Greetings from the Board of Directors! We are thrilled to provide this edition of the Board Briefs column in ISSTD News, which provides our members with important updates from the Board of Directors on a quarterly basis.
Introduction of Deep Brain Reorienting Training
We are thrilled to have launched registration in September for our first Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) Level 1 training with Frank Corrigan. This training will take place during the pre-conference days, March 13-14, 2025, of the 2025 Annual Conference in Boston.
Level 1 DBR training offers participants an opportunity to understand the key role of midbrain systems in traumatic experiences which have clinical consequences. There is an emphasis on attachment shock, which may be historic or recent, and on early life adversity. A distinction between brain circuits for shock and circuits for affective and defensive responding underlies the clinical approach of Deep Brain Reorienting. For more information on this training, please view the Training Registration Page.
Preparations for the 2025 Annual Conference
Thank you to everyone who submitted a proposal for the upcoming 2025 Annual Conference. We saw more than 120 proposals submitted. Submission decisions will be sent the week of September 30 and we anticipate launching registration as well as the full conference schedule in late October or early November.
We are thrilled to have Judith Herman and Thema Bryant as our plenary speakers on Saturday and David Spiegel as our plenary speaker on Monday. We have finalized an exciting lineup of half and full day pre-conference workshops. More information on our pre-conference workshops can be found here.
Website Updates – New Homepage Launching in October
Based on feedback from the last member survey, updates to the homepage of the main ISSTD website are being made to ease navigation. Staff will be working to ensure all current pages of this website are updated and will be reorganizing pages to simplify navigation. Additionally, updates have been made to the navigation of our education website, the Center for Advanced Studies, and the ISSTDWorld Member community.
We are planning for additional updates in 2025 to continue to improve the integration between all ISSTD websites and make finding information for website visitors, and particularly members, easier.
2024-2026 Strategic Plan
Our Board Working Groups and Committees have been hard at work over the last nine months on many of the projects outlined in the Strategic Plan. To date, here are just a few of the things that have been completed by these groups in the last three months:
- Developed a new Membership and Member Engagement presentation which highlights member benefits, volunteer opportunities, and other ways to become engaged in the Society
- Reviewed and updated the Mission and Charge for all committees leading to consolidation of committees and development of new committees to streamline the work of the Society in the areas of Education and Funds Distribution
- Approved and launched a new task force, led by Board Members Benjamin Israel and Krista Behrens, to look at options for increasing training for psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, residents and medical students
- Began the process of developing succession plans for key staff and Executive Committee members to ensure the smooth transition of these roles and to ensure adequate resources and training is available during the transition