Dear Members of the ISST,

The Executive Board would just like to acknowledge and appreciate the wonderful work of the Resource Committee for Members in Crisis (RCMC).

Under the steady leadership of the RCMC Chair, Magdalena Kitlowska, she and her committee members have made great progress towards supervision and training for ISST Members from Ukraine. These committee members include Daria Rakhubovska, Kristina Zhyvago, and Tena Davies.

We also want to acknowledge the contributions of other ISST members who have volunteered their time and resources to accomplish this important goal:

In alphabetical order: Zaneta Adamczyk, David Bernstein, Marsha Blank, Louise Coates, Tara Cutland-Green, David Edwards, Gill Heath, Daan Jonker, Ilona Krone, Liz Lacy, George Lockwood, Lars Madsen, Karin Pogade, Lynda Perry, Oleg Romanchuk, Robin Spiro, Cilia van Thiel, Katalin Tolvay and Remco van der Wijngaart.  if you think you could help us make a difference for our Ukrainian colleagues- please join us!

This work is very much in line with the intention and mission of this committee:

· Address professional concerns and needs of ISST members affected by overwhelming mass crises, such as war, refugee crisis, and natural disasters

· Organize aggregate of resources for members in crisis within bounds of ISST legal and statute guidelines, to include professional resources, including personal therapy, supervision, training, and personal support for therapists in need and

· Support members in addressing the needs of affected client populations

With Admiration and Gratitude,

The ISST Executive Board,

Jeff Conway- President

Alexandra Schooser- Vice President

Cristina Sterie- Certification Coordinator

Christian Ferreira de Vasconcellos- Treasurer

Leonardo Wainer- Media Coordinator

Pam Pilkington- Scientific Coordinator

Richard Brouillette- Secretary

Rita Younan- Training Coordinator

Dear Members of the ISST and Members of the Ukrainian Support Group,

 

This is our follow-up to the EB’s May 5 response to the questions and concerns the ISST Ukraine Support Group originally shared in their “open letter” of May 2, 2022.

 

Members of the Executive Board are in an ongoing conversation with the Schema Therapy Society of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Support Group with the hope of understanding each other’s positions and to repair ruptures in relationships. We hope to assist with rallying resources and support for our Ukrainian colleagues.

 

Regarding questions raised around Alp Karaosmanoglu’s abrupt decision to resign from the President’s position, we understand people are concerned about whether Alp was under pressure to resign. We are not speaking for Alp on this point, as he shared his own resignation statement, which members can refer to on the Listserv. Members of the board had much agreement on goals to support Ukrainian members and denounce the Russian attack on Ukraine. We also had some disagreements on how to organize assistance for our Ukrainian colleagues, manage the question of sanctions on Russian membership, and whether to consult the Ethics and Conflict Resolution Committee (ECRC). As we all know, relationships can be complicated and sometimes messy. We were all feeling the passion and stress of the war. In spite of the stress, board members remained collegial, and open to dialogue even when we disagreed about the process. Board members remained supportive of Alp throughout the process. We were sorry to see Alp leave, and we value him as a devoted and hard-working leader in the ISST and an essential voice for Ukraine.

We share the opinion of the Ukrainian Support Group in stating that during this heated period of time, the listserv became a place of turbulence and vitriol and that the “pseudo diagnosing” of other members was unethical, unprofessional, and hurtful in effect.

We believe that in a democratic society we enjoy the wonderful freedom to express ourselves on the listserv and through other channels in this society. But we believe that with this freedom comes the solemn responsibility to consider one’s words and how they may be received by others and the impact on them.

The unfortunate net effect of this recent toxic posting on the listserv was that it became a source of added pain for our Ukrainians who are already facing horrific challenges, and in great need to feel safe in our society.

We understand that because of this terrible, destructive war and the abuse of human rights, the Executive Board and the ECRC must revisit ISST’s statutes and regulations. We need to ensure that our international membership organization holds an ethical position on human rights and international justice.

We have asked the ECRC to review the statues and recommend to the EB, which statutes need revising. As a democratic society, we invite participation from our members. If you have comments and ideas, we ask that you let us know directly at jconwayny@gmail.com.

We are pleased to be able to consult with the ECRC. The ECRC was established about 12 years ago to perform an advisory role to the EB around ethical concerns and areas of conflict in our society. The ECRC serves in an advisory capacity to the EB, much the same way that the Training and Certification Advisory Board (TCAB) advises the EB around issues related to training and certification.

With both the ECRC and the TCAB, the EB receives counsel on areas of their domain that may inform or influence our decision-making process. We view these committees as invaluable to the health and stability of our society. We look forward to the ECRC report to the EB regarding recent events by mid-May.

The ECRC is also available to all members if there is an ethical concern or area of conflict. You may reach out to them directly at dr.kavros@peregrinekavorphd.com.

If you would like to learn more about the ECRC, please refer to this link from our website:

https://schematherapysociety.org/Ethics-&-Conflict-Resolution-Committee

As the EB takes on the longer-term task of reviewing the statutes, we also recognize the urgent need to take action to rally resources and support our Ukrainian colleagues and act within our power, to stop the war.

We join with the Ukrainian Support Group in asking our esteemed leaders of the ISST to make your support for Ukraine heard. Your voices carry a lot of weight, and when members are facing life and death situations every day, we need to hear from you.

And we join in amplifying the chorus that there are potential opportunities available to all of us in our home countries. Whether it be giving money, attending protests of the war, contacting government officials to give more aid and attention to Ukraine, and yes, to contacting the local Ukrainian Embassy to offer support to Ukrainian refugees, we urge you to take action.

 

With Warmth and Respect,

The ISST Executive Board

Jeff Conway, President

Alexandra Schosser, Vice President

Rita Younan, Training Coordinator

Cristina Sterie, Certification Coordinator

Pamela Pilkington, Science and Research Coordinator

Christian Ferreira de Vasconcellos . Treasurer

Leonardo Wainer, Media Coordinator

Richard Brouillette, Secretary

Statement on the Passing of Dr. Aaron Beck

 

Dear ISST Members,

 

We all mourn the passing of Dr. Aaron Beck on Monday. As the father of cognitive-behavioral therapies, his contribution to the treatment of patients with mental health disorders throughout the world is unparalleled.

We have lost one of the great pioneers in psychotherapy. He transformed the field with his insistence on detailed treatment protocols; measurable outcomes; and scientific studies to establish the efficacy of cognitive therapy for so many psychiatric conditions.

Dr. Beck will also be admired by those who knew him for his brilliance; his vision and ability to achieve his goals at the highest level; and for his enormous breadth of knowledge and scholarship across so many fields beyond psychiatry.

As schema therapists, we also owe Dr. Beck an enormous debt of gratitude for the role he played in influencing the development of the schema therapy approach. He was the first to introduce the concept of a schema as the core organizing construct in the cognitive therapy model. I borrowed this term from him as the starting point in my attempt to expand cognitive-behavioral therapies to place more emphasis on “deeper”, often unconscious, themes that originate in childhood.

Dr. Beck also influenced schema therapy in less obvious ways. I often observed his unique therapeutic style in working with patients. He would gently ask questions in an empathic, Socratic style - - while also pointing out contradictions between the patient’s beliefs, and actual evidence from their daily life experiences. Watching him eventually led to what we now call empathic confrontation in schema therapy.

On a more personal level, Dr. Beck was my mentor, friend, role model, sounding board, and supporter. I would never have had the confidence to develop a model of my own had he not given me countless opportunities to collaborate with leading authorities in the field when I had only recently finished graduate school. I benefited from our long, private conversations about the nature of schemas, the concept of modes, and even psychoanalysis. We also shared issues from our personal lives with each other, in which he offered me wise, compassionate advice.

Speaking for the entire schema therapy community, we would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Beck family for their loss. Dr. Beck was a towering figure in our field - - and we will all miss having him in our lives in so many ways.

 

Jeffrey Young, Ph.D.

on behalf of the International Society for Schema Therapy

November 3, 2021

• Meeting Minute Summaries May – October 2021

   

   

  May 13, 2021

   

• ·      Update on Summit Planning- on track
• ·      Update on new ISST Website development
• o   Hosted in Germany
• o   3-4 months to finish
• ·      Media Committee
• o   Agreement that Secretary will help recruit committee, then pass chair position to EB Media Coordinator
• ·      Training
• o   Addressing questions re: online training
• o   Possibility of ISST approving training in specializations
• o   Explore proposal of having members who give continuing education trainings submit yearly report including content taught, for approval
• ·      Certification
• o   Need to further explore cross-border practice of ST, eg: member trained in one country practicing in another
• ·      Webinar Committee
• o   Expanding diversity of membership
• o   Starting unique zoom account
• o   Project to build catalog of webinars

•  

   

  June 10, 2021

   

• ·      General Items
• o   Question of member payment from countries facing sanctions
• o   Update of EB election rules presented to EB for review
• ·      Summit
• o   Coordination of work
• o   When to begin planning 2022
• ·      Website
• o   New ISST Instagram account going well
• o   Board agrees to policy of ISST account not following people or groups on social media, for risk of appearing to support
• o   Board reviews and approves new website wireframe
• ·      Research and Science
• o   ISST Literature Reference Inventory being standardized by format included in a reference management software program, soon to be available for members.
• ·      Committees
• o   Vice President and Secretary will be updating regulations regarding management of committees

•  

  July 8, 2021

   

• ·      General Items
• o   Question of EB as review panel for Ethics Committee, vs individual members playing this role
• o   Need to establish “standardized permission to record sessions” document
• §  ISST lawyer to review
• §  Clause respecting local privacy regulations
• o   Review and Update ISST admin staff management process
• o   EB votes to approve new election rules
• o   Discussion of whether to change EB term of service from 2 years to 4
• §  Allows for board to learn how to do job and then have longer period of effective work
• §  Concerns raised re: 4 year term being too much power and influence
• o   Summit
• §  Overall feedback on summit was positive
• §  Budget: “we broke even”
• §  Budget: concern raised for improving summit potential for raising revenue to account for additional expenses related to in-person and online formats in future
• §  Review of improving options for translating and interpreting summit presentations to make them more accessible.
• o   Training and Certification
• §  EB review of policy for training online
• o   Committees
• §  Update on proposal to establish Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Committee
• §  Committee would survey members regarding both member demographics and client demographics
• §  Vice President and President to join Secretary in task force to establish mission and ground rules of DEI committee prior to starting committee business.

•  

   

   

   

  August 13, 2021

   

  General Items

   

   

• ·      conference 2022 - dates and preparation
• o   initial review of final 2021 summit financials
• o   “ambient” expense, entertainers, yoga, dance classes
• o   Let’s consider the use and value of ambient expenses for next year
• o   Majority vote to cut some of these expenses
• o   We will review and confirm next meeting
• o   Need to call for submissions for 2022
• §  Agreement that conference will either be hybrid or full online
• §  We have 2022 dates on website
• §  June 15-18 2022
• §  Need a theme- we agree to consider and review next meeting.
• ·      Autonomy, connection, competency (covid resilience, as well as core needs)
•  
• ·      Question on the use of ISST logo and the possibility of a financial support of ISST for a conference
• o   Can’t use logo if you are not an approved training program.
• o   Conference Review Process
• §  How will you use the logo (ISST supported)
• §  Submit any promotional materials (web page, etc)
• §  Submit overview of presenters and conference topics.

•  

   

  Website/Media

• ·      Updates on the new website.
• o   Website may be complete in one month
• o   Asking about role of ISST App
• §  Notifications for new material going on website
• §  No need to duplicate actions already available on the website formatted for mobile use
• §  App for members only
• §  Complete forms as one helpful function? Data protection laws may be issue
• §  Could help with conference audience
• §  LM will follow up with designers and address by email with board.

•  

  Research and Science

   

• ·      The research team will provide the ISST bibliographic electronic collection for Citavi (https://www.citavi.com/en/download) only, even though Mac users have to use a parallels desktop.
• ·      Also we decided to put a word version of the schema therapy literature on the website.

•  

  Training and Certification

   

• ·      online training policy
• o   to be reviewed by Vice President and confirmed.
• ·      recording sessions document
• o   ISST template? Board will review draft
• ·      CE restrictions on online recorded content vs live online and participatory? What will stance be going forward?
• o   Board will review and confirm approval of recommendations
•  

•  

  Committees

   

• ·      Update on DEI committee and member survey
• o   President, VP and Secretary will draft initial structure, agenda and guidelines, with intent of passing to group of members interested in participating in DEI committee.

•  

   

  September 9, 2021

   

  General Items

   

• ·      Question of naming TCAB chairs.
• o   Confirmation that EB is charged with naming new members.
• o   EB will get list of open chair seats to fill

•  

   

  Website/Media

• ·      Need for additional board meetings dedicated to reviewing website.
• ·      Updates on the new website, review of updated webpages
• o   Multiple country/state option for find a therapist? Should be OK.
• ·      Advertising and Listserv
• o   This is regulating and organizing a policy regarding advertising for training programs
• o   People will be gently discouraged if they use listserv to advertise training program and directed to use website.

•  

   

  Conference

   

• ·      “ambiance” costs at 2021 Summit
• o   Board agrees to eliminate “ambiance” costs from upcoming conferences due to online element introduced
• §  To include live music and yoga
• ·      2022 dates: Conference Dates
• o   June 15-18

VP to confirm dates with planners

Dear Advanced Level Certified Schema Therapist who are not yet but would like to be ST Trainer/Supervisor Certified:

I, Jeff Conway,  am happy to announce the semi-annual required 3-hour ISST Training & Certification Basics Webinar in English:

This is the Webinar that must be completed by all who want to be qualified as ISST Certified Trainer-Supervisors.  This is required also a required Webinar for those achieving T-S in any of the specialty areas (Group, Couples, Child & Adolescent).  To be clear, you only need to participate in this Webinar once, whether it be for Individual ST Training or Supervising or for Training and Supervising in any of the other ST Specialty Areas.

I will give this Webinar on Tuesday, March 5^th, from 8:30 – 11:30 AM (EDT – New York time).  Please check for the corresponding times relevant to the location you will be attending the Webinar.

If there are a significant number of Australian members who would like to participate in the Webinar, I will be willing to run it again on the same day at in the evening at 8:15-11:15 PM (EDT – New York time).

We will use Zoom for this Webinar.  I will send a Zoom invitation to your email address a few days before we meet.  This is an easy web conferencing platform that will download the software in a few minutes when you tap on the invitation link (if you already have the software from participating in previous Zoom meetings, the Webinar will appear immediately after clicking on the link).

Please fill out the registration form enclosed and designate on the form your method of payment of the $45 fee.  I ask that all registration forms be emailed to me and payments made by the deadline of February 22^nd.  Email the registration form to my email address: JCONWAYNY@GMAIL.COM.

Note that this Webinar is ONLY for members who are Certified as Advanced Schema Therapists, who began their training before January of 2014.  All those for began their training on or after January of 2014 will be required to have 3 years of clinical work providing Schema Therapy subsequent to certification and then participate in a 12-hour Webinar Workshop which will include the 3-hour Webinar in order to be certified as a ST Trainer/Supervisor.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Warmly, Jeff Conway

ISST Training Coordinator

Affiliate Faculty of NY/NJ Schema Therapy Center

by Travis Atkinson

Cathy Flanagan, one of the original contributors to developing the schema therapy model with Jeff Young, recently published a controversial article in the American Psychological Association's Journal of Psychotherapy Integration (2014 Vol. 24, No 3, 208-222) offering a new way to approach longer-term mental health issues through addressing unmet needs and maladaptive modes. Cathy describes a matrix of 8 modes healthy individuals experience. Modes are distinct patterns representing coping strategies to help individuals adapt to situations and to satisfy needs. Cathy defines a matrix that differentiates modes to help develop treatments to effectively meet the needs of individuals. 

Three Concerns: In her article, Cathy raises three concerns related to schema mode therapy. First, shifting the focus from early maladaptive schemas to an emphasis on early attachments, unmet needs are not necessarily connected to early maladaptive schema or modes. Second, the number of modes seems to be ever-expanding, even up to 22, raising the complexity of the model. Cathy's matrix concept, she proposes, is a way to identify and differentiate between coping modes linked to unmet needs and early maladaptive schemas. Third, advances in cognitive science may contradict views that patients only have one coping style, or that cognitions, emotions, and behaviors change synchronically--rather, they change independently of one another, she states.

Definitions: Cathy defines modes as adaptive strategies to satisfy cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components of needs. The goal, she writes, is to help individuals meet core needs through developing more flexible and effective modes. Strategies to meet core needs can be increased to help core needs be met.

Cathy's Gift to ISST Members: Cathy has generously provided us with a copy of her article in its entirety. To read Cathy's work, please click: Flanagan_(2014)__Unmet_Needs___Maladaptive_Modes.pdf

Cathy Flanagan is a Certified Schema Therapist, Supervisor and Trainer. She has a private practice in Manhattan, and is one of the original founders of the schema therapy model.