Statutes of the “International Society of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy, ISTFP”

Preamble

Transference Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) is a psychoanalytic treatment for patients with borderline and other personality disorders. The Society is committed to the development, research, application, and dissemination of TFP.

§1 Name and Seat

(1) The non-profit Society bears the name “International Society of Transference-Focused Psychotherapy” (ISTFP).
(2) The Society has its seat in Vienna, Austria.
(3) The business year is the calendar year.

§2 Purposes of the Society

(1) Furthering the mental health care of patients with personality disorders.
(2) Increasing the understanding of the aetiology, diagnosis, and treatment of personality disorders.
(3) Furthering communication and cooperation among clinicians, researchers, and other professionals with an interest in personality disorders; supporting communication with patients and their relatives.
(4) Furthering teaching, application, supervision, dissemination, research, quality assurance, and further development of TFP as an empirically validated and manualized treatment for patients with borderline personality disorder and other personality disorders.
(5) To develop and assure standards in the teaching and practice of TFP as it continues to evolve.
(6) Fundraising for the accomplishment of the above mentioned tasks.

§ 3 Activities for the achievement of the Society’s purposes

(1) Continuous development of TFP and its various and potential applications.
(2) Organisation of regional, national and international training workshops and clinical and scientific conferences on TFP.
(3) Publishing and disseminating information about TFP for the professional community and the public.
(4) Ongoing refinement of TFP training.
(5) Certification of TFP trainers and supervisors.
(6) Development, translation, and evaluation of interviews and questionnaires for clinical and research purposes, including ratings of adherence and competence.
(7) Facilitating the coordination of joint research projects, and offering consultation for individual projects.
(8) Development and monitoring of policies regarding publications.
(9) Accreditation of national TFP organizations within the ISTFP.
(10) Furthering the dialogue among researchers, clinicians, and representatives of the national health care systems and other health care systems.

§4 Raising of funds

(1) The above purposes will be funded by:
a) Membership dues
b) Donations
c) Public and private funding
d) Fees for congresses, conferences, symposia, training workshops, and similar activities.

§5 Membership

(1) The Society recognizes:
a) Regular members
b) Honorary members
c) Honorary President

(2) Regular membership is open to natural persons who are
a) interested in the practice, development, study and teaching of TFP
and
b) academically and/or professionally occupied with diagnosis, treatment, research, or teaching in the field of personality disorders
and
c) in good standing regarding the ethical guidelines of their professional affiliation and/or organization.
Regular members have active and passive voting right in the General Assembly.

(3) Honorary members are elected by the General Assembly upon suggestion of the Executive Board. They are exempt from the membership dues, but have the same rights and responsibilities as regular members.
Honorary members have active and passive voting rights in the General Assembly.

(4) An Honorary President is elected by the General Assembly upon suggestion of the Executive Board. He/she is exempt from the membership dues, but has the same rights and responsibilities as regular members.
An Honorary President has active and passive voting rights in the General Assembly.

(5) Until September 10, 2011, all applicants for ISTFP membership who applied in written form to the Personality Disorders Institute, New York, will be considered for regular membership without necessarily having to meet the criteria mentioned above. The Executive Board shall have final decision in accepting these members.

(6) Applications for ISTFP membership after September 10, 2011 have to be sent in written form or email to the President of the ISTFP. The Executive Board makes the final decision about acceptance of applications with the simple majority of its voting members.

(7) Membership is terminated or suspended:
a) Upon the death of a member.
b) By sending written notification of termination to the President of the ISTFP. Yearly dues will not be refunded.
c) Expulsion or suspension, communicated in writing by the Society
-for non-payment of the membership dues for two consecutive years, following timely notification to the member by the Executive Officer,
-if a member acts contrary to the articles, the provisions or resolutions of the Society or unreasonably harms the Society,
-if a member engages in unethical conduct according to the code of ethics of the Society.
The termination or suspension of membership requires a 2/3 majority of the voting members of the Executive Board.

§6 Membership dues

(1) Membership dues are payable no later than the end of January of the respective year or within one month after joining the ISTFP. In the year of the founding membership dues are due immediately within one month the founding of the Society. Fees for financial transactions with the Society must be borne by the members.
(2) Dues are set by the Executive Board, and require a 2/3 majority of its members.
(3) Reduced fees will be established for students, Society members who are retired, and others, at the discretion of the Executive Board.

§7 Organs of the Society

(1) The organs of the ISTFP are:
1. the Executive Board
2. the General Assembly.

§8 Executive Board

(1) The Executive Board consists of at least ten persons:
a) President
b) Vice-President
c) Treasurer
d) Coordinator for training and certification issues
e) Coordinator for research and scientific issues
f) At least three members-at-large to provide representation for the general membership
g) Executive Officer: ex-officio, non-voting
h) Past President: belongs to the Board for two years after new President has been elected.

(2) The Society may be represented by the President or the Vice-President and one other elected member of the Executive Board at his or her choice. Such representations must be reported as soon as possible to the Executive Board for subsequent review.
Only the Treasurer is authorized to sign for the bank accounts of the Society. In the case he/she is unavailable this authorization is given to the Executive Officer.

(3) The Executive Board, apart from the Executive Officer, is elected for two years. Re-election is permitted.

(4) The Executive Officer is selected by the Executive Board with consideration of qualifications and local administrative resources and serves at the discretion of the Executive Board. The Executive Officer is a non-voting member of the Executive Board and is appointed for a period of two years. Re-appointment is possible.

(5) For the election of the Executive Board an elections officer shall be appointed by the Board. A majority vote in which all candidates as a complete slate with determined positions can be voted. If no complete slate is elected, the General Assembly votes with simple majority for each individual position. Votes may only be cast “for” a candidate, not “against.”

(6) If a member of the Board or a committee resigns, or recuses themselves in a particular issue, the Board or committee shall select a substitute member for the remaining period of office, or until the issue in question is resolved.

(7) Management of the Society and all of its finances are implemented by the Executive Board, insofar they are not assigned by the Statutes, or law, or Board decision to another organ or member of the Society. This includes, but is not limited to, the following tasks:
a) Decisions concerning activities to accomplish the purposes of the Society.
b) Decisions concerning acquisition and spending of the funds of the Society within the boundaries of its non-profit status.
c) The calling and preparation of the General Assembly and conferences/scientific meetings of the Society.
d) The preparation of the budget for each business year, income and expenditure calculation, and preparation of the annual report.
e) The acceptance, sanctions for unethical behaviour, and exclusion of members.

(8) The Executive Board designates, by simple majority vote, chairs, co-chairs, and membership of standing committees and assigns their tasks. It may create ad hoc committees and task forces for specific purposes. Standing committees are:
a) Research and Publication Committee
b) Training and Education Committee
c) Public Relations Committee
d) Ethics Committee
e) Adolescent TFP Committee
f) Inpatient TFP and Psychiatric Services Committee.
The President or his or her designee from within the Executive Board is an ex-officio voting member of all committees and task forces, except a possible Nominating Committee and the Ethics Committee. On the Ethics Committee the President may attend deliberations, but has no vote and shall engage in no fact finding activities.

(9) The Executive Board shall establish a Code of Ethics and an Implementing Procedure thereto, and shall periodically review these, modifying them as it deems appropriate.

(10) The Executive Board decides by simple majority vote; in case of a tie vote the President’s vote is decisive.

(11) Limited liability: the Executive Board is only liable for intentional misconduct and gross negligence.

§9 General Assembly

(1) The General Assembly is held biennially. Location and time of the next General Assembly are decided upon by the General Assembly.
(2) An extraordinary General Assembly may be called by the Executive Board, or by petition, presented in writing to the Executive Officer, signed by at least one-fifth of the members entitled to vote.
(3) The General Assembly in particular decides about:
a) Approval of the actions of the Board for the period of the report.
b) The election of the Board with the exception of the Executive Officer.
c) The approval of the proposed budget.
d) Election of two cash financial auditors, who are not members of the Board.
e) Changes of the statutes.
f) Dissolution of the Society and distribution of the assets of the Society in accordance with its non-profit status.
(4) The members are invited for the General Assembly by the Executive Board at least six weeks in advance. An agenda in written form is sent to the members together with the invitation. Until three weeks before the assembly every member can send written suggestions to the agenda to the Board. The Board informs the members not later than one week before the assembly about amendments to the agenda.
(5) The General Assembly is chaired by the President, in case of his or her absence the Vice-President chairs the assembly.
(6) Decisions of the General Assembly and/or committees are made by simple majority of the voting persons present, abstentions are not counted. Members who cannot be present in the General Assembly can apply in written or electronic form for an absentee ballot.
(7) Changes to the statutes require a 2/3 majority, changes to the purpose of the Society and its dissolution require a 3/4 majority. (“Majority” of voting members present plus absentee ballots.)

§10 Arbitration Panel

Arbitration of all conflicts within the Society will be conducted by an internal Arbitration Panel.
The Arbitration Panel will consist of three regular members of the Society, and shall be constituted in the following way: one of the parties involved in the conflict nominates, in writing, a member as arbitrator to the Executive Board. Within seven days the Executive Board calls on the other party to nominate a second arbitrator within 14 days. Within seven days the Executive Board calls on both arbitrators to nominate a third member, who will serve as chair of the Arbitration Panel. In case of a tie vote the decision between the nominees is made by drawing lots.
The quorum required for a decision by the Arbitration Panel is all of its members, none of whom may abstain; decisions require a simple majority. The Panel is to decide in good conscience; its decisions are binding within the Society.

§11 Dissolution of the Society

(1) The dissolution of the Society can only be decided upon by the General Assembly with the majority of votes mentioned in §9 (7). The Board is responsible for carrying out the dissolution.
(2) After dissolution the assets of the Society have to be allocated to a corporation according to public law or to another tax-deductible corporation for the purpose of supporting mental health activities. This decision requires the approval of the Austrian tax revenue office.

§12 ISTFP Language

For legal purposes only the official language of the ISTFP shall be German. The German-language version of these statutes shall be the official version.
Legal documents are prepared in German and English language. General communications within ISTFP are in English.