ISTSS News - WhatsNew

ISTSS 26th Annual Meeting - Register NOW!

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:50:00 -0500

Members - ISTSS Election: Vote NOW

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:04:00 -0500

Cast your vote electronically for ISTSS president-elect and individual board members. All votes must be received by September 10. Read more.

July 2010 Issue of Traumatic StressPoints - Now Available

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:40:00 -0500

Click here to download your issue today!

ISTSS 2010 President-Elect and Board Member Election

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:37:00 -0500

The election will take place by electronic ballot, which will open on August 5, 2010. Members will receive an e-mail with full instructions on how to access the voting Web site. Click here for details.

Access the June Issue of JTS Now - Earn CE Credit

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:55:00 -0500

ISTSS Members - Access the June Issue, Vol. 23, Issue 3, 2010 of the Journal of Traumatic Stress (JTS). Plus - Earn Continuing Education credits - 3 CEs per issue. Click here for details.

Learn From the Masters - Master Clinician Sessions: 1.5 CE Credits Each

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 11:36:00 -0500

The ISTSS Annual Meeting brings together the leaders in the field in order to educate attendees about important topics in traumatic stress studies. In this series, we showcase several Master Clinicians who demonstrated interventions from their respective psychotherapy models with a common pseudo-patient diagnosed with combat-related PTSD. The sessions were recorded and are now available to you for CE Credit.

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from the masters and enjoy the top-notch educational opportunities offered by the premier society in traumatic stress studies while conveniently earning CE credit.

Visit the ISTSS Bookstore to purchase any of this or any of the Master Clinician Session - Plus select Pre-Meeting Institutes are also available for purchase.

Master Clinicians:

Riggs, David, PhD
Using Prolonged Exposure Therapy to Emotionally Process Traumatic Memories
Though many individuals who experience trauma such as war, terror attacks, violence and disaster will recover, those who suffer with post traumatic stress disorder may struggle for years and still be unable to regain a sense of normalcy in their lives. Prolonged Exposure therapy (PE) is one of the most effective and extensively researched approaches to treating PTSD arising from a wide variety of traumas and in individuals with varied and complex presentations including patients with multiple trauma exposures (e.g. chronic abuse, combat, etc.), extremely chronic PTSD, multiple comorbidities, and clinicians who see it as unduly harsh, inflexible, and potentially harmful. PE treatment focuses on helping the client to overcome the natural tendency to avoid distressing imaginal and n vivo exposure exercises the therapist and the client work together to approach previously avoided material and to emotionally process the event/memory by exploring changes in meaning, behavior and emotional reactions. By clinical case example, the workshop will illustrate the flexible application of the core components of PE and explore case formulation for treatment.

Cognitive Processing Therapy for the Treatment of PTSD
Kate Chard, PhD
Dr. Chard is an active researcher and she has conducted several funded studies on the treatment and etiology of PTSD. Currently Dr. Chard is exploring the efficacy of CPT with veterans with PTSD and comorbid traumatic brain injury.

A Transdiagnostic Unified Treatment for Emotional Disorders
David Barlow, PhD
Dr. Barlow has published more than 500 articles and chapters and 60 books mostly in the area of the nature and treatment of emotional disorders. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Distinguished Scientific Award for Applications of Psychology from the American Psychological Association.

Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy for the Treatment of PTSD
Barbara O. Rothbaum, PhD, ABPP
Dr. Barbara Olasov Rothbaum received her PhD in clinical psychology and is currently a professor in psychiatry at the Emory School of Medicine in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and director of the Trauma and Anxiety Recovery Program at Emory. Dr. Rothbaum specializes in research on the treatment of individuals with anxiety disorders, particularly focusing on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Questions?
Contact Erika Moy at ISTSS Headquarters

ISTSS member Edna Foa named one of TIME Magazine’s most influential individuals

Mon, 03 May 2010 10:37:00 -0500

TIME Magazine named ISTSS member, Edna Foa, PhD, to the 2010 TIME 100, the magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Dr. Foa is the developer of Prolonged Exposure Therapy for PTSD, a topic on which she presented at the ISTSS meeting last November in Atlanta, Georgia.

Photo credit: Candace diCarlo

Dr. Foa is the lead investigator studying PTSD for military personnel serving in and returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research consortium funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program. This program aims to develop and evaluate the most effective early interventions possible for the detection, prevention, and treatment of combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in active-duty military personnel and recently discharged veterans.

“Edna’s work has benefited the lives of patients and the training of practitioners throughout the world. I am delighted that TIME magazine has recognized her enormous contributions to the field,” says Dwight L. Evans, MD, chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dr. Foa has authored 20 books – some translated into multiple languages, including Spanish, German, Japanese and Chinese – and has published over 200 papers and book chapters. She has been honored for her contributions by the American Psychological Association, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Philadelphia Society of Clinical Psychologists. Dr. Foa received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy (ABCT). She is also the recipient of the Annual Signature Service Award from Women Organized Against Rape.

The full TIME 100 list and related tributes appear in the May 10 issue of TIME, available on newsstands on Friday, April 30, and now at time.com.

ABOUT PTSD
PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Approximately 7.7 million American adults age 18 and older have PTSD. The disorder frequently occurs after violent personal assaults such as rape, mugging, or domestic violence; military combat; terrorism; natural or human-caused disasters; and accidents.

ISTSS Announces New Affiliate: CPA TSS

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:37:00 -0500

ISTSS is very pleased to announce its new affiliate status with The Traumatic Stress section (TSS) of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA). The CPA TSS originated as a Special Interest Group in 2001 under the auspices of Dr. David Hart. The SIG obtained section status from the CPA Board in 2002, with the title of Disaster and Trauma Section. This was changed to the more encompassing Traumatic Stress Section in 2007.

The aims of the CPA TSS include the promotion of evidence-based mental health assessment and treatment of traumatic stress, educating the public about treatment and research, and advocacy. Advocacy efforts are aimed at research funding, advocacy for populations vulnerable to traumatic stress (e.g., disabled, First Nations, refugees, new immigrants) and advocacy for more inclusive coverage of effective treatment for traumatic stress.

To this end, the section’s aims include encouraging public and private sector agency involvement in developing effective policies and strategies to address the effects of traumatic stress in Canada, informing public about the prevalence, economic effects and psychological science pertinent to traumatic stress, promoting discussion of trauma research and related issues through participation in programming at the annual convention, contributing section newsletters and electronic media; facilitating development of emergency planning in Canada via public education, promoting appropriate training for treatment, and establishing information exchanges with other associations involved in traumatic stress issues.

Membership is open to psychologists who are members of CPA and Associate Membership is open to professionals of any discipline who are not members of CPA but who have a demonstrated interest and expertise in the area of Traumatic Stress.

The TSS has an informative Web site (www.cpa.ca/sections/traumaticstress/) and publishes a bi-annual newsletter, which is bilingual (English and French). We have had ISTSS members as guest speakers at the CPA Annual Convention in June, and plan on continuing with this practice. We have a yearly business meeting and reception at the CPA Annual Convention.

The Executive structure of the section includes the chair (Dr. Alain Brunet), past chair (Dr. Anne Dietrich), chair-elect (vacant), Secretary-Treasurer (Dr. Deniz Fikretoglu), and two student representatives (Nick Carleton from the University of Regina and Laura Armstrong from the University of Ottawa). Dr. Brunet’s administrative assistant, Elena Saimon from McGill University, helps in the organization and functioning of the section’s activities.

March 2010 StressPoints

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:40:00 -0500

March 2010 issue of StressPoints is now available. Click here to access your copy today!

APA Invites Comment on Draft DSM-V Criteria

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:59:00 -0500

The American Psychiatric Association has issued its draft criteria for the DSM-V and is inviting comment through April 20, 2010. ISTSS encourages its members to review the draft criteria and provide comments as appropriate. Visit the DSM-V Web site for further information.

ISTSS Seeks Volunteer Web Site Editor

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:51:00 -0500

ISTSS is seeking a dynamic, creative ISTSS member to serve a 3-year term as Web site editor, (with the possibility of reappointment). The ISTSS Board has approved a plan to re-design the Web site (this process is now underway) and to reconfigure the Web editor position, in order to support a more dynamic and engaging Web presence for the Society. These changes will allow us to accomplish key parts of our mission and strategic plan, to provide valuable resources and connections to our members, and to create additional sources of revenue for the Society. The Web editor will work with the ISTSS board and headquarters to generate and update relevant content and features, and to ensure that the Website is effectively reaching members and potential members.

Description:

The Web site editor will: (a) Develop ideas for content and features that will improve the reach and usefulness of the ISTSS Web site, (b) Appoint and work closely with two associate Web editors (each with a yearly $1000 stipend), (c) Work with the board, headquarters staff and members to keep Website policies up to date, and (d) Conduct on-going evaluation of how effectively the ISTSS Website is achieving its goals of supporting the mission of ISTSS.

Time Commitment:
It is expected that the Web editor will devote 5-10 hours a week to the Web site. An annual stipend of $5000 will be provided.

Job Requirements:

Familiarity with ISTSS mission, membership, organizational structure (active ISTSS member for at least two years)
Ability to implement an overall vision for the ISTSS Web site as set by the Board, and to bring new ideas to Board and HQ staff for improving and enhancing the site
Willingness to monitor world news about trauma and relevant updates in the field in order to use the Web as a response vehicle
Ability to commit sufficient time (5-10 hours per week)
Experience and/or willingness to learn Web site content management software
Familiarity with Web technology

To Apply:

Please submit a letter of interest, vita, and two letters of recommendation to Deanna Marchetti, dmarchetti@istss.org, ISTSS by March 15, 2010.