Asian Academy of Family Therapy
4th Annual Conference
Family Therapy: East and West
November 1-4 2017
Welcome Message
The Asian Academy of Family Therapy (AAFT), 4th Conference will take place in Tsukuba, November 1-4, 2017. Tsukuba is located on the suburb of Tokyo, easily accessible by 80 minutes of limousine bus from Tokyo International Airport (Narita), and 45 minutes of express train from central Tokyo. City of Tsukuba is a purposefully built Academic City. It has many Science Institutions like Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and High Energy Accelerator Research Organization. 877m high Mt. Tsukuba is a beautiful attraction with autumn leaves in November.
AAFT formerly known as the Academy of Family Therapy (AFT) was established in 2011 by the Hong Kong University Family Institute (HKUFI). In 2015, AFT was renamed as Asian Academy of Family Therapy (AAFT) to reflect the professional interest beyond Hong Kong. The first two conferences were held in Hong Kong in 2014 and 2015 with small number of family therapists in Asia. The third Conference was held in Shanghai in October 2016, organized by the Shanghai Mental Health Center. The conference was a great success with 650 participants from all over the world.
The 4th Conference will be held in Japan, organized by the International Committee of AAFT, and co-organized by the Japan Association of Family Therapy. The theme of the Conference is “Family Therapy: East and West.” Family Therapy theory and practice based on systemic perspective were at large originated and developed in the Western context in the last 40 years. Family therapists in the Asian region had worked hard to implement them in our local contexts. On the other hand, our Asian culture has a longer tradition and heritage. The conference will offer rich presentations from various cultural contexts. We will search for our identity as family therapists in Asia. What are our strengths and resilience traditionally built in Asian families? How are we the same or different from different parts of the world? How can we contribute to the wellbeing of families in the world? All the participants are encouraged to take part in discussions and dialogue between the East and the West; how family therapy theory and practice can be integrated across the cultures.
We look forward to meeting you in Japan in November 2017.
Takeshi Tamura, M.D.
Chair of the Organizing Committee, Asian Academy of Family Therapy
Chair of the International Exchange Committee, Japan Association of Family Therapy
Former Professor of Tokyo Gakugei University, Japan.
Keynote Speakers
Tazuko Shibusawa, PhD
Associate Professor, New York University Silver School of Social Work, U.S.A.
Wai Yung Lee, Ph. D.
Associate Professor and Founding Director of the HKU Family Institute, and Faculty Member of the Minuchin Center for the Family in New York, USA.
Monica McGoldrick, MSW, PhD (h.c.),
Director, Multicultural Family Institute, Highland Park, NJ, U.S.A.
David W. McGill, Psy.D.
Multi-Cultural Family Counseling, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Honorary member of Japan Association of Family Therapy
Conference Venue
Tsukuba is located on the suburb of Tokyo, easily accessible by 80 minutes of limousine bus from Tokyo International Airport (Narita), and 45 minutes of express train from central Tokyo. City of Tsukuba is a purposefully built Academic City in traditional Japanese country side. It has many Science Institutions like Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and High Energy Accelerator Research Organization. 877m high Mt. Tsukuba is a beautiful attraction with autumn leaves in November.
Tsukuba International Conference Center
https://www.epochal.or.jp/eng/
Registration Fees
Registration and Accommodation is now available online! Save US$40 if you register on or before July 31 2017. Click here to register.
Group Discount:
Register in a group of 5 or more and save US$20 (JPY 2,000)! Offer valid up to Jul-31 only. Please email vivianac@acafamilytherapy.org for more details.
Accompanying Person
- Accompanying person has access to all the programs including welcome reception and Conference Banquet.
- Maximum number of participants is limited to 300 due to the size of the hall. Registration may be closed early when applications reach the max number. Early registration is recommended.
- Accompanying Person is a spouse or partner of a Participant, and is not a mental health professional. Work colleagues and research project members who accompany Participants should also register as Participants.
- Accompanying Person has access to Pre-Conference Tour, Welcome Reception, Presentations as an audience, Conference Banquet, and Accompanying Person’s Program (Japanese Culture), but not to a Post-Conference Workshop.
Program at a Glance
Wednesday, Nov 1
1230-1600 Conference Tour to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (optional)
1500-1800 Registration
1700-1800 Welcome Reception (Cocktail)
1800-2000 Opening Keynote by Wai Yung Lee
Thursday, Nov 2
0800-1700 Registration
0900 Opening Ceremony
0930-1200 Keynote Presentations by Monica McGoldrick, Tazuko Shibusawa and David McGill
1000-1100 Accompanying Person’s Program: “Japanese Flower Arrangement”
1400-1700 Oral/Poster Presentations
1800-2000 Conference Banquet (All the participants and accompanying persons are invited).
Friday, Nov 3
0730-0900 World Network Meeting (by invitation only)
0800-1700 Registration
0930-1700 Oral/Poster Presentations
1000-1130 Accompanying Person’s Program: “Japanese Tea Ceremony”
1800-2000 Welcome Dinner sponsored by Japan Association of Family Therapy (by invitation only)
Saturday, Nov 4
0900-1200 Reflective Dialogue between the East and the West
1300-1700 Post-Conference Workshop “Gender and Culture Dialogue”
Accommodation Details
*As there is a major golf tournament at that time, hotels in the area may be very busy. Early booking is highly recommended.
Optional Programs
Conference Tour to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
http://global.jaxa.jp/about/centers/tksc/index.html
A 30-minute walking tour to the Tsukuba Space Center from the Conference Site. Guided tour of the Aerospace museum and exhibitions is also included.
Accompanying Person’s Program
Taste the traditional Japanese culture by actually participating.
1) Japanese Flower Arrangement
Date: Thursday Morning
Cost: ¥ 2,000 (Max. number of participants: 20)
2) Japanese Tea Ceremony
Date: Friday AM
Cost: ¥ 3,000 (Max. number of participants: 10)
Post-Conference Workshop “Gender and Culture Dialogue”
2-5pm on Nov-4, 2017 (Saturday)
Max number of participants: 40 (20 women and 20 men)
Cost: ¥ 6,000
Facilitators: Young Ju Chun (Korea) and Monica McGoldrick (USA) for Women’s Group
Wentao Chao (Taiwan) and David McGill (USA) for Men’s Group
Moderator: Takeshi Tamura (Japan)
This workshop is a rare opportunity for a selected number of participants from diverse cultures to be actively involved in gaining insight on how their own gender and culture affect their personal lives and clinical practice. The four facilitators are all master family therapists and supervisors with years of experience in personal sharing, with an expertise in gender and culture issues in family therapy.
The workshop will begin with the facilitators modeling how to explore their own personal experiences of the therapist issue. Participants will then be divided into two gender groups to create a safe enough environment to share personal experiences with gender and culture, and reflect on how their work as family therapists are impacted.
Call for Paper
There are three categories of presentations.
1) Long Presentation (60 minutes; 40 minutes presentation followed by 20 minutes of discussion)
Long presentation should be sensitive with the conference theme “Family Therapy: East and West.” The discussion of the research should include Asian cultural perspective. The maximum number of presentations is 10.
2) Brief Presentation (30 minutes; 20 minutes presentation followed by 10 minutes of discussion)
Brief presentation can be on any kind of research related to family therapy practice, theory or survey. The maximum number of presentations is 20.
3) Poster Presentation (Size of the panel is 85 cm wide, and 200 cm high)
Poster presentation can be any kind of research related to family therapy practice, theory or survey. Presenters are asked to be present at a designated timeslot to meet the audience for discussion and to answer questions. The maximum number of presentations is 100.
Deadline for Abstract Submission:
June 30, 2017
All abstracts will be reviewed by the Conference Scientific Committee who may request the author to rewrite, change the presentation category, or decline the presentation.
Registration | Paper Submission | Accommodation
Click here to register now!
Conference Committee Members
Organizing Committee
Takeshi Tamura, M.D. [Japan]
Wai Yung Lee, Ph.D. [Hong Kong]
Toshiyuki Watanabe, M.D. [Japan]
Tamaki Saito, M.D. [Japan]
Maimunah Mosli, M.A. [Singapore]
Hao-Wei Wang, M.D. [Taiwan]
Eal Whan PARK (MD, PhD) [Korea]
Scientific Sub-Committee
Joyce Ma, Ph.D. [Hong Kong]
Shin-Ichi Nakamura, M.D. [Japan]
Wentao Chao, Ph. D. [Taiwan]
Young-Ju Chun, Ph.D. [Korea]
Charles Sim, Ph.D. [Singapore]
Administrative Sub-Committee
Viviana Cheng [Hong Kong]
Felix Lim [Hong Kong]
Yuichi Oi [Japan]