What we do

Our members provide evidence-informed therapy to individuals, couples, families and organisations.

Members explore how patterns in relationships and the ‘systems’ around someone – including their family, workplace and community – influence their mental health. This systemic way of approaching therapy helps people communicate more clearly, understand patterns and strengthen connections. It helps people build better relationships.

Our diverse and passionate community of over 3,000 members also includes psychotherapy students and other health professionals interested in systemic practice.

Supporting our members

We support our members with inspiring continuing professional development, including:

• Informative webinars
• An exciting annual conference
• Context, our well-regarded bi-monthly magazine
• The Journal of Family Therapy, our peer-reviewed international journal

We also help our members to register and maintain registration with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).

We support our members to work privately and independently, in NHS child and adult mental health services and for social care and third sector organisations.

Our directory of qualified and UKCP-registered family and systemic psychotherapists and supervisors helps people find the right therapist for them.

Accrediting courses

We also accredit over 100 systemic psychotherapy courses in the UK, ensuring they meet the highest professional standards.

Association for Family and Systemic Psychotherapy (AFSP) accreditation is seen as the hallmark of high-quality, professional family and systemic psychotherapy training.

Supporting and sharing research

Family and systemic psychotherapy is the recommended first-line treatment for many mental health difficulties, including eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and severe depression in adolescence. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance for the NHS includes over 600 guidelines which mention family therapy as an intervention.

We support and share research with members and the wider mental health services community which provides more evidence of the impact of family and systemic psychotherapy.

We also share research on systemic ideas and reach professionals internationally, including allied health professions, psychologists and doctors. This develops leaders who think systemically.

As the home of systemic thinking, we believe deeply in the power of family and systemic psychotherapy to transform lives.

The voice of the profession

Led by our members, we’re the voice of the profession. We aim to influence decision-making in the NHS and statutory services so that as many people as possible can access life-changing family and systemic psychotherapy.