ISITDBT 2013 News!

Good news from ISITDBT 2013. Hot off the presses.

As many of you know, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT) is the source of our room availability for our ISITDBT Conference space each year. Mary Ellen Brown at ABCT has been a wonderful supporter of our efforts each year and she grants us as much space as she possibly can spare from the other ABCT events that are ongoing on ABCT Thursday.  I have just heard back this morning from Mary Ellen about what she is able to provide for ISITDBT for 2013.

My hopes have come true that an ISITDBT Conference that is occurring in the “wider”, “opener” spaces of Nashville, TN would result in greater room availability for ISITDBT 2013!

• During years when we have a few rooms with which to work, our workshops must maintain a broad appeal across DBT practitioners.  This scenario has been the ISITDBT scenario for the past several years.

• During prior years when we have a greater number of smaller separate spaces, we have had the options for more “niche” workshops, where there are workshops on topics relevant to specific target populations, adaptations of DBT, etc.

This year, we have the best of both worlds. We have two larger rooms and several smaller rooms.  Therefore, I can truly open the door for workshop submissions of all kinds and will allow the Program Committee greater flexibility of options as we plan out our 2013 ISITDBT Program.

Since the last few years have not afforded us the options for smaller workshops (e.g., workshops from 30 to 50 people), people may not have been thinking along those lines.  As such, I am extending the Workshop Submission date and the Research Submission date to June 15, 2013 this year.  Submissions should be sent to isit@isitdbt.net

We still do have other budgetary and logistical constraints, so we will have to “crunch the numbers” after we see what the DBT community may propose to do for this year’s ISITDBT workshops.  We are excited that we can start with a wider net this year.

• Workshops. Workshops will be 90-105 minutes in length and should advance a participant’s knowledge of DBT. As noted above, both “broad spectrum DBT” and “niche DBT” workshops submissions will be accepted, although quality submissions will be the main variable used for workshop selection. Experiential components are encouraged for all workshops. Submissions should include a workshop title, list of presenters and affiliations, 3 learning objectives, and abstract. In addition, please specify whether material will be geared to one of three levels: basic (will be useful to all participants), novice (useful to individuals who are relatively new to DBT), or intermediate (requires a moderate degree of familiarity with DBT). Submissions should be no more than 1 page in length.

• Research Papers. As in previous years, we will have a research panel in which individuals will present new data on DBT and DBT-informed studies. Appropriate studies include: randomized clinical trials, pilot trials of an adaptation or novel use of DBT, or basic studies on DBT-relevant topics such as emotion regulation, borderline personality disorder, suicidal behavior, and/or team or therapist behaviors. Submissions should include a title, list of authors and affiliations, and an abstract and should not exceed one page in length.