendees can join either in person or online.

About the speaker

Dr Gwen Adshead is a forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist in the NHS, and Honorary Clinical Professor at the University of Exeter. She has published widely on topics including attachment theory applied to offending, therapy for violence perpetrators, ethical issues in mental health, and personality disorder in perinatal settings. In 2021, she published her first book for a general audience, The Devil You Know (Faber), co-authored with Eileen Horne. It was serialised as Radio 4’s Book of the Week; and was Waterstones’ non-fiction book of the month in July 2022. Her latest book with Eileen, Unspeakable (Faber, 2026), was Radio 4’s book of the week in March this year.

Dr Adshead has received the President’s Medal for her work in mental health ethics, and is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. In 2024 she was the annual BBC Reith Lecturer; her lectures were entitled ‘Four Questions about Violence’, and were published by Faber in 2025.

This hybrid event is free to attend.

Please note that the content of this event is such that it may contain discussion of sensitive or potentially trigerring themes. We will have breakout rooms available; please feel free to step away from the event as is comfortable. We ask you to join us in ensuring that our Institute and our events create a welcoming, friendly environment for all. See our full statement about respect here.

If you have any access requirements, please email imh.events@durham.ac.uk.

This event is co-organised by the Affective Experience Lab of the Discovery Research Platform for Medical Humanities, and the Trauma, Violence and Memory Research Strand of the Institute for Medical Humanities.