Dear ISSTD Community,
ISSTD is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to “advance clinical, scientific, and societal understanding about the prevalence and consequences of chronic trauma and dissociation.” Our headquarters runs with a small, highly dedicated, paid staff. Owing to that, a significant amount of the work we do as a Society relies heavily upon members who can devote time and energy to ensure we can continue to realize our mission. ISSTD’s volunteers are the driving force behind the following:
- Board of Directors
- Center for Advanced Studies
- Annual Conference (various roles)
- Virtual Seminars and Webinars (moderation)
- Committees, Working Groups, and Task Forces
- ISSTDWorld Member Forum (moderation)
- Regional Communities and Regional Online Communities (ROCs)
- Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
In my July 2025 Letter from the President, I wrote in some depth about the potential benefits of volunteering, as well as how you can learn more about current volunteer opportunities with ISSTD. Now, as we close out 2025, I want to offer my deep appreciation for all our amazing volunteers.
The time commitment for a volunteer role varies. Some volunteer engagements are time-limited or event-specific, while others are years-long. Meetings may occur monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly, which means that someone must set aside an hour – maybe several hours – when they would typically be seeing clients/patients, conducting research, or spending time with friends and family. This doesn’t cover the work volunteers do outside of meetings, which may range from an hour or two a month to several hours a week. And, these days, all this volunteer work is happening in the face of personal and social stressors, as well as global strife of an intensity that boggles the mind.
Why on earth would someone sacrifice like that? It does seem to depend on the person. A commonality that I’ve observed over the years is that ISSTD volunteers are highly dedicated and passionate about our mission, as well as our vision for and efforts toward making a better (and often, seeming just-out-of-reach) future.
Without you, dear volunteers, this organization could not offer anywhere near as much value as it does, both to our full membership and to the world-at-large. Frankly, it couldn’t survive without you. With that in mind, I thank you both as a fellow volunteer and as outgoing President.
Sincerely,
D. Michael Coy, MA, LICSW
2025 ISSTD President