Fair Access and Transparency in ISST Accreditation

Petition addressed to: ISST Board

To: The Board and Certification Coordinators of the International Society of Schema Therapy — ISST

Subject: Accreditation procedures, ethical standards, and transparency in ISST’s activities in Poland and internationally.

We wish to clearly emphasize that this petition is not directed against trainers, supervisors, or directors of accredited training programs in Poland as a group. We appreciate the contribution of many individuals who have developed schema therapy over the years, trained therapists, and supported high standards of clinical practice. This petition concerns, above all, the transparency of procedures, the predictability of decisions, equal access to professional development pathways, and safeguards against potential conflicts of interest. We believe that clear rules serve everyone: candidates, trainers, supervisors, training programs, ISST, and, most importantly, patients.

1. Immediate unblocking of accreditation processes

We respectfully request that accreditation processes for ISST trainers and supervisors in Poland be unblocked. We also request that the fast-track supervisor pathway be reopened. At present, the processing of accreditation applications has been taking more than seven months, without any indication of the expected timeframe for a decision. The processing of certification has been taking five months. According to information published by ISST and previous practice, this process should take two months. ISST is subject to German law on associations and should define the timeframe for processing applications. Prolonged processing without a predictable decision date raises serious concerns from the perspective of transparency, equal treatment of members, and good governance within the association.

2. Ensuring the genuine independence of the Ethics Committee and conflict-resolution mechanisms

We request the establishment of a supervisory body — an Ethics Committee — operating independently of the Board. As an international psychotherapy organization, ISST has a moral and statutory obligation to provide impartial oversight mechanisms that protect professional standards and relationships within the community. We ask ISST to clarify how such a committee would operate independently of the Board in matters concerning Board members, office holders, trainers, supervisors, and potential conflicts of interest.

3. Transparency of the certification and career pathway

We request the establishment of clear, readable, and publicly available procedures regarding career pathways within ISST.

There are cases in which supervisors and trainers are not accepted as assistants in training programs and must assist in other countries in order to obtain a recommendation. Such practices undermine the principle of equal access to professional development and may be interpreted as an attempt to restrict competition. This results in a lack of transparent safeguards against situations in which individuals running competing training programs may have influence over the processing of other trainers’ applications.

We have received reports suggesting that, in practice, the pathway toward supervisor, trainer, or training program director status may depend not only on meeting formal professional criteria, but also on access to informal recommendations, opportunities to assist in specific training programs, or relationships with individuals running existing programs.

We do not presume the intentions of any individual or institution. However, the absence of clear and publicly available rules in this area may lead to a sense of arbitrariness, unequal treatment, and restricted access to professional development.

4. Introducing safeguards against conflicts of interest

We request the introduction of clear safeguards against conflicts of interest, particularly in situations where individuals involved in assessing or recommending applications run their own training courses, supervision services, or programs that may be in competition with those of the applicants, or where such individuals are members of the Board responsible for accreditation decisions.

5. Preventing monopolization and excessive commercialization of therapy

Schema Therapy is a therapeutic approach created to help people suffering from mental disorders. It should be a common good of patients and therapists, rather than “a gold mine to which we will not let anyone else in.” Schema therapy should primarily be about helping people, not about subordinating the training mission to economic interests.