2024 Virtual Conference

• All presenters must submit the following information through the required online form. Please note that the online form cannot be saved so you will need to compile this information in advance in a document to copy and paste into the form. If there are multiple presenters involved in the presentation, you should designate one person as the primary presenter and this person should be tasked with submitting the information for the group during the submission process and will be assigned additional tasks to complete if the presentation is accepted (for conferences only).
  • Title and abstract of your presentation
  • The names, degrees, designation, unique email address, complete mailing address, and phone number of all individuals involved in your submission. You will also need a 200-300 word bio for each presenter that follows the guidelines below and a copy of each individual’s CV.
  • At least three learning objectives that use acceptable verbs to complete the sentence, “Participants will be able to…” You may only use verbs that are in the list of acceptable verbs in the Guideline for Writing Behavioral Learning Objectives.
  • Five citations from peer-reviewed sources per the detailed guidelines below. Books, conference presentations and other non-peer reviewed materials are not acceptable citations. These citations must be included in your final presentation. Additional citations beyond these five can be used in addition to the original citations and do not need to meet these criteria. These will be submitted as part of the bibliography task for accepted speakers before the conference. Please pay close attention to this requirement, as this is the most frequent error received in submissions
• The most common reasons a proposal is rejected are for an incomplete, poorly written, or unclear abstract, and other failures to follow submission guidelines. Your submitted abstract must be complete, clear, concise, and grammatically correct in order to be considered by the program committee. For suggestions on how to improve your conference proposal, view our guide, Tips for Writing a Great Conference Proposal.
• If you have difficulties with the online submission process please contact the ISSTD office at cfas@isst-d.org.
• You will be notified by e-mail about your proposal’s status in June 2024. All decisions of the Virtual Conference Committee are final. 

Presentations must designate the knowledge/skill level required of the participant (i.e., Introductory, Intermediate, or Advanced). Although these are only general guides, they are required in order to comply with continuing education regulations. ISSTD is committed to offering presentations at all levels.

• Beginning/Introductory: Suitable for all professional participants (including students). Introduces learners to a content area; includes information about a condition, treatment method, or issue; and involve learning and comprehending content.
• Intermediate: Provides information that builds on knowledge practioners with some experience already have. Focus on skill-building or adding knowledge, possibly following a brief overview of basic information, and involve using information in concrete situations and understanding the underlying structure of the material.
• Advanced: Provides content for participants who have been working in the content area and have a clear understanding of the issues. These cover and address the complexities involved in the work and involve synthesizing material to create new patterns or structures or evaluating material for a specific purpose.

Abstracts are the primary information used by our reviewers to evaluate your presentation and the primary information attendees use to determine which presentations they will attend. Abstracts should clearly convey the main information that will be presented. Abstracts should be at least 300 words and are limited to 500 words.

• Please note that the title should clearly indicate what is being presented, and the abstract should concisely describe the clinical impact of the information being presented
• Only provide titles and descriptions that can be supported by evidence. Including hyperbolic or exaggerated claims is NOT considered good practice.
• Titles should me no more than 20 words and/or 80 characters.
• Abstracts are the primary information attendees use to determine which presentations they will attend. Abstracts should clearly convey the main information that will be presented. The abstract and learning objectives are the primary information used by proposal reviewers to determine whether to accept or reject the presentation.
• Abstracts must be written in third person.
• Abstracts should be no less than 300 and no more than 500 words.

Learning objectives for ISSTD events must follow the guidelines for writing behavioral learning objectives based on the information linked below. Objectives should complete the sentence “Participants will be able to…” starting with a verb and should use only the acceptable verbs listed in the linked document, Writing Behavioral Learning Objectives.

Learn and Understand are not acceptable verbs for learning objectives.

Objectives should advise what the participant will be able to do once they have completed a conference session and should be measurable. Please make your objectives as detailed and specific as possible.

The below listed materials must be submitted three weeks before the virtual conference date: 

A Dropbox link will be provided to upload each of the following:

• These items are required no less than three weeks prior to the conference. Reminders will be sent about the submission of these materials with specific due dates. 
  • Powerpoint presentation folder
  • CE Questions folder for recorded presentations (guidelines on writing questions linked here, due two weeks before a webinar and three weeks before a conference)
    • Please see the CE Questions Guidelines for do’s and don’ts.
  • Full bibliography for all references used during the presentation. At least 5 references of these references must be from within the last five years from the date of the webinar and 75% of these references should be from peer-reviewed sources.

Please also note the following: 

• Case material and biographical information must be disguised so that the client’s identity is concealed.
• Presentations should be original contributions (i.e., they have not been published prior to the date that you submitted the abstract).
• Information not following these guidelines will require revision before publication of your conference presentation information and registration are posted.
• If you plan to use videos as part of your presentation, you must notify ISSTD staff at least three weeks prior to the event and must provide videos to us via Dropbox.
• If you have any questions about your submission, please email cfas@isst-d.org.

All submissions must declare whether the presentation has potential to cause audience distress (yes or no).

All submissions must include five citations from peer-reviewed journals from a variety of sources from the last 10 years in American Psychological Association style. 

• • Half of all references must be from the last five years from the date of your presentation. Books do not qualify as peer-reviewed sources and the citations cannot be authored by only the presenter. 
  • Click here for guidelines on APA style. 
  • Please pay close attention to this requirement, as this is the most frequent error received in submissions. 
  • Presenters may use additional citations in their final presentation that do not meet these requirements. 
    • These should be included in the presentation and referenced in a bibliography slide at the end of the presentation.

Submissions that fail to follow these guidelines for references may be rejected.

All presenters are required to submit a 200-300 word professional biography written in third person that MUST include the following information:

• Highest degree including type of degree, major, university and graduation year
• Professional work history
• Summary of publications (if applicable)
• Summary of training completed
• Involvement in ISSTD and other associations
• Awards and designations (if applicable)

Click here to view an example of a biography written following these guidelines.

CVs and photos of all presenters must be uploaded here for your submission to be complete: https://www.dropbox.com/request/BbYCeqgWmtQS0DPHBrFx