Dear All, I feel privileged and truly fortunate to be able to serve you and support your academic objectives during 2021.
As we enter a new year, I want to express my enormous gratitude to all of you ISSTD esteemed members, for your multiple and significant clinical, academic, scientific, editorial, journalistic and research-based contributions. Much appreciation and admiration go to our students, new professionals, educators and all the clinical personnel who work with our most wounded and extremely abused communities in Public Health Clinics and other private sectors.
Kudos to all the brave survivors and the ISSTD clinicians, researchers, psychiatrists and journalists whose relentless quest for justice and firm determination continue to support and create best treatment interventions for clients who as children were victims of familial, institutional or organized crime, many of whom continue to endure ritualized and extreme abuse.
The ISSTD is pleased to embark in new projects for 2021 and for the next 3 years.
- One of such goals include expanding our trauma phase of life educational goals to include prenatal and infant psychology, and our transitional aged youth (TAY).
- Another aim is to expand academic offerings and create briefer trainings in Spanish, to our Spanish Speaking underserved communities in “Iberoamerica” (Latin-America & Spain).
- Additionally, diversifying the representation of our membership to include new affiliates in rural or inaccessible areas nationally and around the world has been our common goal. These members may be able to benefit from new vital remote and virtual trainings, including Virtual ISSTD Conferences, and our much-anticipated 2021 Annual Conference which will be held virtually.
- Retired members and students are both encouraged to participate on diverse committees as both your wisdom and energy are valuable and irreplaceable.
- Fiduciary stability and growth via fundraising and training efforts will continue to be developed and expanded.
With the new virtual advances to include remote clinical-medical Telehealth we are reaching new heights. We must all join in the quest to provide optimal academic and therapeutic support to those underserved regions around the world.
There is much more to share with all of you and as the months unfold in front of us, I will do my absolute best to bring exciting news and some of our most substantial progress to you via my monthly notes.
Thanks to all the ISSTD members, to Christa Kruger our 2020 president for her vigorous and insightful work during a most interesting year, to Mary Pat Hanlin and Bethany Bjur for their plentiful wisdom, to the Executive Committee for their invaluable-constant-hard efforts and to the Board of Directors for their generous time and outstanding contributions.
Rosita Cortizo, PsyD, LMFT, MA
ISSTD 2021 President
Spanish Corner:
“El conflicto entre la voluntad de negar eventos horribles y la voluntad de proclamarlos en voz alta es la dialéctica central del trauma psicológico… La respuesta habitual a las atrocidades es desterrarlas de la conciencia. Ciertas violaciones al pacto social son demasiado terribles como para pronunciarlas en voz alta: este es el significado de la palabra ‘innombrable’. Las atrocidades, sin embargo, se niegan a ser enterradas. Tan poderoso como el deseo de negarlas es la convicción de que la negación no funciona”.
Judith Lewis Herman Psiquiatra estadounidense
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“The conflict between the will to deny horrible events and the will to proclaim them aloud is the
central dialectic of psychological trauma. The usual response to atrocities is to banish them from consciousness. Certain violations of the social pact are too terrible to pronounce out loud: this is the meaning of the word ‘unnameable’. Atrocities, however, refuse to be buried. As powerful as the desire to deny them is the conviction that denial does not work.”
Judith Lewis Herman American Psychiatrist