isstd call for papers

Presentation Submission Guidelines

New Submission Deadline: March 31, 2009, 11:59pm EDT

26th Annual ISSTD International Conference
November 21-23, 2009
Pre-conference November 19 & 20
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, DC

Here are the guidelines and policies for submitting an abstract for ISSTD's 2009 annual conference in Washington, DC. Carefully read this information and then (at bottom), 'travel' to the abstract submission site by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.

Submission Policies:

• All presenters, including invited, plenary and preconference institute speakers must submit proposals online. See link to the submission site below.
• Proposals that are mailed or faxed will not be accepted.
• Incomplete proposals will not be considered.
• All presenters must register for the conference.
• Prepare a word processing file containing all of your submission information in advance. This will save time online and ensure that you have a backup copy of all of your information.
• ISSTD strongly suggests that one individual gather all the required information ahead of time and submit it online: submission title(s), abstract(s), all authors/presenters, demographic/address - including zip/postal codes/email information on each presenter, and CV for each presenter, audiovisual needs.
• Abstracts must mention or refer to trauma and/or dissociation.
• All authors/presenters for each submission must also disclose any conflicts of interest and complete 2 documents that are required by the conference’s grantors of continuing education credits. Information regarding these matters is provided on the abstract submission website.
• Although submissions ultimately are accepted or rejected on the basis of their quality, the most common reason that we reject a proposal is that the submitter has not taken the time to write a clear abstract. Your submitted abstract must be clear, concise, and well-written in order to be accepted by the program committee.
• You are limited to being a presenter, co-presenter, chair, or discussant in no more than three submissions (excluding posters).
• Presentations should be original contributions (i.e., they have not been published prior to the date that you submitted the abstract).
• Abstracts will be published in their original form in the Conference Proceedings Book. All case material, including biographical information, must be disguised so that the patient’s identity is carefully concealed.
• All proposals must be submitted online. If you do not have internet access, are unable to access the online submission site, forms, or have difficulties with the online submission process, please contact Therese Clemens, Program Manager by e-mail tclemens@isst-d.org or phone: 703-610-9037.
• The Program Committee will make their selections by May 7, 2009. You will promptly be notified by e-mail about your proposal’s acceptance or rejection. If your e-mail address changes between the time of your submission and May 7, please immediately inform Therese Clemens at tclemens@isst-d.org.
• You must acknowledge acceptance within two weeks of receipt. All decisions of the program committee are final.

Skill Level: Presentations must designate the knowledge/skill level required of the participant (i.e., Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced). Although these are only general guides, they are required in order to comply with continuing education regulations.

• Basic: Suitable for all professional participants (including students). Such presentations include basic knowledge, techniques, or skills.
• Intermediate: Requires participants to have at least some work experience in order to gain maximum benefit from the presentation.
• Advanced: Participants require a high level of training and substantial experience in the topic. Such presentations are geared to specialists and to those in advanced stages of their career.

Text: Abstracts of research presentations should include the purpose, methods, findings, and conclusions. Submission of findings is strongly encouraged. Other types of abstracts should include purpose, population, main points to be covered, and conclusions.

Learning Objectives: Each abstract must be accompanied by 3 learning objectives. Do not use verbs such as learn, understand, or know. Verbs must indicate observable behavior: “Participants will be able to… (e.g., list, describe, demonstrate)…” You MUST choose from a list of acceptable verbs. Each Learning Objective must be a complete sentence. Note: Your submission will not be accepted unless it is accompanied by 3 learning objectives, written as 3 complete sentences that begin with the words "Participants will be able to...," each objective using an acceptable verb. Click here for a list of acceptable verbs. Note: This same list of acceptable verbs is accessible on the conference abstract submission site.

Statement of Ethical Standards: All work presented at the ISTSS annual meeting must conform to discipline-appropriate national or professional ethical standards. Confirmation of adherence to this requirement is part of the proposal submission process.

Potential for Distress: All oral and media submissions must declare whether the presentation has potential to cause audience distress. The conference abstract submission site will ask about this. The submission site will ask you about this issue; you do not need to place a statement about potential for distress in your abstract.

Citations: Accreditation for continuing education specifies that each proposal must be accompanied by 3-5 complete citations of relevant publications (in American Psychological Association style). For detailed information on APA Style, click here.

Examples of APA style:

Media Presentations: Media presentations should include thought-provoking presentations involving literary, artistic, and creative interpretative materials related to trauma and dissociation. Note: Training videos or media presentations that demonstrate treatment methods should be submitted as a Workshop. As a condition of acceptance, the presenter must obtain appropriate releases for display and presentation of media. Abstracts should specify the running time and type of media (e.g., 35mm film, VHS tape, DVD).

Disclosure of Relationships: ISSTD and its continuing medical education-accrediting partner require all authors/presenters to disclose any significant financial interest or other affiliation with any commercial supporter or manufacturer of any commercial products discussed in a presentation. This policy ensures that the audience is aware of such relationships and allows conflicts of interest to be resolved prior to the presentation. Presenters must also announce if they will be discussing any off-label or unapproved uses of any products. The conference abstract submission site will provide these documents to you and to each co-author/co-presenter for your proposed presentation. Your submitted proposal is not complete, and will not be reviewed, until each co-authors/co-presenter has submitted these documents.

Presentation Types:

Papers and Symposia
The Conference Chair may add an appropriate paper to a symposium which has fewer than four papers. The chair of the symposium and the author of the added paper will be informed if this occurs.

Proposal Review Criteria
All submissions are rated for importance, rigor (scientific, clinical or intellectual), scope of coverage of the topic, relevance to trauma and dissociation, and consistency with the meeting theme. Training presentations (Workshops and Pre-Conference Institutes) are additionally rated for presenter qualifications and usefulness of the training objectives (to the clinical or research work of ISSTD members). Proposals must be sufficiently detailed to allow evaluation of these criteria.

How to Write A Good Conference Proposal
Download the ISSTD instructional PDF file here to learn how to write a good abstract, make your title accurate and appealing, how to formulate educational objectives, use citations or references, and more. Examples are provided.

Notification of Acceptance
Only the submitting author will be notified of acceptance (or rejection) by email (by Monday May 8, 2009). The submitting author is then responsible for notifying all co-presenters. Please notify headquarters immediately if your contact information changes after you have submitted your abstract. All decisions of the program committee are final.

Poster Award
The Poster Award is presented in recognition of outstanding poster presentation at the annual meeting. The award includes a registration waiver for the next annual meeting. Applicants must indicate their desire and eligibility to apply during the abstract submission process.

Questions?

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation
8400 Westpark Drive, 2nd Floor
McLean, VA 22102
USA
Phone: 703-610-9037
Fax: 703-610-0234

New Submission Deadline: March 31, 2009, 11:59pm EDT