valued by other Isle of Wight professionals interested in systemic ideas as they off er a safe place to talk, think and be enriched. Last year saw the start of a reading group, with the aim to continue


to embed and infl uence our practice by a sound systemic theoretical background and evolving ideas in the wider systemic community. High demands on time have brought the reading group to a pause, a virtual group aſt er summer may be a more sustainable format... T e branch supervision group has now been running for over


two years and is very appreciated for being benefi cial for diff erent reasons: supervisees from diverse backgrounds have an additional opportunity to talk and refl ect about their work, clients benefi t from our widened perspectives. T e generosity of the supervisor allows us to receive the very reasonable supervision fees, which contribute to the cost of organising small events to promote systemic thinking in our community.


Derbyshire AFT


Chair report July 2019 to 2020 Dear branch commit ee and other groups reading this end of


year report. Every year it is my most sincere gratitude what I try to


communicate for all those involved in branch events, meetings, workshops. 2019 to 2020 has been eventful, especially the last half,


however, I would like to remember this period for the great connections and activities that we have had the pleasure to achieve, via our events. T e commit ee has had an experience that I would compare to


“Family Life Cycle”, some members have changed their positions in relation to work, geography, retirement and so we have said goodbye to Gary Robinson whom in my view is one of the founders and most infl uential member we have had. Michael Napthine also has had changes that meant he is not an active member of the commit ee and we hope both Gary and Michael can join us in future events. Also Julie Barber, my favourite co-sofa, co-chair has made some life choices and I wish her the very best. It has been so much more comfortable when we were sharing the chair. T ank you Julie for all your enthusiasm and support. You have all brought a great sharing of ideas – thank you all so much. On the other hand, we had a boost of energy with new


members joining. I am so pleased to welcome Nicola Herring, Julie Hamisi, and Karen Daniel. I can imagine they will bring a wealth of systemic ideas and I am excited for the future workshops they may share with the larger group. From a systemic perspective, it is well known that we pay at ention


to the context around us. T is year, the health pandemic aff ecting us all has shaped our practice, our work environment, the methods we are using to continue supporting families and individuals, the way we carry out supervision and of course the learning provision. We are trying to explore new ways to share our forum for


connecting systemic thinkers and to continue to share best practice, original ideas, old ideas revisited. T e dilemma is: “how best to do this?”. We have Microsoſt Teams, Zoom meetings, YouTube accounts, Facebook pages, and let’s not forget … conference rooms. I hope you still can remember when we were meeting in a room all together. T is challenge is our focus. How to continue to share ideas. If


those reading this report have ideas that are tried, tested and work, please share these with us. Digital media is the strength for some of us, not for all of us.


Context 170, August 2020


Looking back at those social meetings in 2019-2020, I would


like to thank all those that presented their ideas and shared their practice and also those that took time to at end the events. It is so rewarding to read the feedback from those at ending, it really helps us to shape events, from the simple choices of whether to provide refreshments to the ideas you would like to hear about in our events. T ank you all for your support. T is last year, in July 2019 we heard from Christian Elliot , Helen


Dunning and Ben Squires who shared ideas on practice with non- violent resistance (NVR). In September 2019, Laura Hayward, Tim Siggs and Clarie Lee shared ideas on facilitating refl ective supervision groups for staff . In November 2019 we had a very informative, refl ective day with Amanda Middleton, a systemic trainer and therapist based in London, considering sexual diversity in our practice and how to have these conversations with families and professionals. It was a whole-day event. T e feedback on the day was fantastic. In December 2019, I tried to share my experience developing support for families of adult substance misuse clients in rural areas. T is project was infl uenced by previous workshops in ‘non-violent resistance’ and ‘community rehabilitation and family training’. In February, Jeanet e T omson and Claire Lee facilitated an experiential workshop on self- care for professionals, which is so important for all practitioners in the current context, if, for example, working in isolation. What will the future bring? How can we reach out to you the


ideas we are working with and developing? Let’s keep in touch and watch this space for potential virtual or social events. Our website is possibly a reliable space to check next events. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus we had to postpone


the May 2020 conference. John Burnham and Hilary Howell had planned to present on Supervision: Finding a fi t. At this stage, we are planning to rearrange this for May 2021. In our aim to share systemic ideas, we continue to work


with T e University of Derby, where there is ongoing training for diff erent levels of systemic training, and Derbyshire Health Care Foundation Trust and the Association for Family T erapy UK. T ank you to all the members of the commit ee for your continuing support in all circumstances. You are great professionals and I look forward to keep working together to share ideas and promote systemic practice.


Montserrat Gomez Presedo, chair Substance misuse practitioner and family therapist


AFT secretary report I had not anticipated that when I fi rst joined the commit ee


that I would end up becoming secretary and that I would take over this role from the legendary Gary Robinson. Although I am still fi nding my feet and sometimes need to be reminded of the diff erent tasks that needed to be completed as secretary (such as writing this report for the AGM) I am also incredibly proud and grateful for the opportunity to be part of the branch and for how welcoming, inspiring and supportive the commit ee has been. I really value the sharing of ideas, the richness of people’s experiences and the opportunity to explore and learn more about systemic thinking and practice. It is also lovely to be part of such a supportive community and collaborate on diff erent projects. One example of this was when a commit ee member raised a problem and other members instantly off ered support, diff erent ideas and possible solutions and really pulled together. Although it is with some sadness when valued


57


Branch reports


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