16th Annual CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Conference

Call for Abstracts

June 19th – 22nd, 2011 in Gatineau, Canada

This year’s theme is: Evidence-Based Clinical Applications of Information Technology

This year the Interactive Media Institute (IMI) and Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO) are organizing the 16th Annual CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy Conference (CT16), the official conference of the International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, & Rehabilitation (iACToR). IMI and UQO are proud to announce the first call for abstracts CT16. The abstract submission deadline is January 15th, 2011. In addition to two and a half days of scientific presentations, a full day of new pre-conference workshops will be held, presenting several hands-on tutorials. Once again, there will also be exhibits and an interactive Cyberarium held as part of the conference, where attendees will be able to try the latest simulations and discuss possible collaborations. In addition, several funding agency representatives, policymakers, and industrial partners will be given the unique opportunity to experience first-hand the latest technologies and speak one-on-one with the scientists. The conference will seek input from a wide segment of the scientific community, and is interested in attracting experts in clinical therapy and rehabilitation, cognitive sciences, neurosciences, social sciences, and computer sciences.

Conference website: http://www.interactivemediainstitute.com/CT16

Preconference Workshops: June 19th, 2011
Conference: June 20th – 22nd, 2011, Gatineau (Canada)
Cyberarium: June 21st, 2011

Submission and Registration Deadlines:

• January 15th, 2011: Abstract submission for posters, orals and symposiums.
• February 15th, 2011: Notification of acceptation/rejection of abstract.
• March 15th, 2011: Full Paper/Presenter Requirements, Faculty Disclosure Form and Presenter Agreement Form, Oral presenter 2-page CV
• May 1st, 2011: Early pre-registration (see web site for details).
• May 20th, 2011: Hotel reservation at conference rate.
• June 1st, 2011: Late registration.

To submit your abstract, register for the conference or obtain additional information, please visit the CT16 website at http://www.interactivemediainstitute.com/CT16. Note that abstracts will be published in a regular issue of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking (indexed in MedLine and PsychInfo).

SCOPE:

CT16 will explore the uses of the following technologies in the diagnosis, assessment, prevention and treatment mental and physical disorders:

• Virtual reality simulations
• Videogames
• Telehealth
• Video-conferencing
• The Internet
• Robotics
• Brain computer interfaces
• Wearable computing
• Non-invasive physiological monitoring devices

In addition, the Conference will address the use of interactive media in training, education, rehabilitation, and innovative interventions. Attention will also be given to how new technologies such as Twitter and Facebook are influencing behavior and society through cyberadvertising, cyberfashion, and cyberstalking, to name a few.

LOCATION:

This year, CT16 will be held at the Université du Québec en Outaouais in Gatineau (http://www.uqo.ca). It is centrally located downtown Gatineau, few kilometres from downtown Ottawa (Capital of Canada). The UQO is in close proximity to Parliament Hill, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Casino du Lac Leamy, and all major tourist attractions. The famous Gatineau Hills, the “Route Verte” bikeway network and the University du Quebec en Outaouais are just minutes away. For more information you can contact the local coordinator at: [email protected].

A limited number of rooms are available at the Four Point Hotel, close to the conference venue (http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/Book/cyber0618) at a special convention rate and will be sold on first-come, fist-served basis until May 20th, 2011. The discounted rate for a standard bedroom starts at 129 $ (Canadian $, plus taxes) per night. Reservations are accepted by email or by phone (directly at the hotel) at 1-888-627-627-8089 in the US and Canada, or at 001-819-778-6111 for outside Canada and the US. You can also make reservations through their website (see the link above) or by e-mail at: [email protected]. Please inform them that you are attending the CyberTherapy 2011 Conference to benefit from the conference rate. Reserve early! Rooms are also available on campus (university residence). Check the Conference website for details.

You may also contact the Conference Coordinator, James Cullen, at [email protected] for questions and inquiries about this year’s conference.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS:

Interactive Media Institute (San Diego, CA & Brussels, Belgium); Université du Québec en Outaouais (Gatineau, Canada)

SPONSORS:

European Commission Information Society and Media
Interactive Media Institute
Istituto Auxologico Italiano
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Virtual Reality Medical Center
Virtual Reality Medical Institute
Universite du Quebec en Outaouais 

Also note that:

1. The full conference, as well as pre-conference workshops, are approved for Continuing Education Credits through the American Psychological Association. The workshop’s format is new this year. Four types of workshop will be presented this year and will last 90 minutes to three hours (see the Conference website for details).
   a) General introduction. Duration: 3 hours. The goal is to provide a wide coverage of information for people who are new to the field of VR. Such a workshop is mostly based on presenting concepts and data. They will introduce key information and vocabulary about the hardware, presence, cybersickness, etc.
   b) Treatment manuals. Duration: 90 minutes, except for PTSD given the complexity of this disorder. Their goal is to demonstrate practical skills on how to use VR according to the treatment manuals used in various outcome studies. They will be very focused on the relevant disorder (e.g., social anxiety, fear of flying, addictions). These workshops are devoted to demonstrating how to apply the therapeutic skills with VR.
   c) Using VR in clinical application. Duration: 90 minutes. Their goal is to show how to use VR in assessment or brief interventions. As opposed to Treatment applications, there is no treatment manual to teach and the focus will be on demonstrating how to use the technology for assessing and interpreting data, or on how to apply it to specific problems (e.g., VR in physical and occupational therapy).
   d) Hands-on technological applications. Duration: 90 minutes. Their goal is to teach practical skills on how to use technologies that are growing within the field of cybertherapy and requires a specific set of skills (e.g., eye tracking). Although relevant empirical studies will be presented, the focus will be less on clinical disorders and more on handling the hardware and software
2. There will be 2 ”Young Minds Research Awards” given for best student scientific merit at CT16, both in the amount of $500 each. These awards showcase outstanding achievements in student poster submissions at CT16 and are presented to those projects judged to have the greatest potential to contribute to the innovative field of cyberpsychology, cybertherapy, training, & rehabilitation. These awards are annually sponsored by the Virtual Reality Medical Institute and Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
3. There will be a New Investigator Award in the field of VR CRC-Clinical Cyberpsychology given at CT11, for the presentation of outstanding research quality at the 2011 Conference. The aim of this prize is to reward the presentation of strong methodological studies at the CyberTherapy conference. The recipient must be a researcher who is new to the field of cyberpsychology. It is open to both oral and poster presentations and to researchers from all countries and disciplines. The award is delivered by Stephane Bouchard, Chairholder of the Canada Research Chair in Clinical Cyberpsychology. It includes a certificate and a check of 1 000 $ US. If you have any question about this award, please contact Stephane Bouchard by e-mail ([email protected]).
4. Lastly, to celebrate more than a decade of exciting advances in cybertherapy as well as the growth of the CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy conference itself, we are proud to announce the 7^th Annual CyberTherapy Lifetime Achievement Award. This award has a tradition of honoring a person who has demonstrated outstanding lifetime achievements in the fields of advanced technologies and healthcare. All members of the CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy Conference program committee are invited to nominate one of their colleagues as a recipient of this award, which promises to honor a long line of esteemed researchers.

Submit your abstract today to be a part of this groundbreaking conference! We would be truly honored by your participation.

Sincerely,

Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCIA
Interactive Media Institute

Stéphane Bouchard, Ph.D.
Université du Québec en Outaouais

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