AFT news This bi-monthly update of our news is brief: it is August,


the AGM is looming, and therefore all the detailed year-reports of our activities from this year are elsewhere in this issue of Context. Let’s start by extending our heartfelt congratulations to Jan


Cooper, a longtime member, who has been awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list. She has been recognised for her career-long service in and commitment to the field of working to prevent family violence, and for helping to establish the first safe house for women, over 40 years ago in Reading. Jan continues to serve on the board of Berkshire Women’s Aid, helping to develop policy. This is a significant achievement for the field of family and systemic psychotherapy. More good news to report – the impact factor of the Journal


of Family Therapy has increased in family therapy; it received an impact factor of 1.138. This represents an increase on the 2017 impact factor of 1.066. The journal is now ranked 30/46 in family studies (31/46 in 2017), and 93/130 in psychology, clinical (99/127 in 2017). Many congratulations and thanks to the editor, Philip Messent, to the editorial board and to all of the authors and reviewers. AFT has been involved in a number of exciting events. I


(Reenee) delivered the scientific lecture at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust on 10 June on ‘The landscape of systemic psychotherapy: Developments in the field’. On 24 June, the College of Family, Couple and Systemic


Therapy day was well attended. I (Reenee) interviewed Sarah Niblock, chief executive officer of UKCP, drawing on our members’ concerns about the visibility of systemic psychotherapy within UKCP and in the outside world. It was a constructive conversation, with Suzanne Griffin, Tanya Smart and Sarah Eldrid as the reflecting team. Rukiya Jemmott and Esther Usiskin Cohen offered a professional development workshop on ‘Genograms: Working with couples’, which was well received. The Asian Academy of Family Therapy conference on 9


and 10 July was well attended by our members and we were immensely proud of Gail Simon and Rabia Malik, who were both inspiring keynote speakers. A more detailed report of the conference will be included in the October issue of Context. There was an impressive systemic presence at the UKCP research day on 20 July. The two plenaries were engaging and there was a range of workshops, including one on case studies in systemic research that I (Reenee) presented. We are receiving a great volume of interesting media


enquiries so, if you would like to join the group of family and systemic psychotherapists interested in speaking to the media, please contact Suzanne O’Connor on mail@aft.org.uk.


Changes within AFT Since we last wrote, as planned, we have also said goodbye


to Paul Kennedy, our fi nancial controller. I am sure you will join me in thanking him for all his work over the years and wishing him, together with Sue, a long and happy retirement. We were fortunate to be able to entice Janice Crawford, from a background of accountancy, to join our offi ce team and take over the daily management of the fi nances. We are aware many of you have not had a chance to say goodbye to Sue and Paul yet so, at the conference, we will hold a ‘memory book’ for you to write in. If you won’t be attending the conference, please do send any messages for Sue and Paul to Suzanne at mail@aft.org.uk and we will ensure they are included in the memory book. We had to make some additional changes in our central hub


due to the increased workload. Melanie Wood, regulations offi cer, has kindly agreed to increase her hours to ensure all registration and continuing professional development requirements continue to be processed to the high standard set out by the UKCP John Bastock, with his Mint Events team, is going to look after


the conferences for now. John has been looking after conference bookings for some time but will extend this involvement whilst working closely with the hosting branch and conference organising group. In terms of board activity, we are delighted to share with you


that Barbara McKay will be joining us as a co-opted member, bringing with her a wealth of knowledge in training and professional development. Sadly, Jacqui Sayers, having been involved in conference organisation for years, as well as the board’s link with the branches and, more recently, our UKCP representative, will be stepping down at the AGM. Jacqui will be missed: she has given, her time, knowledge and wisdom freely and has contributed greatly to our organisation. On behalf of all in AFT, a big thank you Jacqui for all your work over the years. As you know, we are always looking for members interested


in becoming more involved in our organisation, even it is only a few hours a month. We warmly welcome any member who wishes to learn more about the cogs and wheels of AFT. As the current fashionable strapline goes, “Together we are AFT”, and we do really need you, whether you are a student, practitioner or retired. No matter what capacity you work in, we need your knowledge and we would love some of your time. With the conference approaching, Reenee Singh, our chief


executive offi cer, the board and the North East branch are looking forward to welcoming you to Newcastle where no doubt a rich, interesting, exhilarating and thought-provoking experience awaits us.


Erica Widdowson and Reenee Singh


70


Context 164, August 2019


AFT news


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