Archive for category: News and Events

Irish American Child Legacy needs State Help to Unravel, says Valerie O’Brien
Published in The Sunday Times, 17th Nov 2013 p 17.

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/ireland/article1341254.ece

History and story-telling is something that we, as Irish people,think we are good at but many realise now there are some stories that get told more readily than others. In the wake of the recent Ryan, Murphy and McAleese reports, many previously untold stories have come forth.

Stephen Frear’s film“Philomena” shines a light on another aspect of Irish life in need of urgent attention. It has brought the story of the clandestine adoption of Irish children by US families to the fore. These stories have been both ‘known’ and ‘unknown’ here in Ireland. Mike Milotte’s book ‘Banished Babies’ suggests that at least 2,400 children were adopted in the period from early 1940’s to early 1970’s. These children are now adults predominantly in their 50’s and 60’s and their mothers are elderly. We know that many have been searching for their Irish families and likewise many Irish families have been searching for their lost children.

The stories of the adoptions are invariably linked with unplanned pregnancies and the very limited options open to young womenin Ireland at the time. Unplanned pregnancy can still be a major shock but, historically, it was greeted as a great trauma with very limited and stark options open to the single woman who found herself pregnant. If marriage was not a possibility or wanted, the ‘situation’ necessitated a solution that would deal with the sin, shame and secrecy associated with her ‘condition’. The fathers were kept largely invisible by a society who saw a role for a father only if marriage was an option.

It was as a

Original post: Family Therapy Association of Ireland

Irish presence in Istanbul a success!
October 2013

In Istanbul, at the recent European Family Therapy Association conference – our representative, Monica Whyte was not only voted onto the board of EFTA but she was also voted Chairperson of her Chamber the NFTO section of EFTA. We are extremely proud of Monica and are not surprised at her selection, as she has been extremely hardworking, popular and insightful.

At the conference, Monica worked from 7am to 8pm every day and on one occasion, together with Phil Kearney, she persevered until 12 midnight to ensure that EFTA elected a board. Valerie O’Brien very ably conducted the election in a transparent and professional manner. Phil Kearney continues to put in a huge amount of work on the Board as the Training Institute representative and Marie Keenan and Valerie O Brien are our NFTO representatives.

The conference in Istanbul was a tremendous success with the host country providing an excellent venue and fabulous organisation. There was a large Irish contingent participating at the conference and below are a sample of what was on offer:

. ‘Family Therapy in the face of New Emerging Conditions’ – Nora Bateson in conversation with Imelda McCarthy

. ‘Porn- Raising the issues and focusing on young people’ – Trish Murphy

. ‘Quality in Family Therapy Training: Integrating Theory and Practice’ – Aileen Tierney & Aine O Reilly

. ‘Systemic Therapy for Child focused problems’ – Alan Carr

. ‘Maintaining a space for understanding systemic psychotherapy for people labelled with an intellectual disability and the systems that support them; – Grania Clarke

. ‘Recent research on Major Models of Systemic Therapy in an Irish Context’ – Alan Carr

. ‘The Fifth Provence and Kinship care: Enhancing Understanding of Network Relationships’ – Valerie O’Brien

. ‘Allegation of Child Abuse in Post-divorce Couple Process: Conflict Management and Harm Reduction’ – Jim

Original post: Family Therapy Association of Ireland