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PERSONAL STATEMENT- Alexandra schosser- Running for Vice President

    I have already been serving for the ISST Executive Board as Vice President from 2015 to 2016, as such being strongly involved in the organisation of the INSPIRE 2016 conference in Vienna, Austria. Later on, I was elected as Research and Scientific Coordinator from 2018 to 2020, followed by 2020 to end of April 2022. In Mai 2022, I overtook the ISST Vice President’s tasks when Jeff Conway was appointed to ISST President, and I would be pleased to continue the relating duties for another election period.

    After finishing my trainings as cognitive behavioural psychotherapist, and as medical specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy, I continued to have a strong focus on schema therapy, being trainer and supervisor for individual schema therapy and couples. Besides, since 2014, I am training director of the Schema Therapy Institute Vienna. 

    I started my academic career in 2001 at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the Medical University Vienna, and was awarded my Viena Docendi (“Habilitation”) in 2012. From January 2013 to April 2022, I was Medical Director of an ambulant psychiatric rehabilitation clinics in Vienna with a major focus on cognitive behavioural psychotherapy and schema therapy, also having a strong research focus on psychotherapy research. Besides, I continued lecturing at the Medical University Vienna, and, from 2019, also at the Sigmund Freud University Vienna, initially at the Faculty of Psychology. In July 2021, I was appointed to a Professorship in Psychiatry with emphasis on Psychotherapeutic Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Faculty of Medicine of the Sigmund Freud University, and in October 2022 I also overtook the role as head of the “Head-Nerve-Centre” (including Psychiatry, Neurology, Ophthalmology and ENT-Surgery) of the Faculty of Medicine. In the context of my professorship, I have a strong research focus on psychotherapy (especially schema therapy) research, including therapy(epi-)genetic research.

    As Research and Scientific Coordinator from 2018 to Mai 2022, I was strongly involved in planning the INSPIRE 2020 and 2022 conferences, the first originally planned as live conference in Copenhagen, however, due to the interfering pandemic, being presented as a virtual conference instead. As for the INSPIRE 2022 conference, I was involved, together with the other members of the Executive Board, in organising a stunning and inspiring hybrid Conference in Copenhagen, that gave our members the opportunity not only to participate virtually, but also to connect in person in Copenhagen for the first time after more than two years of pandemic. Especially after overtaking the role as Vice President earlier this year, I had very enriching and constructive discussions with our president Jeff Conway about how to support and strengthen the connection and growth of the ISST. We both found ourselves being very enthusiastic about engaging in the future directions of the ISST community.

    In short, among the priorities for the next ISST Vice President I see

  • support and strengthen the connection and growth of the ISST
  • strong involvement and taking charge of the procedures and problems related to ISST membership, including ensuring that membership processes on the website are functioning effectively
  • reviewing the functioning of all ISST committees and ensuring that they are operating satisfactorily within their terms of reference
  • contributing to the events committee in the organization of events such as the biennial INSPIRE conference and ENLIGHT workshops
  • attending the monthly online meetings of the Executive Board and engaging actively with the current issues being addressed by the Board
  • supporting the president when requested

Due to my commitment to the ISST, and primary due to my passion about schema therapy, I would be delighted to continue my work as Vice President and, to be able to do this, I ask for your vote.









Why Schema Therapy?

Schema therapy has been extensively researched to effectively treat a wide variety of typically treatment resistant conditions, including Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Read our summary of the latest research comparing the dramatic results of schema therapy compared to other standard models of psychotherapy.

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