Dear ISSTD Community,
I’ve had the word ‘community’ on my mind a lot lately, particularly since the warmth of this year’s Annual Conference, back in March.
When I first joined ISSTD as a professional member in February 2012, I was nearly five years out of grad school and about two years beyond having achieved full licensure. I only joined because I wanted to gain access to ISSTD Past President Paul Dell’s Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation. I’d just completed EMDR therapy basic training a handful of months prior. Soon, my practice was attracting clients with increasingly complex inner experience, and I had only a rough sketch idea of what that really meant.
For my first four years of ISSTD membership, I paid my dues. That’s it. At that time, the PTP was an in-person-only program, there was one Special Interest Group in total, and there was no member discussion forum. There were a handful of in-person Regional Communities (then called Component Groups), but the one nearest to me convened on days when I had a full day of clients. Then, in 2016, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I had the opportunity to attend my first Annual Conference.
Me being me, I asked a question during the Business Meeting about how ISSTD was engaging students. That year’s President-Elect Martin Dorahy immediately asked me for my business card. Soon thereafter, he reached out to recruit me as a volunteer for the Communications and Marketing (C&M) Committee. (One of the first questions out of my mouth when we spoke to discuss the possibility was, “So, does that committee have a strategic plan?”) Me being me – not particularly timid, with a tendency to speak up – I quickly learned that opening one’s mouth is an excellent way to end up on the Board of Directors. Six months after joining the C&M Committee, I was asked to run for a Director position on the Board. I was elected, and in my first month I was recruited to join the Finance Committee. Three months in, I proposed to the Board the development of the EMDR therapy basic training. Just shy of a year in, my inquisitive nature got me appointed as Treasurer. After six years in that role, and much soul-searching, I decided to run for President-Elect. Now, it’s 2025, and you’re sitting here reading this monthly missive from your current President.
So, why am I sharing all this when much of it was already related in a separate piece this past January? Frankly, I am curious about your experiences as a member. Where are you in your journey? Are you a learning/learned lurker in the ISSTDWorld Member Forum? A volunteer extraordinaire? Do you have an interest in taking on a leadership role in a Special Interest Group, Regional Online Community, or even a committee? Maybe you’d like to moderate an upcoming webinar for our Monthly Webinar Series. Are you hankering for a short-term engagement or longing for a long-term commitment?
Opportunities for deepening your involvement with ISSTD abound. I didn’t know I was interested in volunteering with ISSTD until I was invited to join a committee. To be fair, I’m a joiner. I’ve been volunteering in some capacity or another since I was just a sprout. It’s like breathing. Maybe you’re a joiner, too. If you’re not a joiner, then that’s just fine. Just as rainbows are not comprised of a single color, neither is a professional organization’s membership roll. No matter, I’ve found that ISSTD is an organization where we can all belong in our own unique and special way.
And…if you think you might be interested to become more involved with ISSTD, then you can learn more about current and upcoming opportunities in our Volunteer Center. If you ever find that you want to further enrich your membership by volunteering, but the current possibilities don’t quite hit the spot, then drop me a line. I’d be happy to help you find your niche.
Thanks once again for taking time to read ISSTD News. Editor Alexis Arbuthnott and other volunteers (!) continue to bring us a great collection of articles each month. I’ll check back in with y’all again next month.
Warmly yours,
Michael