Student Essay Contest

Submit an original essay on the topic below for a chance to win $1,000 plus free attendance and/or hotel accommodations at the next ISTSS 24th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Nov. 13-15, 2008, with pre-meeting institutes held on Nov. 12. The first place essay will be reprinted in the ISTSS StressPoints.

Submission Deadline: July 1, 2008

ESSAY TOPIC
The American Psychiatric Association is moving toward issuing an updated version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, the DSM-V in 2011. There are several key issues in the field that the new DSM-V will attempt to grapple with, particularly as relevant to the field of traumatic stress.

Key issues include a variety of basic nomenclature issues, integrating new and emerging information from neuroscience research in the DSM-V classification system, reevaluating the relationship between mental disorder and disability, considering a dimensional approach to the classification of some disorders, and examining the importance of culture in psychopathology. Many of these issues are discussed in pre-planning DSM-V documents widely available through the web.

Along with the application, the essay should take the form a note from you to the APA DSM-V Committee. Your essay should:

• Focus on the one issue that you think is most important for DSM-V to address
• Explain why that is the most important issue
• Offer suggestions for how the DSM-V could improve upon DSM-IV to address this issue. 

CONTEST DETAILS

Prizes:

*Your combined registration, travel and/or accommodation expenses not to exceed $800

Eligibility: Submissions will be accepted from undergraduate, graduate-level students, or post-doctoral fellows enrolled in a formal training program (part-time or full-time) at the time of submission. Proof of enrollment in a training program required to be submitted coincident with essay submission.

Essay length: Essays must not exceed 1,000 words in length and must be original work, prepared by one author only.

Essay submission:
Submit application and essay directly to ISTSS Headquarters.

Deadline: All essays must be submitted by July 1, 2008, 5 p.m. EST.

Judging: Entries will be judged by a panel of professionals including journalists, researchers, and practitioners. 

Winners will be notified by e-mail by September 1, 2008.

Application to be submitted with your essay.

Last Updated: January 14, 2008