Welcome address of the President of EFTA

Pr Arlene VETERE

EFTA is a Vibrant Organisation!

Welcome to the EFTA Website. I am proud to be a member of EFTA and one part of a group of people dedicated to shaping an organisation that can capture and promote the needs of individual practitioners, the Training Institutes, and the National Family Therapy Organisations (NFTOs). Our mission is to develop systemic thinking and practice throughout Europe to the benefit of our communities. To this end, we support conferences, research initiatives, and local projects through our network of practitioners, institutes and professional associations.

In my last posting, I thanked the founders of EFTA for their vision in inviting the NFTOs and the Family Therapy Training Institutes to meet with them, to begin the conversation about working together in the future. I wish to continue with this theme of thanks - so, I express my continuing gratitude to Mony Elkaim and Jacques Pluymaekers. In Budapest, 2001, we agreed to try to make our new EFTA structures work – and clearly they do, as evidenced by our growing portfolio of activities. As you know, we are an organisation made up of three Chambers (Individual members – CIM; Training Institutes – TIC; and the NFTOs), each with its own autonomous Board. Juan Luis Linares, our recent Past President made it his goal to facilitate the growth of this new organisation, helping each of the three Chambers to consolidate and include new members. He had a "light touch" as our President, and was always there to help as needed. Thank you Juan.

These are exciting times for systemic practitioners!

Our last elections at the Glasgow conference, 2007, have brought in some new members for each of the three Boards. The Board members now include the following:
Maria Borcsa (NFTO), Javier Bou (NFTO), Nevena Calovska Hercog (TIC), Rodolfo de Bernart (TIC), Pier Giuseppe Defilippi (CIM),  Mony Elkaïm (TIC), Guy Hardy (CIM), Julia Hardy (NFTO), Juan Luis Linares (CIM), Eric Louis (NFTO), Michel Maestre (TIC), Jean-Paul Mugnier (CIM), Luigi Onnis (TIC), Jacques Pluymaekers (CIM), Mina Polemi-Todoulou (NFTO), Kyriaki Polychronis (TIC), Eija-Liisa Rautiainen (NFTO), Yveline Rey (CIM), David Skorunka (NFTO), Peter Stratton (TIC), Malvina Tsounakis (CIM).
These elections ensure consistency for EFTA's aims and functions, while allowing for the continuous flow and development of new ideas. I want to thank the outgoing General Board for all their hard work and commitment to furthering EFTA's aims.

EFTA is ready and poised for the next stage of its development!

I was elected for a second term as your President by the new General Board of EFTA, in the Glasgow elections. I want to thank you all for your support and confidence in me. I shall continue my work as an ambassador for EFTA, and for the field of family therapy and systemic practice. We need to be looking outwards -  to other family therapy organisations, other European organisations of our multi-disciplinary colleagues, to regulating bodies and to the social policy makers - to make connections and co-operative working relationships. I approach this task with much excitement and some trepidation – we have much to do! But I shall not be on my own as we are in this together!
EFTA has made some good progress these past years. Mony Elkaim as the new president of the EAP has started talks with EU Commissioners about enabling family therapists to work across member state boundaries. EFTA is the Europe Wide Organisation with the European Association of Psychotherapy, managing the Euro Certificate of Psychotherapy. The EFTA passport for co-operation between training institutes is available. For further information on EFTA activities and interests, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Arlene Vetere, President