Committees and groups

Below you can find out more about our committees and groups and what they’re working on.

If you’re an Association for Family and Systemic Psychotherapy (AFSP) member and interested in joining a committee, you can find contact details in our MemberZone.

Any work you do with committees can count towards the 20 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) you need to do each year to keep up to date with developments in the field.

Family and systemic psychotherapies in non-statutory sectors (ASPENS) creative practice group

Aspens is a group of AFSP members who share an interest in, and who want to promote, family and systemic psychotherapies in the non-statutory (independent and voluntary) sectors.

The creative practice group works closely with our professional affairs committee (see below).

The group draws together and supports AFSP members working in the non-statutory sectors and helps to raise their profile. Their aim is to make a wide range of systemic help more accessible to a diverse range of client groups.

Branches committee

Our branches committee is made up of a representative from each of our 19 branches around the UK, plus a chair elected by the representatives.

The committee helps our branches with any questions they have on running workshops and constitutional arrangements. Representatives share their experiences and advice, helping each other provide good quality, local professional development for members.

The committee usually meets 4 times a year, once face-to-face and 3 times virtually.

Each year a branch is invited to bid to host our national conference and the Eileen Jamieson workshop. This is a training dedicated to the memory of Eileen Jamieson, our former chair. We provide help and support for branches hosting the workshop and conference.

Course accreditation and development (CRED) committee

Our CRED committee accredits family therapy, systemic practice and psychotherapy training from foundation to supervision level, using our national accreditation framework.

The committee regularly reviews and updates this framework, in consultation with other members, to make sure it reflects any changes in practice and education.

• Find out more about how AFSP accredits courses

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) committee

Our EDI committee helps our board by:

• Making sure AFSP addresses issues of inclusivity
• Ensuring AFSP has a robust equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion policy
• Working with AFSP to understand its responsibilities in relation to the government policies on equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion
• Supporting members as they reflect on EDI
• Helping members to blend EDI seamlessly and ethically into their practice

The committee meets once a year face-to-face and regularly online, communicating via email the rest of the time. The EDI committee also helps plan our annual national conference and regularly holds a workshop at this event.

• Find out more about AFSP’s work on equality and diversity

Ethics committee

Our ethics committee focuses on raising standards of ethical practice throughout AFSP. The committee aims to encourage everyone associated with AFSP to share responsibility for achieving and maintaining high ethical standards. Committee members can support members and staff in a consultative role, individually or in groups, to make ethical decisions.

The UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) manages concerns and complaints against our members’ practice. Our ethics committee can help UKCP consider the ethical factors affecting systemic practice that might result in a complaint.

The committee aims to collaborate closely with other AFSP committees, recognising that their work has an ethical dimension too.

Professional affairs committee (PAC)

Our PAC promotes the systemic approach in the public, independent and third sector. The committee advises and helps organisations and AFSP members with recruitment and professional queries.

The committee has developed job descriptions and terms and conditions which many employers use when recruiting family and systemic psychotherapists.

It also provides a panel of National Assessors to advise employers about family and systemic psychotherapy jobs. Some members of the committee act as professional advisors or agree to work on specific projects with employers.

The committee meets online 3 times a year and communicates through email.

• Find out more about how our PAC supports employers

Publishing committee

Our publishing committee is responsible for the publication of our highly-acclaimed Context magazine together with the editor-in-chief, deputy editor and publications manager. The committee liaises with issue editors about themes and content and meets once or twice a year, with the majority of communication via email.

The committee includes members who proofread Context articles, review books, and take part in and moderate post-publication discussion groups.

Registration committee

Our registration committee manages applications from our members for recommendation to the UKCP register. It also manages our list of approved supervisors for recommendation to the UKCP supervisor directory.

This includes developing our policies around UKCP registration. The committee also makes sure everyone who is a member of AFSP and is on the UKCP register meets agreed CPD requirements.

The registration committee reviews applications throughout the year, supported by AFSP’s membership officer. The committee meets virtually 4 times a year and holds 1 to 2 face-to-face meetings each year.

Membership of this committee is open to AFSP members who have experience as UKCP-registered family and systemic psychotherapists and experience as teachers or supervisors. Committee members receive a small fee for reviewing applications.

• Find out more about registering with UKCP through AFSP

Research committee

Our research committee aims to promote and disseminate systemic research. They do this by scoping, making visible, and connecting (where appropriate) research-related activities and initiatives within AFSP and the wider systemic community.