Context – the magazine for family therapy and systemic practice

197 | Contents

Editorial – Ged Smith

A 1.5-order therapy: Between knowing and not-knowing – Ged Smith

Epistemology and relationship: The two interconnected cornerstones of systemic praxis. Reflections on Gianfranco Cecchin’s work – Laura Fruggeri

The ethics of change: In conversation with structural family therapist Jorge Colapinto – Tom Regel and Jorge Colapinto

Systemic leadership and developing responsive mental health agencies: An interview with Percy Aggett – Percy Aggett and Yoko Totsuka

The 5 x 5 Model®: A systemic leadership approach – Matthew Adam

Moving towards listening and hearing – a proposed model for community listening events in a perinatal context – Eloise Wynter, Ranjyot Panesar, Ruth O’Shaughnessy and Laura Smith

Reflections on working within the dichotomous juxtaposition of systemic and medical models as a trainee advanced clinical practitioner (TACP) – Sarah Millar

Tech tug-of-war: Families’ battles with screen time – Ezra Lockhart

A systemic family practitioner and a family therapist: How do we decide who should do what? – Elaine Farrer

The ATOM – a multifaceted tool for therapy, supervision and teaching – Paul Hackett

An evaluation of the ‘social graces’ in systemic thinking and practice – Liam Myles

A personal account of my systemic coaching approach – Hazel Hyslop

AFT Scotland branch update – Gillian Petrie, Susan MacGregor and the AFT Scotland committee

‘A 1.5-order therapy: Between knowing and not-knowing’ – workshop presented by Ged Smith, 16 November 2024, Dublin – Review by Don Boardman

In tribute to Monica Roman – Gwyn Daniel, Charlotte Burck, Sumita Dutta, Carol Halliwell, Carlos Hoyos, Alison Pearce, Mark Phillips, Denise Wilson, Cathy Laver-Bradbury, Jayne Muldowney, Natalie Macdonald, Pete Hamilton, Lara Bracher, Roy Smith and Carole Payne

AFT webinar: Is there a war over gender? History, theory and activism through a feminist lens – by Finn Mackay – Report by Cas Schneider

Alan Carr Q & A about two review papers – Alan Carr interviewed by Sarah Helps

AFT equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) committee – Charlotte Chiu

In tribute to Allen Crocker – Ged Smith

AFT news

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198 | Contents

Editorial: Why read this sh*t? – Matt Selman

People with learning disabilities help us to ask good questions – Bethan Ramsey and Mark Haydon-Laurelut

The joy of clunky questions – Dan O’Neill and Steve Harrison

Reflecting on staff wellbeing using a collaborative helping map – Linzi Smeaton, Sara Heary and Gemma Stienlet

Poetry – Alex Reed

An AI take on systemic questions and family therapy – ChatGPT and Matt Selman

50 top tips for using systemic questions – John Burnham

“Well, can you cure my cancer then?” Working with solution-focused questions in physical healthcare: An interview with Dominic Bray – Dominic Bray interviewed by Matt Selman

Narrative questions to unlock a continuum of externalisation – Jamie Coulthard and Emily Parker-Coffey

Social GgRRAAAAACCEEEESSSS...S and intersectionality: Questions that connect and generate – intergracing through PIQUE – John Burnham

Commentary on John Burnham’s (2025) article ‘PIQUE – questions that connect the social GgRRAAAAACCEEEESSSS…S and inter-sectionality’: My thoughts on PIQUE and intergracing... – Shakira Nkanang

Luc Isebaert’s three questions for a good life – Matt Selman

Empowerment within couple relationships where the idea of suicide and fatal self-harm exists – Imogen Harries and Gareth Tanner

Non-violent resistance informed systemic therapy for child-to-parent violence – Liam Myles and Nicola Church

Gender and sexuality diversity working party update 2025 – Sarah Favier and Rosie Buckland

Branching out: Cornwall and Plymouth branch (CAPAFT) – Beccy Holttum and Liz Burns on behalf of the CAPAFT branch

Manchester AFT CPD day in association with the Pay Gray memorial fund, 8 November 2024 – Report by Mary Power

AFT webinar: So you’re doing a family therapy course... 16 practical recommendations to enable the practice of trainees, supervisors and trainers, presented by Ged Smith, 16 January 2025 – Reports by Obatare Uwegba and Anonymous

Building healthier relationships and transforming lives together: AFT’s strategy and delivery plan for 2025 – Hannah Sherbersky, chief executive

Letter to the editor

AFT news

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199 | Contents

Editorial – Abi Jordan, Judith Lask and Hannah Sherbersky

The origin story – Edited by Judith Lask, with contributions by John Hills, Alan Cooklin, Myrna Gower, Gill Gorrell Barnes, Sue Jones, Amy Urry, Angus Crutchfield, Arlene Vetere, Sue Kennedy and Mark Rivett

Current programme leads for UK qualifying level courses reflect on contemporary issues in family therapy training – Bob Williams, Shila Rashid, Heidi Karamat Ali and Fiona Crombie

“Shifting selves”: A collection of reflexive narratives featuring students’ voices exploring their emerging identities whilst training on AFT-accredited courses – Edited by Abi Jordan and Jasmin Izagaren, with contributions from Jo Culver, Mary John and Elena Somovilla, and Tracie Ward, Marva Williams, Sharon Jones and Rachel Edinborough

AFT and UKCP: A special relationship – Judith Lask and Inger Gordon

Roots, re-imaginings, and revolutions: Systemic family therapy across time, space, and justice – Anokh Goodman

The essential role and future challenges of the ethics committee – Lisa Lowndes and Sylvia Metzer

“So, what is systemic couple therapy?” – Nicola McCarry and Katrina Waller

A therapist-researcher’s perspective on research in AFT – Peter Stratton, with contributions from Andreas Vossler and Ramón Karamat Ali

A day in the life of a family and systemic psychotherapist… – Edited by Hannah Sherbersky, with contributions from Alix Bowler, Stamatoula Voulgari, Phil Arthington, Jennifer Achan, Leah Salter, Wendy Glinski, Simon Cornwell, Anna Strudwick, Hendrix Hammond, Jennifer McKinney, Sezer Fahri and Monica Nicolin

Introducing our new name and brand – a new era for our organisation – Hannah Sherbersky and Kate Groucutt

Belgium: A country developing mental health care – Annemie Uyttersprot

Navigating family estrangement: Helping adults understand and manage – the challenges of family estrangement by Karl Melvin, published by Routledge, 2024 – Review by Amy Urry

AFT webinar – Healing family ruptures: A personal and therapeutic journey, presented by Glenn Larner, 6 March 2025 – Report by Aaron Davies

Branching out: West Yorkshire branch (WYAFT) – WYAFT committee

International Family Therapy Congress report – Aberdeen, 24-29 March 2025 – Shan Tate

June is Pride month: Gender and sexuality diversity working party group update – Sarah Favier and Rosie Buckland

European Family Therapy Association – National Family Therapy Organisations branch (EFTA-NFTO): Update on the situation in Germany – Matthias Ochs

AFT workshop: Understanding and responding to domestic violence and abuse in couple relationships, presented by Damian McCann, 19 May 2025 – Report by Naomi Beet

Our purpose, membership community and commitment – A message from the AFT board of trustees

AFT news

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200 | Contents

Editorial – Carole Payne

Innovative collaborations in police custody: Reflections on developing and delivering systemic training to lawyers, custody sergeants and professionals in youth justice – Raphael Cadenhead and Jennifer Summer

Autistic burnout – working systemically with the parts of the system that can engage – Tracie Ward

Artificial intelligence and therapy – Sam Rhodes-Phillips

A digital definitional ceremony: Action learning and therapy ending, or collaboratively going off the rails – Phil Laing 

Climate change in the therapy room? – Cinthe Lemmens and Robert van Hennik

Thinking systemically about cannabis (mis)use – Sarah Bannister

Learning through being: Teaching in an embodied way – Paul Walton

Family clinic with a universal crisis team – Nicola Bairstow

The body holds the score: In honour of The Body Keeps the Score (van der Kolk, 2015) – Rory Worthington

Silence, witnessing, voice and power: A personal experience of the Kahramanmaras earthquake – Gul N Eryuksel

This Be The Verse: A response – Abiola Awojobi-Johnson    

National Family Therapy Organisations meeting, Budapest, May 2025 (NFTO – part of EFTA) – Shan Tate and Ged Smith

Ideas that keep knocking: An invitation to collective practice for family therapists in social care – Jack Evans, Rebecca Harvey and Jemma Healey 

Nonviolent Resistance in Trauma-focused Practice: A Systemic Approach to Therapy and Social Care, by Peter Jakob, published by Routledge, 2025 – Review by Liz Burns

Gender and sexuality diversity working party group update – Rosie Buckland and Sarah Favier

In tribute to John Brereton – Karen O’Connor

Creating Relational Ripples, by Marilena Karamatsouki, published by Everything is Connected Press, 2025 – Review by Dawn Thibert

West Midlands AFT branch update – Judy Sutton and the WMAFT branch committee

Capturing the stories and memories of those who created and shaped AFT – Kate Groucutt and Hannah Sherbersky

AFT news

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201| Contents

Editorial – Rosie Buckland and Sarah Favier

Feature articles

Queer and curious – Finn Mackay and Claudia Zitz

At the Rainbow’s End – Clare Summerskill

Commentary on ‘At the Rainbow’s End’ article – Paul Willis

Understanding the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people in residential care – Jason Schaub and Omar Mohamed

Queer Connections – Annette Strzedulla, Caitlin Molloy, Dawn Thibert, Ilaria Robin Calussi, Liz Kirkbride, Macushla Lovell-Meade, Navya Anand and Nancy Brown

‘Journey group is my family now’ – Sarah Favier

Our family – Charlotte Harris

Being the debate – Isaac Stephens-Parr

The social grace I am being encouraged to ignore: Resisting the erasure of trans identities in an NHS child and adolescent mental health service – navigating ethical dilemmas with systemic action – Ali Knight

A light bulb moment in conversation about transgender experiences: Hearing the voices of young people from the front line of CAMHS – Mark Chidgey

What can we do to support families with parents from trans and gender-diverse communities? – Trish Hafford-Letchfield and Christine Cocker

Trans and non-binary sexualities: A narrative inquiry research project – Sandro Voi

Pink balloons and boomboxes: Remembering Section 28 – Tom Marshman, Lois S. Bibbings and Sarah Jones

Safe – Katy Rose Bennett 

From the shadows to the spotlight: LGBTQ+ centred emotionally focused couples’ therapy – Sandra Taylor, Robert Allan and Caitlin Edwards

Identity in the shadow of faith: The challenge of identity negotiation within religious conservatism – Ezra Lockhart

Reports and reviews

Intersex perspectives in systemic practice: AFSP webinar presented by Annette Strzedulla and Amanda Middleton, 26 March 2025 – Report by Jess West

Family Therapy in Bulgaria – Petya Varcheva, Borislava Mecheva and Teodora Gerginova

AFSP Northern Ireland branch report 2024/2025 – Clare Macauley

EFTA Congress: Confluences and Controversies in Systemic Thinking, Practice and Research, 27-30 August 2025, Lyon, France – Reflections from some of those present

INSPIRE conference: ‘Making room for spiritual and existential perspectives in systemic and dialogical practice and research’, 12 – 13 June 2025, Oslo, Norway – Hannah Sherbersky

Association news

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202 | Contents

Editorial

Rooted in the whole: An editorial in times of ecological and existential unravelling –Hugh Palmer and Chiara Fortina Santin

Feature articles

The tower and dystopia: Collapse (and hope) on the fool’s path –Hugh Palmer

Rewilding the interiority of clinical practice –Roger Duncan

A systemic field based meditation for our world – Imelda McCarthy

Eco-relational practices: Teaching, systemic practice and research –Leah Salter

Reflective practice on land and sea! Four seasons of outdoor group supervision – Joanne Hanrahan

Relational healing through nature: For people, between people and with the land –Charlie Chapman and Paul Andrews

Becoming rewilders: A cultural and systemic journey at the Grange Project – Chloe Constable

Activism, revolution and raving: The ecosystem and climate emergency in family therapy training –Jenny Cove, Rob Moore and Sigurd Reimers

Ancient rememberings, connections and intersections: An equine-assisted journey into realms of possibility –  Jo Law

Family therapy on the farm – Sophie Hicks

Exploring experiences of a weekly walking group implemented by an NHS community mental health team and West Central London Mind –  Emma Blundell, Catherine Boteler and Jacob Payne

Nature-inspired therapeutic tools: Welcoming nature in our indoor therapeutic practices – Elaine Grech

Message from the heart of the mountains: The wild edges of an ecological self – Chiara Fortina Santin

Speeding down to zoom out –Andreas Breden

Reports and reviews

Systemic in Nature Symposium, 3-5 October 2025 – Report by Sarah Lloyd

AFSP webinar: ‘Storytelling, collective healing, and family wellness’, with Zain Shamoon, 7 August 2025 –  Report by Aleksandra Crawford-Leighton

INSPIRE (International Research Network in Spiritual and Existential Perspectives in Systemic and Dialogical Practice) conference, Oslo, June 2025 –  Report by Tormod Kleiven, Catherine Rodger, Tracey Johnston, and Jacqui Scott

Family therapy in France: European Family Therapy Association – National Family Therapy Organisations branch (EFTA-NFTO) – Yara Doumit Naufal and Myriam Cassen

Branch report for the Hampshire Associationfor Family and Systemic Psychotherapy (HAFSP) – Pete Hamilton

Journal of Family Therapy news –Sarah Helps, journal editor-in-chief

Association news

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