Luigi Cancrini

Professor, Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist of psychoanalytic and systemic training, Founder & President of the Center for Family and Relational Therapy, ITALY

I have been practicing and teaching family and relations therapy since 1969. I worked as a psychiatrist at the 'La Sapienza' University of Rome and in 1972 I created the Center for Family and Relations Therapy, a post-graduate school which trained approximately 30,000 new family therapists who are active today in Italy and in Europe. I have worked specifically with psychosis, pathological addictions and - in recent years - with child maltreatment and abuse. With this presentation I would like to consider the extraordinary contribution which the systemic-relational culture and perspective have had and could / should contribute to the future development and organization of healthcare relationships and services which tavkle the issues of mental health in children and adults.

Gwyn Daniel

Systemic Psychotherapist, Supervisor and Trainer,

Maïmonid (Mony) Elkaïm

Neuropsychiatrist, Founder & Past President of EFTA, Director of the Institute for Family and Human Systems Studies in Brussels, Honorary Professor at the Free University of Brussels, BELGIUM

ELKAÏM M.D. is a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist. He is Honorary Professor at the Free University of Brussels and consultant at the department of psychiatry of the Erasmus University Hospital, Brussels.
He is the Director of the "Institute for Family and Human Systems Studies" (Brussels) as well as of "ELKAIM FORMATIONS" (Paris), the President of the French speaking section of the "Belgian Group of Systemic Psychotherapists Trainers" and of the “Training Institutes Chambers” of EFTA, and the Honorary President of the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP - Vienna).

He is also an approved supervisor under the Founders Track of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and the Director of the Journal "Cahiers Critiques de Thérapie Familiale et de Pratiques de Réseaux" (ed. De Boeck, Belgium). Since September 2019, he is an invited Professor to the department of Psychiatry of the Erasmus Hospital, Free University of Brussels. He also received in 2017 the Sigmund Freud price for Psychotherapy of the city of Vienna (Austria).

His most relevant books are: 

• Si tu m’aimes, ne m’aime pas, Le Seuil, Paris, 1989. Translated notably into English and Greek.
• Panorama des Thérapies Familiales (Ed), Le Seuil, Paris, 1995.
• Comment survivre à sa propre famille?, Le Seuil, Paris, 2006.
• Où es-tu quand je te parle?, Le Seuil, Paris, 2014.
• Vivre en couple. Plaidoyer pour une stratégie du pire, Coll. Philo.Gener., Paris, Le Seuil, 2017.

György Gergely
Professor, Department of Cognitive Science,

György Gergely has done his graduate studies in psychology at University College London and Columbia University where he received his PhD in experimental psycholinguistics. He has later also completed a clinical graduate training program at HIETE University, Budapest in clinical child psychology becoming a Qualified Clinical Child Psychologist  in 1977. His main research interests are: Social and cognitive development and cultural learning in infancy and early childhood, action understanding, theory of mind, and developmental psychopathology. He has published books and papers in three broad areas of research and theory: a) cognitive science, b) cognitive and socio-emotional development, and c) clinical and psychoanalytic developmental theory, and developmental psychopathology.

He is a co-author of the book ‘Affect, Regulation, Mentalization and the Development of the self’ which is the winner of the 2003 ‘Grediva Award’ and the ‘2003 Goethe Award for Psychoanalytic scholarship’.

Arlene Healey

DipSW, CQSW, Cert Adv SW, Dip Fam Ther,
Adv Dip Mgt Psych Trauma, MSc Psychotherapy
Consultant Psychotherapist and Family Therapist, UK

Arlene is a registered systemic psychotherapist with more than 40 years’ experience working with children and their families in the NHS in both Child and Family Services and CAMHS where she worked for more than 30 years. She is a registered clinical supervisor with AFT. In 1999 following the implementation of the Belfast/Good Friday Peace Agreement in Northern Ireland, she established and managed the Family Trauma Centre. The Centre provide services for children and families affected by the conflict in Northern Ireland. The Family Trauma Centre was the first systemically led trauma service. and grief. Arlene developed a culturally sensitive family therapy approach to help families in trauma and has published her work in several journals and books. She continued to manage the Centre for 18 years until she retired in 2016. 

Arlene was active in crisis response work, and was a member of the Belfast Health Trust's Community Crisis Response Team for more than 15 years. In January 2005 she was seconded to the British Red Cross as part of the first response to UK nationals in Thailand following the tsunami.

Arlene retired from the NHS in December 2015 and is now in private practice. During the past few years she has undertaken work for the Official Solicitor Royal Court of Justice Belfast and Lighthouse a charity based in Belfast providing help for families affected by suicide. She continues to provide clinical supervision for several family therapists both in the NHS and private practice both in the UK and Ireland. She continues to teach and present at conferences both nationally and internationally.  More recently Arlene has been providing consultation and training to Hostage International, an organisation which supports families whose family member has been taken hostage abroad.

Jean Maisondieu

Psychiatrist and Pedo-psychiatrist, FRANCE

Born in Brest on July 23rd, 1939, psychiatrist and pedo-psychiatrist, Jean Maisondieu studied medicine in Bordeaux. Former intern of the Hospitals of this city, he first practiced as a psychiatrist of the armies in the Navy before being psychiatrist of the Hospitals and doctor head of psychiatric sector for 30 years.

Relevant Books:

• Les hommes politiques n'ont pas d'enfant, en collaboration avec J. Baguenard et L. Métayer, PUF, Paris 1983.
• Les thérapies familiales, en collaboration avec L. Métayer, PUF, Que sais-je ?, Paris, 1986. 5ème éd. 2007
• Le crépuscule de la raison, Centurion, 1989; 6ème éd. 2018(L’ouvrage qui nous réunit aujourd'hui).
• Les alcooléens, Bayard Editions, Paris, 1992. 3ème éd. 2014
• L'idole et l'abject, Bayard Editions, Paris, 1995.
• La fabrique des exclus, Bayard Editions, Paris, 1997. 2ème éd. 2010
• Liberté, égalité... psychiatrie, Bayard Editions, Paris, 2000.
• Les Femmes , Les Hommes , L’Alcool, une histoire d'amour, 2004
• Même les kangourous se détachent de leur mère ; essai sur les limites de l'amour maternel, 2012

Mohammad Marie

Assistant professor of Mental Health, Department of Bio-Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences, An-najah National University, Nablus, PALESTINE

I have been qualified as a nurse since 1998, and have a Master’s degree in community mental health. I completed my PhD at Cardiff University in the UK. I also work as a mental health professional at An-najah National University in Nablus offering psychotherapy and mental health consultations for families and individuals. As a university lecturer, I have taught and led research-oriented courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.