Association for Family and Systemic Psychotherapy - AFSP

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Association for Family and Systemic Psychotherapy - AFSP AFSP is the UK’s leading organisation for family and systemic psychotherapists and practitioners

AFT is the leading body representing those working with families in the public and independent sector in the UK. The broad group of therapies under the banner of “systemic family therapy” work not only with families, but with individual children and adults, couples, and the wider communities of clients. They work in ways that not only support change with individuals but also in their relationships in the family and beyond, so children, young people and/or those important to them are supported in continued recovery.

17/10/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined our conference in Glasgow — in person or online.

A heartfelt thank you to the Scotland branch, Mint Events team, AFSP staff team, trustees, our speakers, all our volunteers, our members, and attendees new to AFSP.

We asked you to come as you are. We hope you've left with more than you came with: shared memories and learning to take back into therapy rooms, training spaces, supervision, and communities.

We look forward to welcoming you to Cardiff next year.

16/10/2026

Peter Rober's plenary, 'The emotionally responsive therapist in family therapy practice' - responses from people attending online: "Peter explains complex concepts so clearly - such a beautiful dance of theory and embodied practice"; "as always a considered and informed relationship to emotion"; "humbling and touching, feeling every word he utters. Never get tired of listening to him. Thank you for inviting him here". Thank you Peter!

We would love to see your highlights of the conference. Please tag us -

16/10/2026

Day 2 in Glasgow opens with plenty to look forward to. Satinder Panesar, Dr Ged Smith and Shakira Nkanang share their plenary 'Stuck, uncertain and still in the room: When the way forward isn't clear'. Peter Rober discusses 'The emotionally responsive therapist in family therapy practice'. Our final plenary will be from Dr Sami Timimi - 'Question everything you thought you knew about mental health and neurodiversity'.

We would love to see your highlights. Please tag us:

15/10/2026

The AFSP Conference 2026 - 'Come as you are: Lived experience as our resource for training, practice and research' in the vibrant city of Glasgow is underway! Darren McGarvey's plenary 'Come as you are but bring the right story... Poverty, power and the uneasy politics of lived experience' - was "brilliant and refreshingly honest", "very insightful and engaging", "a brilliant and energising opening" and a "great start to our conference". Thank you Darren!

Please share your amazing moments from conference with us - tag us in your photos and use the hashtag

13/10/2026

There's still time to book your online ticket for the AFSP Conference 2026, Thursday 15 & Friday 16 October — Come as you are: Lived experience as our resource for training, practice and research

Our annual conference typically provides 13 systemic CPD hours. This year we will be recording most workshops, increasing the available CPD to 33 hours — for the same ticket price.
Book now: https://www.aftconference.co.uk/tickets

We hope you’ll join us for inspiring plenaries, interactive sessions, and valuable networking opportunities.

If you are busy during any of the conference, recordings will be available within a few days post-event enabling you to access up to 33 systemic CPD hours.

The full programme, showing which sessions will be streamed live is available here: https://www.aftconference.co.uk/programme

12/10/2026

Context #207 – 'Developments in non-violent resistance' is out now.

Guest edited by Pete Brown and Lydia Stafford, this edition features a diverse range of writings showing the range of creativity and multiple perspectives that encompass the NVR approach, plus more articles and reports. Many thanks to Pete, Lydia, and all of our other contributing authors: Victoria Apperley, David Toland and Jemma Beedell; Michelle Marston and Rachael Hough; Joanne Buchmüller and Luke Cousins; Collette Williams, with contributions from Rachel Horn, Megan Duffield, Hatty Pocock, Lydia Stafford and Nicky Maund; Helen McEleny; Melody Selwood; Julia Jude, Vicky Rodrigues and Veronica Rivera-Gould; Rowan Stewart and Philippa Beale; Peter Jakob and Jessica Mackinnon; Linda Hafez; Adia Meyer, Elisa Zesch, Amanda Sarpong and Beth Easton; Beth Spellman-Ross; Ilaria Calussi; Carole Payne; Rebecca Harvey and Natalie Shoreman; Carole Hunt; Parveen Kaur.

You can buy a copy or subscribe to Context here: https://www.theafsp.org/publications-resources/context-magazine/

AFSP members get Context magazine as part of their membership. You can become a member here https://www.theafsp.org/membership/become-a-member/

02/10/2026

There is just one week remaining to book your in-person ticket for the AFSP Conference in Glasgow. In-person ticket sales close at midnight on Friday 9 October.
Find out more and register at https://www.aftconference.co.uk/

Don't miss the conference dinner: Thursday 15 October – from 19:30
We're looking forward to an amazing evening of dining together and a specially curated night of entertainment, celebrating Scottish culture with poetry, comedy, music and dance. Come and join us for an evening of good food and entertainment amongst friends and colleagues.
The Scottish Makar, Peter Mackay will welcome us and start the evening with some poetry. This will be followed by dinner, after which comedian Elaine Malcolmson will bring some humour into the room and plentiful laughter.
After dinner we move into the final part of the evening with some lively music and dance led by Chitterybite Ceilidh Band.
Please note: You will need to purchase a dinner ticket to enjoy the poetry and comedy. However, everyone will be welcome to the Ceilidh entertainment after the dinner and desserts. The Ceilidh band will start playing from around 21:15.
Tickets for the conference dinner cost £45 and include a two-course buffet dinner.
They can be purchased when you book your conference ticket using the booking form. Or, if you’ve already purchased your conference ticket, please contact Mint Events on [email protected] to book the dinner.

10/09/2026

On Friday 16 October in Glasgow, Prof Peter Rober will present 'The emotionally responsive therapist in family therapy practice' at the AFSP Conference 2026. We're so pleased to welcome Prof Rober to the conference.

‘Come as you are: Lived experience as our resource for training, practice and research’ takes place 15 & 16 October.
All 7 plenaries will be streamed live for online attendees. In addition to the plenaries on offer there will be 4 workshop sessions, with in-person attendees able to choose one workshop per session, and a set workshop broadcast on the live stream. Check the full programme here https://www.aftconference.co.uk/programme

Workshop bookings open on Tuesday 15 September for in-person attendees, so book your conference place now to be ready to reserve your workshop places once the process starts: https://www.aftconference.co.uk/
We aim to record as many workshops as possible to enable attendees to view more workshops later.

07/09/2026

Gillian Petrie, chair of Scotland AFSP invites you to join us at the AFSP Conference 2026 ‘Come as you are: Lived experience as our resource for training, practice and research’

Book your place for 15 and 16 October: https://www.aftconference.co.uk/

Workshop bookings will open soon for in-person attendees, so book your conference place now to be ready to reserve your workshop places once the process starts.

30/08/2026

We're pleased to announce that the AFSP Conference 2026 programme is now available on the conference website, where you can also find out more about the workshops and keynote sessions, and check which workshops are available at each session: https://www.aftconference.co.uk/programme

Workshop bookings will open in September, so book your conference place now to be ready to reserve your workshop places once the process starts: https://www.aftconference.co.uk/

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