International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation

What International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation does

The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD) is a US-based nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 1989 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It serves licensed mental health professionals — psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, mental health counselors, and accredited psychotherapists — along with graduate students, researchers, and academic institutions working in the specialized field of complex trauma and dissociative disorders. Its stated purpose is to advance clinical, scientific, and societal understanding of chronic trauma and dissociation.

ISSTD's product portfolio centers on a four-level Professional Training Program (PTP) delivered as live online teleseminars, an ASCH-approved Clinical Hypnosis Training (Level I and Level II), a Certificate Program leading to a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Trauma & Dissociation, an Annual Conference, and a year-round Webinar series (sold individually or via an annual Webinar Pass). It publishes the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation (via Taylor & Francis) and the open-access Frontiers in the Psychotherapy of Trauma & Dissociation, and distributes free public fact sheets and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II). The technology stack is built on third-party platforms: EthosCE for the Center for Advanced Studies learning management system and Higher Logic for the ISSTDWorld member community platform.

ISSTD generates revenue primarily through individual and organizational membership dues, multi-level training course fees (PTP Level I $799 member / $899 non-member through Level IV $449 / $499), tiered conference and webinar registration, and continuing education add-on fees. Its competitive position rests on accreditations from APA, ASWB (ACE #1744, 2024–2027), ACCME (joint with PeerPoint), ASCH, and EMDRIA, plus a global faculty spanning North America, Europe, and Asia and strategic partnerships with McLean Hospital, Silver Hill Hospital, Boston University School of Social Work, and Trauma & Beyond.

Name

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation

Legal name

International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation

Website

https://isst-d.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ISSTD is a US-based nonprofit professional membership society, founded in 1989, that delivers accredited training, conferences, webinars, and publications in complex trauma and dissociative disorders to licensed mental health professionals worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health Professional Education and Association Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Staff Training, Coaching & Professional Development (SEL/Mental Health) (EDAKAMAL)

Keywords

• Trauma and dissociation research
• Mental health professional training
• Clinical hypnosis certification
• Psychotherapy continuing education
• Professional membership society

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Membership: Annual membership fees for mental health professionals including access to member-only resources, ISSTDWorld platform, reduced fees for training and conferences, and eligibility for ISSTD Fellows recognition.
2. Organizational Membership: Institutional/organizational membership tiers for organizations supporting trauma and dissociation professionals.
3. Professional Training Program Fees: Multi-level training courses including Level I ($799 member/$899 non-member), Level II ($1099/$1199), Level III ($699/$749), and Master Seminar ($449/$499). Fees include CE credits.
4. ASCH Clinical Hypnosis Training: ASCH-approved training in clinical hypnosis with trauma-informed approach. Level I and Level II training sessions with separate registration fees.
5. Annual Conference Registration: Conference registration with tiered pricing: Early Bird (Oct 31 - Dec 15), Regular (Dec 16 - Jan 31), Late (Feb 1 - March 7), and Onsite registration. Includes CE/CME credits for additional fee.
6. 2026 Webinar Pass: Annual webinar pass providing access to all live webinars in 2026 plus full library of recordings. ISSTD Member $249, Non-Member $349. Mini Webinar Pass also available at $99 for 4 webinars.
7. Publications and Resources: Sale or access to publications including the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation (published by Taylor & Francis) and Frontiers in the Psychotherapy of Trauma & Dissociation open-access journal.
8. Continuing Education Credits: CE/CME credits sold separately for additional fee during training and conferences. APA credits, ASWB ACE credits, and AMA PRA Category 1 Credits available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation is a nonprofit professional membership organization that delivers education, clinical training, scientific research publication, and professional credentialing to mental health practitioners specializing in trauma and dissociation. Its core paid offerings include a multi-year Professional Training Program, ASCH-approved Clinical Hypnosis training, an annual international conference, a continuing-education webinar series, and peer-reviewed journals and books.

Product overview

ISSTD offers a portfolio of professional education and training products for mental health professionals in trauma and dissociation. The core offerings include the multi-level Professional Training Program (PTP) and ASCH-Approved Clinical Hypnosis Training for in-depth certification, supplemented by an Annual Conference and Live Webinars (available individually or via annual Webinar Pass subscription). The organization publishes two journals (Journal of Trauma & Dissociation and Frontiers open-access journal) and provides public educational resources including fact sheets and public webinars. All programs offer continuing education credits (APA, ASWB ACE, CME, EMDRIA, ASCH). The Certificate Program allows professionals to earn credits toward the ISSTD Certificate of Advanced Studies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ISSTD Center for Advanced Studies: Training and education division providing professional training programs, webinars, and certificate programs for mental health professionals.
• ISSTDWorld
• Frontiers in the Psychotherapy of Trauma & Dissociation

Products and services

• Professional Training Program (PTP) Multi-year structured clinical training program that prepares licensed mental health clinicians to assess and treat dissociative disorders, with required coursework, supervision, and mentored clinical practice.
• Clinical Hypnosis Training (ASCH-approved) Curriculum in clinical hypnosis aligned with American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH) standards, designed for clinicians integrating hypnosis into trauma and dissociation treatment.
• Annual International Conference on Trauma and Dissociation Annual multi-day international conference delivering keynote presentations, workshops, scientific symposia, and networking for trauma and dissociation clinicians and researchers.
• Continuing Education Webinar Series Live and on-demand webinars providing CE-eligible instruction on trauma, dissociation, and related clinical topics for licensed mental health professionals.
• Journal of Trauma & Dissociation Peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original research, reviews, and clinical reports on trauma and dissociation, available in print and digital editions to members and institutional subscribers.
• ISSTD Membership (Individual and Institutional) Recurring membership product with individual and institutional tiers that grants access to the Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, the member directory, member rates on training and conferences, and member-only professional resources.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40 years of advancing the field of trauma and dissociation
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• McLeancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMcLean is listed as a partner organization committed to advancing research, treatment, and education in mental health and human well-being. McLean Hospital is a psychiatric hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
• Trauma & BeyondcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrauma & Beyond is listed as a partner organization dedicated to advancing research, treatment, and education in mental health and human well-being in collaboration with ISSTD.
• Silver Hill HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilver Hill Hospital is listed as a partner organization committed to advancing research, treatment, and education in mental health and human well-being.
• Boston University School of Social WorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoston University School of Social Work is listed as a partner organization dedicated to advancing research, treatment, and education in mental health and human well-being.
• An Infinite MindminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn Infinite Mind co-presents the annual DID Awareness Day webinar series with ISSTD, providing public education resources for people with dissociative disorders.
• Beauty After BruisesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBeauty After Bruises co-presents the annual DID Awareness Day webinar series with ISSTD, providing public education resources for people with dissociative disorders.
• Blue Knot FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue Knot Foundation co-presents the annual DID Awareness Day webinar series with ISSTD, providing public education resources for people with dissociative disorders.
• System SpeakminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSystem Speak co-presents the annual DID Awareness Day webinar series with ISSTD, providing public education resources for people with dissociative disorders.
• PeerPoint Medical Education InstitutecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPeerPoint Medical Education Institute is the joint provester of CME credits for ISSTD Annual Conference. PeerPoint is accredited by ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians and designates AMA PRA Category 1 Credits for ISSTD conferences.
• Higher LogiccoreTechnology or IntegrationHigher Logic provides the community platform technology powering ISSTDWorld, the member community website featuring discussion posts, library entries, and event management capabilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• American Society of Clinical Hypnosis: Provides ASCH-approved clinical hypnosis training that ISSTD co-delivers; ASCH certifies the training ISSTD markets, making it both a content partner and a comparable professional society offering accredited training, certification, and conferences to mental health professionals.
• International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies: The most direct peer: another international professional society focused on traumatic stress, with overlapping membership (clinicians and researchers treating trauma), conferences, journals, and continuing education programs — directly competing for the same trauma-specialist audience.
• European Society for Trauma and Dissociation: The European counterpart organization focused on the same trauma and dissociation niche, offering conferences, training, and journals for clinicians across Europe — directly comparable in mission, programming, and member base.
• EMDR International Association: A direct peer in trauma-focused professional education: EMDRIA offers EMDR training, accreditation, and continuing education credits to the same clinician audience, with overlapping conference programming and CE credit offerings including EMDRIA-approved sessions at ISSTD.

Emerging players

• NICABM (National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine): Online continuing education platform for mental health practitioners offering trauma-focused courses, webinars, and certificates; comparable online training format and clinician target market, with a broader behavioral medicine portfolio.
• Trauma-Informed Care in Organizations (TIO): Emerging training and consulting organizations focused on trauma-informed practices across health, education, and social services; they broaden trauma-informed training beyond specialist clinicians into generalist workforces, adjacent to ISSTD's specialist niche.

Broad incumbents

• National Association of Social Workers: The broad professional association for social workers, whose members are also a primary ISSTD customer segment; ASWB (its continuing education affiliate) accredits ISSTD, and the two compete for continuing education spend from licensed social workers.
• American Psychological Association: The broad incumbent professional association for psychologists; APA accredits ISSTD as a CE sponsor and serves a far larger but less specialized membership, competing for the same clinician attention with generalist continuing education and publications.
• PESI (Psychology Education and Seminars Institute): A large for-profit continuing education provider offering accredited seminars, webinars, and online courses to mental health professionals; competes with ISSTD for CE credit spending across a much broader catalog of clinical topics.

Regional players

• Blue Knot Foundation: Australia's national center of excellence for trauma-informed practice and complex trauma, co-presenting the annual DID Awareness Day webinars with ISSTD; comparable training, publications, and clinician membership focus, but primarily serving the Australian/Asia-Pacific region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ISSTD
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/10279747/admin/feed/posts
• Instagraminstagram.com/isstd_hq
• Xx.com/ISSTD

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation