I recently attended the International Family Therapy Association (IFTA), World Congress in Bangkok, Thailand. With 250 family and interactional therapists from around the world presenting the latest work in the field. It was a wonderful experience of idea sharing, learning and meeting fellow practitioners the world over.
Together with a colleague, Larissa Ernst, I presented on Dissocative Identity Disorder: Conceptualization and Treatment from an Intergrative Interactional Approach which is an applied systems model in the field of psychology (a psychological paradigm).
In addition to presenting, I attended a number of workshops and talks relating to working with individuals, couples and families. From aspects of couples therapy after mediation and settlement has been reached (a new approach to working with couples in Israel), to the impact of social media on teens as well as the complexities this brings for parenting. We revisited the theoretical foundations of family therapy, with training delivered by David Hale (Phd) and Wendel Ray (Phd) – both incredible minds in the field of psychology with high involvement in the Mental Research Institute (MRI) in the USA.
The congress was highly valuable and I bring new knowledge back into my repertoire as a clinician and into practice in Pretoria.
