#10 December 2011

A word from the President of EFTA

Dear EFTA Colleagues,

Many of us in the late 1960’s, may remember singing Bob Dylan’s “The Times they are a-Changin’”:

Come gather round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accpt it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you’d better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.

Now, after over 10 years into this new century, these lyrics are again relevant. In the midst of socioeconomic unpredictable developments, crises and imminent stress, we may ask: what are the processes that make it more likely that families overcome adversity and how do we as family therapists help families through these difficult periods?
In a world of individuation and a diminishing sense of belongingness, where does the future of our profession as family therapists lay? Will we become an endangered species, with family therapy being increasingly less applied to dealing with personal difficulties, taken over by pharmacology and less process-oriented approaches?
On the other hand, will we be able to remain open systems and change according to the needs of today’s families? To accept the varied contemporary family forms and structures and to facilitate both the well-being of the individual and the interrelations of family members? How will our theories and practices be affected by phenomena common today, such as migration, interculturalism and poverty?
The 2013 EFTA Conference in Istanbul, October 24th-27th, with its theme “Opportunities in a Time of Crisis: The Role of the Family”, promises to provide an opportunity to explore these questions. Special emphasis will be placed on understanding how we as family therapists may continue to learn and develop so as to keep pace with the changing times while holding on to concepts and processes that are still prove relevant and valuable. On how EFTA, our historically established organization, can once again connect to its founding roots as a network of professionals dedicated to changing social structures related to the field of psychotherapy while, at the same time, move forward in this new age of technological advancement and global socioeconomic crisis.

EFTA as an organization may also be seen as being in a process of creative transition. From it’s restructuring in 2001, when the 3 Chambers were established – CIM, TIC, and NFTO – EFTA went through a period where each chamber developed its autonomous goals and activities while acknowledging and respecting the processes of the other chambers. Now that each Chamber has developed a clearer identity and has put its purposes into active practice, it is an opportune time for effective interdependence and closer collaboration among the 3 Chambers to evolve.
The primary goal now is to bring EFTA as a whole to optimal levels of functioning that support our common mission, our membership sustainability and our growth.

A number of steps in this direction have been setout last year at the launching of my term as President, steps that are slowly, but steadily in the process of being realized: overall EFTA financial management, adoption of functional bye-laws, support of regional meetings throughout Europe, task groups for Interventions on Social Issues, and on Immigration and Marginalized Families.
EFTA is evolving a new collaboration aimed at promoting an organizational structure and process that will nurture its growth and creative differentiation.

I am grateful for the participation and cooperation in this process and for the range of views that keeps our conversations vibrant and authentic.

I call upon all of you as EFTA members to actively join in this process by submitting your comments, ideas and proposals.
Let’s envision how we can together make these times that are a-changing into emerging opportunities.

Looking forward to our further connection – please contact me directly at

Kyriaki Polychroni
President

Le mot de la Présidente d’EFTA

Dear EFTA Colleagues,

Many of us in the late 1960’s, may remember singing Bob Dylan’s “The Times they are a-Changin’”:

Come gather round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accpt it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you’d better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.

Now, after over 10 years into this new century, these lyrics are again relevant. In the midst of socioeconomic unpredictable developments, crises and imminent stress, we may ask: what are the processes that make it more likely that families overcome adversity and how do we as family therapists help families through these difficult periods?
In a world of individuation and a diminishing sense of belongingness, where does the future of our profession as family therapists lay? Will we become an endangered species, with family therapy being increasingly less applied to dealing with personal difficulties, taken over by pharmacology and less process-oriented approaches?
On the other hand, will we be able to remain open systems and change according to the needs of today’s families? To accept the varied contemporary family forms and structures and to facilitate both the well-being of the individual and the interrelations of family members? How will our theories and practices be affected by phenomena common today, such as migration, interculturalism and poverty?
The 2013 EFTA Conference in Istanbul, October 24th-27th, with its theme “Opportunities in a Time of Crisis: The Role of the Family”, promises to provide an opportunity to explore these questions. Special emphasis will be placed on understanding how we as family therapists may continue to learn and develop so as to keep pace with the changing times while holding on to concepts and processes that are still prove relevant and valuable. On how EFTA, our historically established organization, can once again connect to its founding roots as a network of professionals dedicated to changing social structures related to the field of psychotherapy while, at the same time, move forward in this new age of technological advancement and global socioeconomic crisis.

EFTA as an organization may also be seen as being in a process of creative transition. From it’s restructuring in 2001, when the 3 Chambers were established – CIM, TIC, and NFTO – EFTA went through a period where each chamber developed its autonomous goals and activities while acknowledging and respecting the processes of the other chambers. Now that each Chamber has developed a clearer identity and has put its purposes into active practice, it is an opportune time for effective interdependence and closer collaboration among the 3 Chambers to evolve.
The primary goal now is to bring EFTA as a whole to optimal levels of functioning that support our common mission, our membership sustainability and our growth.

A number of steps in this direction have been setout last year at the launching of my term as President, steps that are slowly, but steadily in the process of being realized: overall EFTA financial management, adoption of functional bye-laws, support of regional meetings throughout Europe, task groups for Interventions on Social Issues, and on Immigration and Marginalized Families.
EFTA is evolving a new collaboration aimed at promoting an organizational structure and process that will nurture its growth and creative differentiation.

I am grateful for the participation and cooperation in this process and for the range of views that keeps our conversations vibrant and authentic.

I call upon all of you as EFTA members to actively join in this process by submitting your comments, ideas and proposals.
Let’s envision how we can together make these times that are a-changing into emerging opportunities.

Looking forward to our further connection – please contact me directly at 

Kyriaki Polychroni
President

Announcement

2 New Sections

As of the New Year, the EFTA Website Newsletter will incorporate 2 new sections:
a. EFTA Community News
b. Once upon a time…

EFTA Community News

This section will publish news of EFTA’s membership – individuals, Institutes and National Federations.
Send us, at your personal updates (enclose a photo, if you wish) and/or information on professional activities and interesting developments in your area.
Through this circulation of information we hope to energize and further develop the interconnecting of our EFTA community.
We look forward to receiving you news!

Once upon a time…

Each of us has a story of how he/she first got involved in Family Therapy what good fortune struck and influenced the direction of our personal and professional development.
In this section, we invite you to share meaningful dimensions of your story with EFTA colleagues and to learn of related stories from your fellow members.

Let’s get together in the past and in the future by opening-up our “initial enlightening experience” to each other and to our interested students.
Send stories directly to .

News from EFTA’s Chambers

EFTA-CIM

Dear Members,

After the celebration of the EFTA’s 20th birthday in Paris, here is the 10th newsletter! We wish that this letter can be the link that gather us together and give us the pleasure of exchanging and sharing our practices and researches.
The Directory you received this year is also a tool designed to help us to keep in touch as much as we can. The EFTA-CIM website is increasingly consulted and used by people who are non-members. Those people wish to have more information about family therapy and the systemic approach. Some of them are also looking for family therapists coming from different areas. Sometimes, we receive critics but most of the time, people are after information regarding the psychotherapist status in the different European Countries.
By the way, this newsletter aims to report the few steps already taken but also all the difficulties EAP, in partnership with EFTA, had to face with the European Commission. And we also would like to thanks in this letter all the people who worked hard on this massive emerging project, especially Mony Elkaïm, Rodolfo de Bernart, Annick Lambert and Serge Ginger who passed away recently.
I take this opportunity to remind you that the therapists subscribe to the associations (such EAP, EFTA or NFTO’s) after having filled the requested criteria but those associations are not accrediting bodies.
Ten years ago, Juan Linares, belonging to EFTA-CIM launched a “passport” designated to help therapists and trainers to share easily information about their practices by inviting each others. So far, we realised that these exchanges never increased significantly whereas they are really essential. We are looking for a new ways to give a second breath to this “passport”. What about the creation of a EFTA-CIM’s internal social network (like Facebook)?
We would be pleased to receive comments and suggestions from you on www.eftacim.org (Contact).

Jacques Pluymaekers
Chair of EFTA-CIM

Chers membres,

Après les 20 ans de l’EFTA à Paris, voici la dixième newsletter ! Qu’elle soit ce lien qui nous réunit et qui nous donne du plaisir à échanger, à partager nos pratiques et nos recherches.
Le directory que vous avez reçu cette année est aussi un instrument dont nous espérons qu’il facilite les contacts entre nous. Le website d’EFTA-CIM est, lui, de plus en plus consulté et utilisé par des non-membres qui nous contactent pour se renseigner sur la thérapie familiale ou l’approche systémique. Certains cherchent un thérapeute familial dans d’autres régions que la leur. De temps à autre, une critique …et surtout beaucoup de questions sur le statut de psychothérapeute dans les différents pays de U.E.
A ce propos, cette Newsletter fait le point des petites avancées mais surtout des difficultés des démarches actuelles faites par l’EAP en collaboration, entre autres avec EFTA, auprès de la Commission Européenne. C’est pour moi l’occasion de remercier tous ceux qui se sont attelés à ce difficile chantier. Merci à Mony Elkaïm, à Rodolfo de Bernart, à Annick Lambert mais tout spécialement à Serge Ginger dont nous apprenons le décès ces derniers jours.
Rappelons ici que nos associations, que ce soit l’EAP, EFTA, les NFTO’s, sont des associations auxquelles les thérapeutes adhèrent après avoir satisfait aux critères exigés mais qui ne confèrent en rien une accréditation.
Avec Juan Linares, EFTA-CIM a lancé il y a dix ans le “passeport” pour permettre aux thérapeutes familiaux et aux formateurs d’échanger sur leurs pratiques par des invitations réciproques. A notre connaissance, ces échanges sont restés peu nombreux alors qu’ils sont d’une grande richesse. Nous sommes à la recherche de façons nouvelles pour faire vivre ce “passeport”… A quand un “facebook” interne à EFTA-CIM ?
Heureux de vos suggestions et de vos nouvelles sur www.eftacim.org rubrique : contact

Jacques Pluymaekers
Président d’EFTA-CIM

EFTA-TIC

In 2011, the membership of EFTA-TIC is as follows: Full members: 110 institutes, Associate Members: 13 institutes.
Total membership: 123 institutes in 29 countries. The names and contact details of the member institutes are available in the Membership Directory on the EFTA-TIC website (www.efta-tic.eu).
Since June 2008 eleven new full members have been accepted and nine new associate members. It is noteworthy that as a result of the revised Training Standards it appears that new members are likely to enter as Associates in the first instance while they develop their training programmes to meet the new criteria – i.e. a minimum of four years and 700-900 hours of specialised Family Therapy training.
Since January 2009 thirteen institutes have had their membership discontinued as a result of continued non-payment of annual fees. A formula for managing this procedure was agreed at the recent board meeting in Brussels. Institutes who fail to pay the fees for two consecutive years will be expelled after being given a warning. All cases will be considered by the Board.
Another important development is the decision of the EFTA-TIC board at their meeting in Florence in June 2011 to open membership to institutes from anywhere in the world. This was prompted by a series of enquiries and some applications from interested parties in regions outside or on the margins of Europe – e.g. Lebanon, Palestine, Canada and Ukraine amongst others. Rather than create new categories of membership it was agreed that applications from these regions would be treated in the same way as all others. If they meet the established criteria they will be admitted. None of these applications has been completed as yet.
Some of the enquiries received have been requests for accreditation of local training programmes or groups of trainers who are not formal institutes as such. These have been declined. EFTA has not, as yet, established itself as an accrediting body and such requests are referred to the relevant national family therapy organisation (NFTO) where such exists. Where there is not an established NFTO there is something of a vacuum. EFTA (-TIC) may have to find a way to respond to these scenarios.
A further emerging development is the request for visiting teachers and lecturers to make inputs to recently established training programmes. Such requests have arisen from Lithuania and Malta (see the separate input in this Newsletter) and this was mentioned at the recent Trainers’ Meeting in Brussels. This has always been a stated objective of EFTA-TIC and it may be that a more co-ordinated approach to sharing resources in this way can be initiated. If EFTA-TIC had a better developed infrastructure (including the website) it might be possible to respond more promptly and actively to these requests.
Financial matters continue to pose significant challenges. The treasurer, Michel Maestre, has established a bank account in Lille and all transactions are now handled by Michel. For many years this role was carried out by Rodolfo de Bernart and his colleagues in Florence. Many thanks to Rodolfo for all his work.
Some increased income is generated by the Trainers Meetings which take place in the two years between congresses.
The 2011 Trainers’ Meeting was held in Brussels from Sept 30th – Oct 2nd hosted by Edith Goldbeter and Mony Elkaïm of the Institut d’Etudes de la Famille et des Systèmes Humains. There were 26 presentations – 16 workshops and 10 oral presentations. This was a significant increase on the previous meeting. In total there were 92 participants from 23 countries representing 48 institutes.
Peter Stratton, Chair of EFTA Research Committee, gave a keynote presentation “Can we get our trainees more engaged with research? Is the only hope for the survival of systemic therapy?”
It is hoped to make some of the presentations available on the EFTA-TIC website. This is one example of how the website might be enhanced to make it more of a resource for trainers and students.
The 2012 Trainers’ Meeting will be hosted by the Institute for Marriage, Family and Systemic Practice in Skopje, (FYRO) Macedonia from Sept. 21st-23rd. Thanks to the director, Slavica Gajdadzis-Knezevik, for offering to act as host.

Phil Kearney,
Secretary EFTA-TIC Board

6th EFTA-TIC Meeting of Trainers in Brussels
A brief account of Experience
“As a first timer to the meeting I didn’t know what to expect…” Read more (PDF 84 Kb)
By Dr. Charlie Azzopardi, Malta

EFTA-NFTO

Annual Chamber Meeting in Florence
From 10-12th June 2011 the EFTA-NFTO chamber had its annual meeting in Florence. We would like to thank again our hosts from the Institute of Family Therapy of Florence who took very good care for us! National representatives from 15 European countries attended the meeting and created inspiring discussions.
The first day of the meeting we had our ritual of a warming-up experience: this was combined with a short exercise, how to make use of this method in our everyday practice working with families or couples. Our new president of EFTA Kyriaki Polychroni joined us to say a few words to the chamber, especially on the tasks of family therapists to use our movement facing the new problems in Europe. The board report followed including the report from the NFTO-Symposia on Paris conference. Of course financial issues were discussed as well, especially how to acquire money to keep alive the solidarity fund for poorer European countries.
Peter Stratton, head of the EFTA research committee gave his report on the development of the SCORE project all over Europe and even in Asia and answered our questions.
Continuing our discussions from recent annual meetings one main focus of the chamber meeting was on the subject of how family therapy and systemic practice can contribute knowledge to actual social processes in Europe. We believe that a network as the EFTA-NFTO chamber based on support and shared initiatives provides a means of generating systemic thinking not only to contribute to family therapy clinical practice but also as a means of influencing wider national debates about human systems, family policy and public health. Topics like migration, influence of and being influential through the mass media were discussed, as well as concrete experiences of some European countries successfully gaining influence on their parliaments through their national family therapy association.
These conversations are to be continued through a mailing list and will be reconsidered next year in our chamber meeting.
So please note and feel invited: The next NFTO Annual Meeting will be held from 15-17th June 2012 at the Diakonhjemmet Community College in Oslo, Norway.

On behalf of the EFTA-NFTO Board, Maria Borcsa, Chair, and David Amias, Secretary

News form EFTA Members

Malta

Developing Training
The idea of offering formal training in Malta cropped up from deprivation. We Maltese had no opportunity to learn systemic therapy formally and officialy in our own country. This meant that costs were normally high. I myself spent a fortune in tickets to and from London while doing my doctorate and my M.Sc. Such uncomfortable and costly situation pushed me to seriously think about setting up formal training… Read more (PDF 52 Kb)
By Dr. Charlie Azzopardi (IFT-Malta)

Research

Increasing the Research Involvement

At the board meeting in Florence, the EFTA Research Committee decided to explore the possibility of a meeting in London to bring together EFTA members who want to share and increase their research involvement. This event is organised on February 3, 2012 jointly with the Tavistock based Family Therapy and Systemic Research Center.
Professor Peter Stratton,
Chair, EFTA Research Committee
See the flyer

European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP)

EAP and Common Platform for Psychotherapists

Explanatory note by Mony Elkaïm and Annik Lambert concerning EAP undertaking the establishment of a Common Platform for Psychotherapists in the EU under Articles 15 of the Directive on Professional Qualifications (2005-36/EC)

Association Européenne de Psychothérapie (EAP) et Plateforme Commune pour Psychothérapeutes

Note explicative rédigée par Mony Elkaïm et Annik Lambert concernant l’engagement de l’EAP dans un projet de Plateforme Commune pour Psychothérapeutes au sein de l’Europe répondant aux critères de l’Article 15 de la Directive des Qualifications Professionnelles (2005/36/EC).

Papers and presentations from the 2010 Paris Congress

Magdalini AGRAFIOTI, Greece (Workshop)

The Application of the Systemic Approach in the School System
Download the document (PDF 92 Kb), the powerpoint presentation (PPT 6,2 Mb)

Luana CUNHA FERREIRA, Portugal (Brief communication)

Time, Intimacy and Sexual desire: Joint interviews with couples
Download the presentation in English (PDF 2,6 Mb)

Pierre DUTERTE, France (Atelier)

La thérapie familiale en situation extrême
Télécharger la présentation (PPT 2,5 Mo)

Pierre DUTERTE, France (Communication libre)

Thérapie familiale chez les mineurs isolés étrangers…? Une impossibilité, un paradoxe, une solution?
Télécharger le document en français (PDF 80 Ko)

Lena KRISTIANSEN, Toril REITAN, Norway (Workshop)

A narrative and systemic group approach for people facing a family crisis
Download the document in English (PDF 1,7 Mb)

Ana Maria VEDES, Wolfgang LIND, Portugal (Workshop)

Grounds and Tracks for the Promotion of Couples’ Satisfaction and Resilience in Portugal
Download the presentation in English (PDF 1,3 Mb)

Articles of EFTA Members in various languages

Becchis Emmanuela (Italia)

Adolescenza tra eccesso e assenza di “rete”. Articolo in italiano (PDF 316 Kb)

Simou Vicky (Greece)

Read the paper about Family Self-esteem in Greek (304 Kb), in English (PDF 80 Kb)

Simou Vicky (Greece)

Teenagers and Parent’s limits. Read the paper in English (PDF 56 kb)

Recent publications / Publications récentes

La Presencia de la Ausencia: Terapia con Familias y Fantasmas

Carlos E. Sluzki, Barcelona/Buenos Aires, Gedisa, 2011
A collection of real-life family therapy clinical cases where hard realities combines with fantastic realism.

Funérailles. Cérémonies sur mesure.

Jeltje GORDON-LENNOX, Editions Labor et Fides, 04/10/2011
Le deuxième d’une série de trois manuels pratiques, cet ouvrage est précédé par Mariages et sera suivi par un livre sur les cérémonies à la carte relatives à la naissance d’un enfant, le divorce et d’autres passages significatifs de la vie.
Plus d’informations

Palabras que permanecen, palabras por venir

Marcelo Pakman, Gedisa, 02/2011
Mas informaciones

Dans les coulisses du travail social. Risques psychosociaux en travail social

Josiane Marie Régi, Chronique Sociale, 10/2011
Plus d’informations

The Three person solution

Paul Ryan, Purdue University Press, 2009
More information

Témoignages sur le soin aux victimes de torture. Un centre parisien Parcours d’Exil

Pierre Duterte, in Revue Dynamiques Internationales n°5, 07/2011
Télécharger l’article

Red Balloon: Approaching Dreams as Self-Narratives

Article by Athena Androutsopoulou, in the Journal of Marital & Family Therapy
More information

Systeme: Interdisciplinary Journal for Systemic Research and Practice in the Human Sciences

Abstract of last issue (02/2011)

Obituary

Décès de Serge Ginger (France)

Serge Ginger est décédé le 1er novembre à l’âge de 83 ans.
Il était notamment le secrétaire général et fondateur de la Fédération Française de Psychothérapie et de Psychanalyse (FF2P). Il a été le porte-parole des psychothérapeutes pendant les négociations sur la loi concernant le titre de psychothérapeute.
Lire la présentation de Serge Ginger

Serge Ginger passed away

Serge Ginger passed away on November 1 at 83 years of age.
Ginger was General Secretary and founder of the French federation of Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis (FF2P). He was the spokesperson of the psychotherapists during the negotiations on the law concerning the title of psychotherapist in France.
In February 2011, he had been elected Honorary President of the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP).
To learn more about Serge Ginger

Calendar of events

Psychotherapy, Neurosciences and Culture (Marrakech)

The WCP Maghreb Machreq Chapter is organising the WCP World Regional Congress of Psychotherapy in Marrakech (Maroc) on March 29-30-31, 2012
This conference is organised under the auspices of WCP and in collaboration with the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP). It is an opportunity for psychotherapists from Africa, Europe and Middle East to share ideas about their practice on various topics.
www.wcpmarrakech.com

Re-Creating Connection in Couples: Attachment and Emotionally Focused Therapy (Athens)

The Athenian Institute of Anthropos is organizing a 2-day conference with world leading Couples’ Therapist, Sue Johnson, in Athens, Greece, on May 12th & 13th, 2012.
For more information, contact Kyriaki Polychroni ().

Children on the Edge: Cultural Dilemmas for Helping Professionals (Rome)

Accademia di Psicoterapia della Famiglia, in celebration of 20 years since it was established, is organizing its 2nd Festival of Family Therapy, in Rome, Italy, June 7th, 8th & 9th, 2012.
For more information click here.

Improving Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing in Europe (Spain)

Mejorando la Salud Mental y el Bienestar Emocional en Europa XVIII Congress of Psychotherapy in Valencia (Spain), 4-7 July 2012
Announcement in English and Español

For more information on those or other events

Refer to the Calendar of the EFTA website

Helping EFTA grow

• Encourage professionals, Training Institutes and National Federations you consider eligible to join. (Refer to the websites of the 3 Chambers for membership categories and criteria).

• Promote EFTA to students and trainees, supporting them to apply for associate membership.

• Set-up a group of therapists and students that will contribute ideas to the Organization Committee of the Congress in Istanbul – conjointly making this an interesting, meaningful event.

Contact us

For any contributions, comments,… Do not hesitate to contact us!

Pour toutes contributions, commentaires… N’hésitez pas à nous contacter!

President of EFTA: Kyriaki Polychroni
EFTA secretariat: Fabienne Dardenne