This year is starting out with wonderful new benefits and opportunities and your Board has been busy overseeing the development and implementation of these. One of our new changes is the rollout of ISSTDWorld, the new online home for ISSTD. This new platform connects members in many ways, making connection just a click away for Special Interest Groups, online communities, committees, peer discussion on a variety of topics, access to webinars and trainings, and up to date news on Regional Conferences spanning the globe. The new platform will make it easy and enjoyable to explore the many ways to connect with your member community and find valuable resources. Find us at https://isstdworld.isst-d.org. All of our committees are excited to be wrapping up the final details for the Annual Conference in New York. We are expecting excellent attendance and the chance to meet, in person, our peers from all over the world. We look forward to learning about research and clinical techniques which will enhance our practices and help our clients heal. It’s also wonderful to see each other again. There are many successes in several committees. One I’d like to highlight with special thanks is that the Membership Committee, and in particular Warwick Middleton, has completed the digitalization of every newsletter of ISSTD News, dating back to the first one in 1983! It is a wonderful “blast from the past” to read about the emergence of our Society. Our Professional Training Program (PTP) will be offering 10 courses and teleseminars in the areas of Child & Adolescent Treatment, Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced Studies. These courses all contribute to the ISSTD Certificate Program.. For more information regarding available courses and Certificate Program Bundles available, please go to https://isstdworld.isst-d.org and click on “Events” for more information. Stay tuned for an upcoming webinar, Attachment, Dissociation, and Unresolved Mourning of Trauma or Loss, presented by Paula Thompson, PsyD, on May 17th. In the past year, we have had regional conferences in Chester, UK, Hobart, Tasmania, New York City and San Francisco. There is another regional conference planned for later this year in Christchurch, New Zealand. Our voice continues to be heard as a consultative member of the United Nations. We share our knowledge and ideas, regarding traumatic issues resulting from current events in the world. As always, there are wonderful, engaging discussions on ISSTD World listserv and our clinical e-journal Frontiers in the Psychotherapy of Trauma & Dissociation. There is also ongoing discussion on our special interest groups, RAMCOA, Child & Adolescent, Vicarious Trauma, Transitional Age Youth, and Creative Arts Therapy. Consider joining these groups for information, new ideas and collegial support. We hope to see you in New York next month! Be sure to take a look at our social events, including New Attendee Orientation, Create & Connect, Student and Emerging Professional Lunch, President’s Reception, a Broadway Show outing, Special Interest Group Breakfasts and the Annual Awards Luncheon. More information is on the conference website. This is just some of the many happenings in our community. Looking forward to seeing our colleagues and friends in New York.
