“…We must speak of us and our problems because our life, our existence, will always be riveted to death, love to loss, freedom to fear, and growth to separation. We are, all of us, in this together.” –Irvin D. Yalom 

Dear SAP Membership, 

I write to express my apologies for the delayed release of this combined super issue of the Psychotherapy Bulletin. In collaboration with the Division’s leadership, over the last year, the Editorial and Website teams have been working to develop a system for submission and publication that honors the demands placed upon Domain Representatives; however, we are still ironing out the kinks. This has involved reducing the number of yearly columns expected from each Domain. That said, we did not anticipate the variability that would emerge regarding the timing of when each representative might choose to submit. Accordingly, we did not have a full, substantive issue to release in June and we are strategizing as a group to prevent such a problem from happening again. We thank those who did contribute and want to acknowledge the value of your time and writing.  

The Division’s Domain Representatives and broader base of authors rallied for the September issue as you will see in this combined super 55-2/3 document. Unfortunately, the increase of submissions corresponded with the death of my mom and subsequent challenges on my part to balance my grief with my editorial responsibilities. I take the timely release of the Psychotherapy Bulletin very seriously and appreciate the kindness and support shown to me by colleagues in Division 29 as I took some space to celebrate my mom’s life and miss her presence. As Irvin Yalom speaks to in the introductory quote above, “We are, all of us, in this together.” While the loss of my mom certainly triggered my fears of isolation, I have since been reminded of the connection I feel in this community, which I know many of us experience as we read the work submitted by our diverse members. 

The Editorial Team wants to express that our intention for the remainder of this year is to produce a substantive and on-time December issue and to cultivate a strong identity as a publication under the leadership of new Publication Board Chair, Dr. Amy Ellis. We continue to seek contemporary perspectives on issues faced by practitioners, researchers, instructors, and activists. Submissions from the Division’s Domain Representatives are extremely valuable, and we have also worked to round out our content by soliciting pieces from different authors across the country and beyond. You will notice that in addition to our anticipated contributions from Dr. Jeffrey Barnett on Ethics, the International Domain, the Science and Scholarship Domain, and the Membership Domain, we also had four Features, which are pieces that we often correspond with outside authors about. We continue to consider ways to extend our reach as a Division and representing different voices and perspectives is one such way to do so.  

As you consider your final submission for the year, please know that we welcome columns of variable lengths and whose focus generally aligns with the following: “The Therapist of 2023: Reengaging with our Purpose and our Process.” Thank you in advance for your insightful approaches to writing about this theme and for the time and effort you invest into bridging the gaps between practice, research, and education through the Psychotherapy Bulletin. 

I personally extend my gratitude to each of you, especially the authors, for your patience and compassion as I grappled with my own humanity this summer and fall. I look forward to a productive and engaging final issue of 2023 and hope to see your work coming through our Wufoo submission portal soon (http://societyforpsychotherapy.org/bulletin-about/)! The final deadline for the year is listed as October 15, but for this issue, we will prioritize anything turned in by November 8th. Please reach out with questions to joanna.drinane@utah.edu. We look forward to learning from and with you through your work! 

Warmly, 

Joanna 

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Joanna M. Drinane, Ph.D.