Dear ISSTD Members,

When I unwittingly volunteered to take on the role of Website Committee chair in January 2017, the committee had been dormant for quite a long while, and an evolution from our current website felt a bit like a pipe dream, as well as a seriously daunting task. Somehow, we got here-and we even arrived right on schedule (despite a variety of major challenges along the way) in the exact timeframe we promised back in early 2017. After just over two years and a ton of effort, it’s finally a reality: We have a shiny, new ISSTD website! Let’s take a look! When you go to isst-d.org, you’ll likely notice the refreshed branding and new color scheme the Board of Directors approved last year.

On the new site, you’ll see…

• A fully responsive site that adjusts itself based on your browsing medium: desktop computer, tablet, or mobile phone
• A homepage that features direct, easy to spot links to: ISSTDWorld, About ISSTD, Join ISSTD as a Member, current Trainings and other Events, our Publications, and ways to Donate to support ISSTD!
• Three major visual ‘anchors’ on the homepage:
  • Color-coded resources, starting on the homepage and continuing throughout the site, for different audiences
    • Blue: Links to ISSTD Member Resources and the members-only Online Learning Center (webinars)
    • Green: Links to a great ‘starter collection’ of resources for Non-Member Professionals, as well as our Dissociation FAQs (in an appealing and easier to digest ‘accordion’ format)
    • Purple: For the General Public, a variety of resources (some still in development) and
  • ISSTD’s Find a Therapist or Facility resource, featuring significantly enhanced listings and advanced search functionality for ease of use
  • A visual ‘slider’ that links to a rotating array of features and events-currently, the 2019 Annual Conference, the Center for Advanced Studies, and ISSTD’s Frontiers Clinical e-Journal are highlighted.
  • Easy to recognize icons that link directly to information about our Professional Training Program, upcoming Webinars, upcoming Annual and Regional Conferences, and Publications (both current and retired)
  • Scrolling updates about our Upcoming Events, recent Press Releases, and our Twitter feed
  • Seamless integration amongst the new site, ISSTDWorld, and our member database.

I want to tell you a bit more about those tiles I mentioned above. ISSTD’s Member Resources and Online Learning Center are contained within ISSTDWorld, and require members to log in for access.

The ‘starter collection’ for Non-Member Professionals has some great new features, including our full array of (revised) FAQs; annotated bibliographies for Trauma and Dissociation that actually link to the articles referenced (most are Open Access!); ISSTD’s treatment guidelines for Adults and Children/Adolescents; links to dissociation screening and diagnostic tools; and, helpful links to additional resources on the site.

Public Resources include the aforementioned FAQs; additional Websites of Interest; and, a link to Find a Therapist/Facility. Trauma & Dissociation Fact Sheets in pdf format will be added in the coming months.

As a Member, once you enter ISSTDWorld (using the same login info you’ve always used), you’ll gain access to all the exclusive member benefits to which you’ve become accustomed, including vibrant Communities, including our SIGS; the dynamic ISSTD News, helmed by Kate McMaugh; helpful Member Engagement resources, including video tutorials on navigating ISSTDWorld; the stimulating Virtual Book Club, hosted by Rick Hohfeler, Joan Haliburn, and Garrett Deckel; high-quality, free and reduced-cost Webinars, and more.

Students and Emerging Professionals can look forward to some new features soon, as well, including resources specific to the needs of students, and…a completely revised, updated -and easy to find!-Academic Supervisor directory. We’re just making during everything is ready before rolling those resources out.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge the following people, who have contributed to this project in some way (or a multitude of ways) over the past two years:

ISSTD Executive Director Mary Pat Hanlin (who has done more for this project than I can possibly describe), ISSTD Program Manager Bethany Bjur (ditto); former ISSTD Executive Director Thérèse Clemens (with me in tow, she got this whole thing going, and worked with Mary Pat and me to map out all 600+ pages of our current site-no small task!), Creative Director Vin Thomas, Lead Developer Galen Gidman, and the rest of the team at Fixel (who actually built this beautiful site on a very tight schedule); Implementation Project Manager Debbie Mason at Higher Logic; former AMG/Interel Senior Graphic Designer Leslie Boppert (who finalized the design for the new homepage, based on our original mockup, before departing); Interel Senior Graphic Designer Anna Genova (who stepped in when Leslie departed and completed the initial design work and coordinated with Fixel to get the job done); former AMG/Interel Creative Director Theresa Gutsick and Director of Technology Solutions Scott Hall (both of whom assisted early on in the development process); ISSTD members Rachel Friedman (analytics review and content editing), Shelley Hua (content/style editing), and Emily Dowdell (analytics review); Kate McMaugh (whose amazing work on ISSTD News helped us refine our vision for the ‘vibe’ of the new site); Martin Dorahy and Warwick Middleton (who gave us lots of love and encouragement in the tough, early stages of this project); all of ISSTD’s dedicated Committee and SIG chairs (who helpfully reviewed and revised their content on the site prior to final editing and transfer to the new site); and, the Board of Directors, who approved this project and kept the faith that it would eventually yield a thing of beauty.

On behalf of the whole website development team, we are so very pleased and excited to finally share ISSTD’s new site with you. There will be avenues for growth, learning, and collaboration within ISSTD now, with this new site, that previously were unimaginable. We’ll mark our official launch with an excited burst of exposure on social media on Tuesday, March 5, 2019, in the US – which just happens to be Dissociative Identity Disorder Awareness Day!
Warmly yours,
D. Michael Coy, MA, LICSW
ISSTD Webmaster