Every end is a new beginning – Farewell of the ISST President

This is my final President´s letter. After a bit more than 2 years standing in the front line of the society, I am happy to pass the baton to David Edwards. I am convinced that he represents all the skills it takes to be a good president and I am happy to support him with all my knowledge and experience a gathered in the last 8 years since the foundation of our society.

What a dramatic growth we see when we look back to your foundation meeting at the picturesque place of the University of Coimbra in Portugal: 170 people met, with about 200 becoming members in the first year. In Vienna, we had 600 participants, and we now count almost 1000 members. The growth still goes on: 145 new members in 2014, 136 in 2015 and 212 (so far) in 2016! But not only in numbers are we growing: many of our members became active over the last few years, and participated in special interest groups, in committees, or through writing contributions to our online bulletin over the last year.

We achieved a lot, and there is still a lot to do. A society this big can no longer be managed as a family business. We have to improve our structures, turning them step-by-step into a professional office. We are on a good path, and I will focus my efforts as treasurer to move these tasks forward. I enjoy using my experience and intimate knowledge to address the formal and informal processes within our society. I am happy that some of our board members that became a backbone within the board will be able to continue their work, while some other new members bring in new ideas and talent. This is a promising mixture for our next board term. 

Please understand that I am reluctant to acknowledge or praise any single person because so many contributed their share, and even I can hardly oversee how many people are engaged in our society doing their best to advance schema therapy. When I met so many members in Vienna, it felt like a wave carrying us ahead and I felt very moved. Thanks to everyone who contributes their share, wherever you are, and whatever you are doing. We are strong when we manage to follow our own principles of treating each other in a Healthy Adult mode, as best we can. Never stop doing our best!

With warm wishes to everybody

Eckhard Roediger

(Past President)

Dear ISST Members:

We hope you all enjoyed your summer, and that those of you who were able to attend our Vienna conference are still moved by the rich and inspiring experiences we enjoyed together. Thanks again to everybody who contributed in organizing the conference, especially to Travis Atkinson, our Representative for Public affairs and Membership affairs, and Alexandra Schosser, our Vice President.

With the arrival of the fall season, it is harvest time, and we are transitioning back to our regular work. Two items are at the top of our list: preparing for the ISST Executive Board Elections, and the online General Membership Assembly (GMA). I will address the GMA in a separate posting, and will now focus on the Board Election (BE).

Travis formally announced the Board Elections and informed you about the schedule in an email blast. Now we want to announce who will run again among the current board members and give you the revised “job descriptions” for Election Board positions. The personal statements of the current board members who decided to run again will be presented on the website and sent out by email, together with those of the new candidates.

This is a lengthy but important posting. Please read carefully prior to submitting your nominations to the election committee!

I would like to start by:

(1) Reminding you of our current board members and their positions

(2) Sharing an update on who has decided to run again  and who will be stepping down

We will post specific information regarding the responsibilities for each position, and further instructions from the ISST Board-appointed election committee, made up of John Gasiewski (Chair), Erin Bulluss, and Cesar Gonzalez, shortly.

(1) The Current ISST Board:

• Eckhard Roediger: President (EMAIL)
• Alexandra Schosser: Vice-President (EMAIL)
• Kristin Zickenheiner: Treasurer (EMAIL)
• Chris Hayes: Secretary (EMAIL)
• Travis Atkinson: Representative for Public Affairs and New Membership Issues (EMAIL)
• Joan Farrell: Representative for Training and Certification Issues (EMAIL)
• Eshkol Rafaeli: Representative for Research and Scientific Issues (EMAIL)

(2) Who will step down? Who is willing to run again?

With tremendous appreciation for their immense effort, collaboration, and thoughtful contributions, we will say thank you and best wishes to Kristin Zickenheiner and Eshkol Rafaeli, who have decided to step down after this term.

Eshkol Rafaeli as our Science and Research Coordinator worked hard to insure that our conference in Vienna was well appointed with some fine papers, posters, and presenters, selecting and combining relevant theme-related topics of clinical interest as well as providing access to the latest information from the scientific branch of the ISST; this in addition to his own demanding professional schedule, which includes research and training.

Kristin Zickenheiner as our treasurer did a hazardous and very responsible job guiding us through the Austrian tax jungle and always had a caring eye that we follow the statues and regulations. She spent hours with this unseen work and contributed significantly to the solid financial situation of our society.

Alexandra Schosser (Vice-President following Christoph Fuhrhans after his resignation April 2015), Chris Hayes (Secretary in the last term), Travis Atkinson (Representative for Public Affairs and New Membership Issues in the last term) and Joan Farrell (Representative for Training and Certification Issues since 2012) are willing to run again for their current positions. Eckhard Roediger (President in the 2014 - 2016 term and Secretary of the board since 2008) will step down from the President's position and run as Treasurer.

(3) Board Positions:

Eckhard Roediger will not run again for the position of President of the ISST Board

Alexandra Schosser will run again for the position of: Vice-President of the ISST Board

Chris Hayes is willing to run again for the position of: Secretary of the ISST Board

Kristin Zickenheiner is not willing to run again but Eckhard Roediger is running for the position of: Treasurer (including Legal Issues) of the ISST Board

Travis Atkinson is willing to run again for the position of:

Representative for Public Affairs and New Membership Issues

Joan Farrell will run again for the position of:

Representative for Training and Certification Issues in the board of the ISST

Eshkol Rafaeli  will not run again for the position of:

Representative for Research and Scientific Issues

It is hard to find words that would adequately express the appreciation for the important and fundamental roles my fellow board members have played, volunteering countless hours protecting, developing and servicing the integrity of our important society.

We have a lot of talent, dedication, and passion in our multitudinous roles, amid the many demands of professional and personal lives. It has been an enriching experience to know each board member, working together to expand the schema therapy society. I feel lucky and grateful to be a member of this team.

Warmest Wishes,

Eckhard Roediger

President 

International Society of Schema Therapy

President’s Letter June 2016

Dear ISST members,

With less than a month until the ISST World Conference reconvenes in Vienna, we are happy to report that INSPIRE 2016 will be the largest conference in ISST’s history. So far, we have more than 550 participants! The Vienna program has a rich offering of 6 presentation tracks, including many special highlights, and will be capped off with an incredibly exciting closing ceremony and banquet party. A conference, of course, requires a lot of hard work in the background to organize and implement, and all of the ISST Board members are dedicated to making Vienna a success.

Earth-friendly: We arranged for free wifi for all attendees at the venue to enjoy, which will make it possible to have an earth-friendly, nearly paperless conference. Travis Atkinson, our Public Affairs Coordinator, developed an app that conference attendees will soon be able to download on iOS or Android smartphones or tablets that will contain all of the conference program, including abstracts and slides, along with many nice features for attendees to easily access.

General Membership Meeting: I am also cordially inviting you and all members to attend the General Membership Meeting during our conference, being held on Friday, July 1^st from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Unlike our last General Membership Assembly (GMA), this is not a formal GMA, and members will not be voting. The official GMA will be held online in September to allow as many members as possible to participate, even if they can’t attend the conference in Vienna.

During this General Membership Meeting, the ISST Board will be presenting the many exciting developments of the society, including the rapid expansion of our membership numbers, and will be describing details of the work each board member has accomplished during our term over the last two years. We will also be introducing tasks ahead for the next board, as we see them.

General Membership Assembly: In addition, we want to present the preliminary agenda of the official online General Membership Assembly that will take place in September, and discuss this plan with all attending members in Vienna. This meeting will offer an opportunity for members to share feedback in-person with the board, and discuss our proposals with members in case any parts need to be refined before September's GMA.

Below, I am outlining the 9 planned segments of the General Membership Meeting. Please share any additional suggestions you may have with us on the blog so that we can include them on the agenda.

Membership Meeting in Vienna 2016: Agenda

1. Welcome
2. Development of the society
3. Activity Report by ISST Executive Committee:2014 & 2015
4. ISST goals and policies for 2016 and 2017
   1. Next steps of professionalizing our structures
   2. Introducing the ISST-App and its features
   3. More goals?
5. Announcing the 2016 online GMA
6. Proposals for the online GMA to be discussed
   1. Proposal of an ISST training director committee as a new ISST structure
   2. Discussion how to link national ST-Societies with the ISST
   3. Relation of the Executive Board with the Scientific committee
   4. Proposing an auditor for our financial report
   5. Other proposals that have been sent in by members
7. Announcing the Board Elections – 2016-2018: Election committee, timetable, candidates
8. Any other society business
9. Questions and answers

I hope to meet and welcome many of you in Vienna shortly, and wish everyone a beautiful summer season.

Looking forward,

Eckhard Roediger

As a member, supporter, or fan of schema therapy, you have many reasons to feel proud of the growth of the International Society of Schema Therapy (ISST) in 2015. As the year draws to a close, excitement for the coming year is growing, with the highlight of numerous offerings taking place June 30 - July 2nd in Vienna, Austria at the INSPIRE 2016 ISST Conference. Spotlight of 2015: Numerous events occured this year supporting schema therapy, sponsored by or collaberated with ISST, including trainings and workshops from ISST certified training programs throughout the world. A peak experience took place in St. Petersburg, Russia June 11th through the 13th during the White Night's Festival at the 2015 ISST Summer School. More than one hundred participants enjoyed workshops that focused on specialty subjects within schema therapy, including children and adolescents, group work, couples therapy, empathic confrontration in individual therapy, complex trauma, dissociation and personality disorder, research in schema therapy, and applying the competency-spiral approach. Joan Farrell, our Board Training and Certification Coordinator, worked tirelessly together with Paul Kasyanik and his team to organize the conference, and included social excursions to help participants connect with other attendees while exploring the magnificent city of St. Petersburg.  Vienna in 2016: Once details of Summer School were completed, the ISST Board focused on planning for the INSPIRE 2016 Vienna conference. Our Board Research and Scientific Coordinator, Eshkol Rafaeli, searched for talented keynote speakers and developed an online portal for presentation submissions. Our Board Vice President, Alexandra Schosser, is finalizing details for the conference center in Vienna. Kristin Zickenheiner, our Board Treasurer, has been working to clear through layers of tax and financial issues involved with hosting a conference in Austria. The board is contracting with a conference organizer based in Vienna for a reasonable rate that will help ensure that all attendees enjoy a wonderful experience at the conference.  To encourage as many attendees as possible from throughout the world, we plan to include reduced fees for attendees from economically disadvantaged countries. We will also strive to keep conference fees as reasonable as possible for attendees. The conference venue will be at the large, ultra-modern Reed Meese Wien Congress Center in the heart of Vienna. The venue will allow for more space than ever, with presenters focused on the theme, "What is it with Modes? The Transdiagnostic Power of Mode Work in Schema Therapy." The deadline for panels, symposia, hot-topic talks, case discussions, workshops, and poster presentations is January 20, 2016. Submit your proposal at: INSPIRE 2016 Ambassadors: New plans for helping individuals from countries where schema therapy is emerging are being created by the board, entitled, "Ambassadors." We will offer financial support to select representatives who will then be charged with spreading schema therapy in their home communities. The concept of "Ambassadors" originated from the successful experience of Summer School in St. Petersburg, where attendees came from 19 countries. Several attendees were the only representatives from their homeland, and we would like schema therapy to grow in these communities. Details will be announced on the website soon. New Connections: Our Board Public Affairs and Member Benefits Coordinator, Travis Atkinson, secured the foundation of our new media offerings for members and the public, significantly expanding the new website with several member contributions, and establishing a new, well-functioning listserv. He completely refreshed the website in the fall, and added numerous tools for all to benefit from, including digital recordings of top schema therapists, special interest group forums to help members connect over specific topics, and the ability for members to upload photo albums to highlight their work in their member profiles for the "Find a Therapist/Supervisor" search feature. Member Exclusives: More than 80% of members are now enrolled on both the website and listserv--if you are not yet one of them, visit the website and complete the required "Double Opt-In" process to take advantage of member exclusives, including the latest edition of the Schema Therapy Bulletin (STB), a creation of our Board Secretary Chris Hayes and his co-editor, Lissa Parsonnet. Assembling articles from talented schema therapists around specific topics, Chris and Lissa have posted two volumes of the STB on our website, and a third issue is due out in January 2016.  Visit: STB Streamlining: Joan Farrell continues her work fine-tuning our guidelines for training, including adding some "by-laws" to the guidelines themselves. Reasonable and fair solutions have been derived from different training conditions within many countries. Joan established a structure for regional subcommittees that can preview applications for certification, streamlining the process. Member Initiatives: Many additional members continue to expand and broaden the impact of schema therapy through various workgroups of committees. Wendy Behary, our former ISST Board President, initiated a Brainstorming workgroup with regular meetings to support the board's work and fill gaps to help meet members' needs. ISST also provides member access for special interest groups for online meetings, including couples, children and adolescents, eating disorders, forensic issues, and addiction. Moving Forward in 2016: ISST is growing rapidly, and much work remains for 2016. We encourage your suggestions for improvements to our current offerings, and invite your ideas to increase our roster of features to help all members benefit even more from being a member of ISST.  Best wishes to you and your loved ones, however you may celebrate the holiday season. May we all enjoy a peaceful and joyful new year as we continue our work together. Season's Greetings,    Eckhard Roediger President International Society of Schema Therapy Reflections of 2015: Interview with Eckhard Roediger Watch the ISST President, Eckhard Roediger, in an interview with Travis Atkinson posted on schemaTV on the ISST website. Eckhard discusses the highlights of 2015 in more detail, maps out some anticipated events for 2016, and provides some personal insights into his work heading the schema therapy society. Visit: ECKHARD INTERVIEW Visit: www.SchemaTherapySociety.org

Dear ISST Members, We have two announcements we would like to let you know about. New Vice President First, following the guidelines outlined in our statutes, the board unanimously chose Alexandra Schosser from Vienna, Austria to fill the remainder of the term of our former Vice President, Christoph Fuhrhans, who stepped down in April. Alexandra will be spearheading the organizational efforts together with Eshkol Rafaeli and the rest of the board for the next ISST Conference, taking place on June 30th through July 2nd, 2016. We are thrilled that Alexandra accepted the position, and are confident members will be well-served by her efforts in the beautiful city of Vienna. Results of the Online GMA Second, we want to thank all members who participated in the online General Membership Assembly. With nearly a third of members voting, we are happy to announce that all of the proposals passed by a margin of more than 80%, so the important changes in the statutes will be implemented. You can read more about the core changes on the website. READ MORE Register Now for Summer School 2015 We have many exciting events and offerings for our members, including Summer School in St. Petersburg during the magical White Night’s Festival, June 11th through the 13th. If you haven't registered yet, go to the website to select your top choices. Since most visitors are required to attain a tourist VISA, you only have a few days to apply. REGISTER NOW Member Benefits We also have several member exclusives on our website, including the Schema Therapy Bulletin [STB] and videos from the 2014 ISST Istanbul Conference. [VIDEOS] See our event listings for schema therapy trainings throughout the world, and stay tuned for many more features we hope you’ll enjoy as a member of our rapidly growing society. Warm Regards, Eckhard Roediger, President, ISST

Dear ISST Members, Spring is here, and our society is moving forward together on four important points. I am happy to announce the following: The Online GMA is beginning now: All members permitted to vote will receive an email to the address we have on file within the next few days that includes a link to the “landing page” which provides all relevant information, including the password, to access the voting page. Members have two weeks to cast their vote, so you should cast your vote before May 15th, 2015. If you don’t receive our email by May 7th, please let us know at: EMAIL. We need at least 25% of members to participate in the vote for the GMA to be valid, so your vote will make a tremendous difference. Ethical Guidelines: The amendment David Bernstein announced in Istanbul in 2014 at the GMA regarding Ethical Guidelines successfully passed the 3-C-Committee, with some additional content. The Ethical Guidelines provide a frame for our collaboration as we grow together as a society, with a goal of mutually respecting each other. We want to thank David, the 3-C Committee, and all members who helped create this milestone. Certification Guidelines: The board decided upon certification guidelines for auxiliary professionals. These guidelines will be posted on the ISST website shortly. 2016 ISST Conference Site: We are happy to announce that the 2016 ISST Conference will be held in Vienna, Austria. After extensive research and consideration, including opinions from many members who thankfully participated in our online member survey, the board decided to change the host city to Vienna instead of Zurich. Our Vice President, Christoph Fuhrhans, worked to find a conference site in Zurich that was quiet affordable. Unfortunately, combining an unfavorable monetary situation with high wages that would be necessary for the conference to be hosted in Switzerland, the total cost of Zurich would have been extremely expensive compared to past ISST conferences. The board chose Vienna as a more attractive location overall for 2016. We are very grateful for the time and effort Christoph made towards preparing for the conference site. We are also excited about the experience members have to look forward to in Vienna in 2016. Dates: Mark your calendars in 2016 for June 30th through July 2nd for the ISST Conference. The venue will be the Fare and Exhibition Center of Vienna, centrally located in the city center, near the Donau River. Vienna is convenient for travel from throughout the world, being a historic bridge between East and West. We hope the choice of Vienna reflects the interest of most of our members, and we will update you shortly with more information about the conference.   On behalf of the ISST Executive Board, I want to thank you for being a valued member as we strive to meet the needs of our ISST community.  Kind regards, Eckhard Roediger President International Society of Schema Therapy

We are welcoming the new year with dramatic changes within our organization, driven by a passion to help ISST serve you better. The new website launched in the fall, and close to 350 members have opened accounts on it so far. Over the next few months, you will notice a significant expansion of the website, and you will find ways to benefit from many of the features, including upcoming conference videos and a comprehensive clinical journal. A few of the current highlights include:

• An extensive "Find a Therapist" feature pinpoints a therapist or supervisor of a searcher's choice
  
• A vast "Events" page lists the numerous schema therapy trainings around the world, including the upcoming Summer School in St. Petersburg during the "White Nights Festival"
  
• The "Research" section includes topical blogs from some of our top researchers
  
• The "Training and Certification" section details approved training programs and ways to attain your certifications
  
• Blog sections describe clinical insights from some of our most experienced clinicians
  

Our Challenges

With all of the changes, we have also had some growing pains. One of our challenges has been implementing a payment system for credit cards, and the result has been that some members had challenges renewing their annual membership dues (not applicable for SEPA members). Despite our best efforts, attaining a merchant account as a not-for-profit organization encountered significant delays. An unintended consequence of this delay has lead to some members having to pay a "late fee," a provision that was added to our statutes at the General Membership Assembly in Istanbul to encourage members to renew their membership by January 31st of each year. However, we were not able to rectify our payment issue by this date, resulting in this dilemma, and the statute is not written to provide flexibility for special circumstances.

Additionally, we need to rectify a provision in the statutes that requires credit card transaction fees to be covered by members, as this contradicts another provision in the statutes that bans charging members different fees.

Our Solutions

After consultations with our legal team, we have some strategies to solve our challenges. We will be conducting an online General Membership Assembly in April that allows all active members to vote on changing the provisions in the statutes. The final proposals will be explained in more detail on the website, though briefly we will be proposing to make the following changes:

• Retroactively change the statute to reverse the late fee for those members who were unnecessarily penalized, and change the language to allow for more flexibility under special circumstances
  
• Change the statute so that ISST covers transaction fees, instead of members
  
• Include a reduced membership fee for members residing in "B-Countries" and for post-graduate students, as other organizations provide

Your Input

We want to offer all members more opportunities to shape ISST, and to provide more ways to be heard. To this end, once we open the online voting tool, you will also have a chance to make your suggestions for changes in the statutes. Directions will be posted on the website for how to do this. Examples of proposals may include:

• Accepting the ethical guidelines currently in preparation from the 3-C Committee (Odette Brand from the Netherlands recently joined the committee, and we are happy to welcome her)
  
• Confirming that the biannual ISST conference site to be open to all countries, rather than being specifically linked to the home country of the Vice President, allowing for more time and options in our conference site choices

Next Steps

To make the online General Membership Assembly possible, Travis Atkinson, our Public Affairs and Member Benefits Coordinator, will open a blog page for members to submit proposals within a specific time frame. After the deadline, the final proposals will be posted on the website for 4 weeks, followed by the online vote over a specific time period.

At the end of this process, I am confident that the result will be a better experience for all members of ISST.

With anticipation,

Eckhard Roediger

President

International Society for Schema Therapy

During this holiday season, we wish you and your loved ones joy and happiness as you celebrate your time together.

As we have just passed winter solstice, the darkest days of the year are behind us. Our team at ISST has been working hard to help build on the foundation of our organization. Extensive seeds have been planted in 2014, and we're very excited about the next phase of growth going into 2015. We hope all members of ISST get to enjoy the fruits of our labors.

The first step was clearing the way to build an entirely new website. Travis Atkinson, our Public Affairs and Member Benefits Coordinator, invested a tremendous amount of work using his expertise to create it. The rest of the board will be contributing to many pages as the website expands. We invite you and all members to contribute in your areas of interest, and to fully benefit from the website's many features. SIGN UP

The listserv is now completely functioning. Join the conversation. If you haven't signed up yet, it only takes a few minutes: REGISTER

The preparations for our next ISST conference are well underway for Switzerland in 2016. Once dates and a conference venue are established, we will officially announce the conference.

We are happy to announce the White Night's Summer Conference in June of 2015. Joan Farrell, our Coorindator for Training and Certifcation, is organizing the conference, in cooperation with Paul Kasyanik and other ISST Russian colleagues. Despite a challenging political situation, our Russian colleagues are excited to share schema therapy with psychotherapists throughout their region. Although any profits from the conference are expected to be small, any earnings will go directly to help support ISST. Find out more about the conference on the new website: WHITE NIGHTS

We really appreciate having you as part of our ISST community, and look forward to bringing you new capabilities that help make it easier for you to be the change you want to create. From all of us on the board at ISST, we wish you peace, happiness, and health in the new year!

         

Warmly,

Eckhard Roediger

ISST President

"This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays!" ~D.M. Dellinger

Dear ISST Members, Your new ISST board is approaching the "100 Days" marker, a good time to share with you what we have accomplished, and what you have to look forward to as a member of ISST.  Website One of the biggest challenges we faced was overcoming the obstacles that hindered our ability to provide you with a premiere member website experience. We had to find solutions to legal conditions ISST faces as a not-for-profit organization based in Germany. Happily, we were able to accomplish this. Travis Atkinson, our Public Affairs & Member Benefits Coordinator, has created an entirely new ISST website, which will be launching shortly. We will be using a membership system that provides the latest features to you on a comprehensive platform that includes an integrated payment system, for your convenience, and is expandable as new features become available. Listserv You will soon have access to a new ISST listserv based on Google Groups to help you communicate with other ISST members. Travis will be sending you directions on how to join the listserv, so watch your email inbox for instructions. Schema Couples Therapist Certification The board approved a new curriculum for couples therapists to become a certified schema couples therapist. The guildelines will be listed on the new website. If you are already working with couples using a schema therapy approach similar to what is described in the guidelines, you may qualify for the "Grandparenting" option. After reading the description, if you think you may qualify, please contact Chiara DiFrancesco, the board liaison for the Schema Couples Therapy Workgroup: EMAIL.  2016 ISST Conference We are planning our next ISST conference for 2016. Our current top contender for a host site is in the homeland of our Vice President, Christoph Fuhrhans: the beautiful city of Zurich, Switzerland. As we evaluate potential venues and accommodations that are as affordable and accessible as possible, we will be making a final decision and announcing the result so that you can start planning your vacation for 2016. Office Help As our membership ranks have grown, we recently employed an assistant to help process applications for the Training and Certification Coordinator, Joan Farrell. We hope this helps all members needing assistance with applications for certifications. 3-C Committee Developments The 3-C Committee has expanded to take on the tasks of creating an ISST ethics policy, to clarify standards for competition within ISST, and to address conflicts of interest. The current committee is headed by chairs Poul Perris and Gerhard Zarback, and members include Jeff Young, David Edwards, Iannis Malogiannis, Vartouni Ohanian, Susanne Vind, and Heather Fretwell. Additionally, I am happy to announce that Wendy Behary, our former ISST president, will be joining the 3C committee. We are also seeking a member from the Netherlands to be included in the committee.    New Brainstorming Workgroup Wendy Behary created a new committee to help support specific tasks for ISST that could help the board accomplish more for members. If you are interested in joining the new committee, please contact Wendy directly: EMAIL.  A Bountiful Harvest for All ISST Members As you can see, the board's plate is full, and through determination and intense work, significant and exciting progress is being made to help ensure that you reap all the rewards possible as a member of ISST.  From the entire ISST board, consisting of Christoph Fuhrhans, Travis Atkinson, Chris Hayes, Kristin Zickenheiner, Joan Farrell, Eshkol Rafaeli, and myself, we wish you all the best as we move forward together.  Sincerely, Eckhard Roediger ISST President