The ISTFP’s Training and Education Committee

Dear Colleagues,

When it was formed, the ISTFP established the Training & Education Committee to uphold quality standards for international TFP training and supervision, to promote the development of standardized teaching tools, and to work on ways we can improve how we educate our students and supervise both our students and each other. The T&E Committee also plays a crucial role in shaping the educational policy of the ISTFP, preparing certification regulations, and establishing guidelines and documents for examinations.

The T&E Committee currently comprises 15 members, including two co-chairs (Luis Valenciano and myself), from various countries: Marion Braun (GR); Peter Bucheim (GR); Eve Caligor (USA); Sergio Dazzi (IT); Stephan Doering (AU); Diana Diamond (USA); Frank Denning (UK); Nel Draijer (NL); Katarzyna Gwozdz (PL); Otto Kernberg (USA); Judit Lendvay (USA); Mathias Lohmer (GR); Philipp Martius (GR); Verónica Steiner (CL); Frank E. Yeomans (USA).

I became involved with the T&E Committee in 2018 during the 5th Biennial ISTFP Conference in Barcelona, taking on the role of secretary to the then-chair, Nel Draijer. In this capacity, I began assisting with the various committee tasks, and as of 2022, I have become a co-chair with Luis Valenciano.

The Committee meets regularly every about three months and addresses various issues, particularly in light of the increasing number of TFP therapists and TFP Teacher and Supervisors. Our objectives for this year include:

• Organizing therapist exams for countries without a local TFP organization, as well as organizing Trainer-Supervisor exams.
• Arranging the Bi-Annual ISTFP Supervisors’ Meeting on October 6-7, 2023, in Milan.
• Promoting pedagogical methods that facilitate the learning of our therapy.
• Fostering the exchange and discussion of technical challenges among members.

To effectively tackle these objectives, given the volume of issues we wish to address, we have formed sub-committees focusing on specific topics, such as:

• Subcommittee on Supervision, which is preparing a paper on TFP supervision, a curriculum for supervision, a reading list on TFP supervision, and developing a training tool for teaching and supervising microprocess.
• Subcommittee on Video Initiative, aiming to collect videos made by our members that can assist in teaching the basic aspects of TFP: techniques, tactics, and strategies.
• Subcommittee on a Blog on Technical Challenges, which will be incorporated into our ISTFP Newsletter, addressing clinical situations that TFP therapists encounter in therapy and supervision.

As you can see, one of our 2023 objectives was to organize the Bi-Annual ISTFP Supervisors’ Meeting, which took place on October 6 and 7 in Milan, my hometown. I had the honor and responsibility of actively participating in the organization of this conference, which welcomed 70 supervisors from around the world, with both in-person attendees from Mexico, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland, the USA, Chile, Italy, Spain, the UK, Canada, and Belgium, and remote viewers as we live-streamed the event for those who couldn’t join us in Milan. The event featured prominent speakers who aimed to address central questions related to the role of supervisors, such as major difficulties in learning TFP and how we can provide support as supervisors, the role of treatment goals in TFP training and supervision, detecting and teaching to detect affects and affective dominance in supervisions, using the contribution from group members in a TFP supervision session, dilemmas of the supervisor, and working with and supervising concrete thinkers-low reflective patients. The conference provided a special and emotional opportunity to meet in person after a long period of exclusively online meetings, offering us a chance to engage in more intimate and fruitful exchanges, both professionally and personally, especially during the very congenial social moments.

Best regards,

Irene