Happy July ISSTDWorld! Thank you for stopping by to hear about what the Ontario Regional Online Community (ROC) has been up to over the last year. The ROC was formed in 2020 and started out with just under 20 members, and over the course of 2021 and 2022 it has grown to 33 members across the province of Ontario, Canada. This community has served as a wonderful way to remain connected and informed during what has felt like a time of disconnection and transition, with members utilizing this resource community in the way that best fits their needs and availability.
During 2021-2022, members of the ROC met monthly as a group to support the 2021 Regional Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, share research and news in the field of trauma and dissociation, connect with each other to learn and grow, build local referral sources and networks, explore therapist self-care, and the ways in which clinical practice has changed with a shift to online work during the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to Covid-19, the Toronto regional Conference shifted to a virtual format, with presentations by Christine Forner, D. Michael Coy, Colin Ross, Peter Maves, and a consultation clinic.
Also during 2021-2022, the ROC began collectively reading Janina Fisher’s Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation, as a means of exploring how to bridge theory into practice. Up next in our collective learning is Maggie Phillips’s book, Finding the Energy to Heal. The Ontario ROC will continue to meet monthly and continue focusing on growing and learning together.
For members looking to create community with other local ISSTD members, forming an ROC is a worthwhile route to take and can be flexible to meet the needs and availability of members! To form a ROC, a minimum of six ISSTD members are required, and a region can be small and localised, or cover a larger region, depending on the needs of your community. Members of a ROC can use this forum to network, study a book or article together, participate in an online training event, and so much more. For more information on setting up an ROC and the application, please visit: https://isstdworld.isst-d.org/member-resources/member-resources-online-communities/member-resources-online-communities-new-rc
If you are in the province of Ontario, Canada and looking for a local ISSTD clinical community, please reach out to Susie Shafer, Ontario ROC Secretary, at susie.schafer.therapy@gmail.com.