In October of this year it was our pleasure to jointly Chair the 8^th Congress of the European Family Therapy Association (EFTA) organized in cooperation with the Family and Marital Therapies Association (Aile ve Evlilik Terapileri Derneği - AETD).

The conference was held in Istanbul, Turkey – a city of great beauty and diverse cultures.

The theme of the congress was, “Opportunities in a Time of Crisis: The Role of the Family ”.

Renowned colleagues of family therapy and systemic practice from throughout Europe and the international community joined together in a very interesting, fruitful event focused on the unpredictable and complex reality of today’s world and the corresponding need to foster creative evolution in our scientific field.

The papers generated from the diverse presentations at the Congress are published in this Special Volume of Human Systems. The vibrancy of current practices and the important role that EFTA is playing in the networking of systemic scientists both in Europe and internationally can be clearly comprehended.

40 articles are presented from colleagues representing 15 different countries. Issue 1 groups together papers around the theme of “Therapy: Theory and Practice”. Issue 2 focuses on “Interventions and Applications”, while the 3rd and final Issue of the Volume comprises contributions to “Research and Training”.  

Our aim is to provide the readers with a felt sense of a very interactive meeting which provided a forum for the exchange of ideas, of experiences and of rigorous study – a meeting that facilitated both scientific and human exchange.

Through this publication we hope to foster reflection on the congress process, broaden our perspectives and to facilitate the development of new dialogues among us as systemic therapists, trainers and researchers.