For Online Training and Supervision
(Revised September 25th, 2022)
Dear ISST Members and Trainees,
During the online ISST Board Meeting on September 25th 2022, the Board decided to extend the Period of Exceptions for Online Training and Supervision Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic through July 31st, 2023.
Please update the previous document issued on March 20th, 2022 to reflect this revision.
The ISST Board will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as needed.
Sincerely,
Takuji Natori, ISST President
Statement from ISST Board Regarding Online Training Hours
Revised September 25th 2022
In the following statement, the “Exception Period Due To the Covid-19 Pandemic” means the period from February 1st 2020 to July 31st 2023. (Note: The ISST Board will continue to monitor the impact of pandemic on our Member Societies. This period may be modified at the discretion of the ISST Board if the impact of the pandemic ceases or becomes significantly less serious earlier than July 31st 2023.)
ISST Exceptions Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic as of September 25th, 2022
1.Online Theoretical Learning
In addition to a limit of 20 hours of online theoretical training, which is permitted according to the ISST statutes, all hours of theoretical training carried out online during the Exception Period Due To the Covid-19 Pandemic (i.e. between February 1st, 2020 until July 31st, 2023) will be accepted.
The limit according to our existing statues is that up to 20 of the 100 hours of theoretical training may be acquired online, so applicants need to be sure to designate the dates of any online lectures, course, webinars, etc. on the Appendix D form of their application to be clear that it occurred during the Exception Period Due To the Covid-19 Pandemic (i.e. between February 1st, 2020 until July 31st, 2023).
2. Online Group Supervision
(1) According to existing ISST statutes, up to 50 hours of case supervision can be in groups. From that 50 hours, 24 of these hours may be online (providing they meet the other requirements for online group supervision.)
However, during the ISST approved Covid-19 pandemic exceptions period (the Exception Period Due To the Covid-19 Pandemic, i.e. between February 1st, 2020 until July 31st, 2023), up to 50 hours of group supervision online is acceptable – as long as they meet the existing approved criteria for online group supervision [Statement revised on September 26th, 2020].
(2) In recognition of restrictions imposed on in-person meetings and gatherings as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ISST Board has voted to allow the following exceptions regarding the limits of online training and group supervision hours for the Exception Period Due To the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Already established in-person supervision groups may transition to online meetings:
In-person supervision groups that were already established prior to February 1st, 2020 may transition to online meetings during the ISST Exception Period Due To the Covid-19 Pandemic (February 1st, 2020 – July 31st, 2023) as long as:
- Groups were already established and meeting on a regular basis prior to February 1st, 2020.
- Groups consist of the same ongoing members and supervisor.
- Online sessions are a minimum of two hours in length, with one person presenting case material per session.
- Throughout the course or duration of a group, group members present case material for supervision equal percentages of the total time.
- The limit of “No more than 4 group members” in the condition written in [Note 1] does not apply to this very exceptional case of online group supervision and the group remains the same both in-person and online. [Statement added on November 21st, 2020]
[Note 1] (Approved criteria):
- No more than 4 group members who meet regularly with the same supervisor
- Each group member presents case material
- One presentation per session is allowed with a minimum of two hours for each session
[Note 2]: In 2018 the ISST Board approved the following agreement: ISST strongly encourages the establishment of a face-to-face relationship with group members prior to beginning online group supervision. In cases where this is not realistic due to distance or cost, the supervisor may establish a relationship by meeting with each individual group member individually online prior to beginning online group supervision. This could be accomplished by conducting one or more sessions of individual online supervision, obtaining the CV with information about professional background, experience, sandplay training, etc. for the person being supervised. [Malta BM, 2018].
On Appendix D of the application form, applicants will need to be sure to designate the hours and dates of any online group supervision during the Exception Period Due To the Covid-19 Pandemic, i.e. between February 1st, 2020 until July 31st, 2023.
The ISST Board recognizes that the global Covid-19 pandemic is an evolving and unpredictable situation and will therefore continue to monitor the situation into 2023 and later and to consider further exceptions as necessary.
3. Online hours countable as a part of the requirements to become Teaching Member
During the Exception Period Due To the Covid-19 Pandemic, i.e. between February 1st, 2020 until July 31st, 2023, TM candidates are allowed to count online hours for up to half of the requirements for:
- co-supervision with an ISST TM – may be in online consultation groups* (i.e., one group supervision may be counted)
- co-teaching with an ISST TM – may be online workshop/meeting (i.e., half of teaching requirements may be given online)
*During the period of exceptions, any group** that meets the ISST criteria for exceptions can be a training group for TM training with the addition of a TM supervisor
**Group supervision may be as follows during the period of exceptions:
4 people to a group (not counting supervisor, co-supervisor), minimum 2 hours/session, no changes in membership, hours can be counted up to maximum allowed
New 4-person groups can be started during this period; strong preference to have met supervisor previously in person, other requirements as above.
up to 10 people who have been together in an in-person supervision group prior to the pandemic may continue to meet as a group online, minimum 2 hours/session, hours can be counted up to maximum allowed.
NOTE TO ADVISORS:
It is imperative that the candidate make clear the dates of the online group supervision to distinguish between those hours of group supervision that have been completed prior to the Exception Period Due To the Covid-19 Pandemic, i.e. between February 1st, 2020 until July 31st, 2023 (up to 24 hours) from those additional hours allowed according to the current exceptions to the ISST rules and regulations.
These hours need to be clearly stated on form Appendix D.
