New president elect 2013-2015
At the board meeting in Lisbon on November 22nd 2012 Prof. Vedat Sar was elected president elect 2013-2015 with 8:6 votes. We thank Prof. Siri Thoresen for her candidature!
Vedat Sar is Professor of Psychiatry at Istanbul University Istanbul Medical Faculty. As clinician, teacher, an researcher, his main  interests have been in epidemiology, clinical exploration, and psychotherapy of lifelong psychiatric consequences of childhood traumas, complex PTSD, and dissociative disorders. Prof.Sar has been promoted by numerous honors due to his extensive publications on this area including David Caul Memorial, Morton Prince Scientific Achievement, and Cornelia Wilbur Awards. He is past president of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation and has been an international advisor to the APA DSM-5 Work Group. He is a member of the editorial boards of the European Journal of Psychotraumatology and the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation.
Here is what he says about his plans for ESTSS:
âAs incoming president, I am sensitive in particular about developing better ties between leadership of ESTSS and member and affiliate societies. This has become our burning need after having turned ESTSS to an âumbrellaâ society. We will also continue with the process of developing better contacts with eastern Europe (as a signal of our intention, our next conference after Bologna will be in Vilnius in 2015). These efforts require continuation of the improvements in ESTSS governance including better services of headquarters and enhancement of Board effectivity. More communication, nurturing convergance in knowledge, and mutual participation are key components of our mission. Members from various parts of Europe need to know more about practices and thoughts common in their fellow countries and cultures. We have two main grounds for this purpose: biannual conference and the European Journal of Psychotraumatology. It is time to intensify this ground by utilizing further tools of networking such as monthly memorandums covering news from the societies and ESST, and a clinical corner composed of comments of European experts on clinical issues and published research in our field.  ESTSS is yours and we need your thoughts and support to achieve our common goals. As my first action, I will organize the upcoming elections for the Board.  I am planning to ask Presidents of the national societies about their candidates. I am sure that we will be able to secure a balanced representation and to gather a productive group of members simultaneouslyâ
