In the second week of April, the 33rd EFPSA Congress took place in Grenaa, Denmark. Around 300 participants from 25+ countries visited the sunny yet chilly country. Ranking the second highest in happiness, the theme was logically introduced as “the search for Happiness”. With a strong scientific programme with international speakers, workshops, trainings, the participants had a great time during the day. In the evenings, a diverse and fun social programme was set up by the Danish Organising Committee.

Next to that, the Congress is the official end and start of the Working Community mandate. On the first day of the Congress, the new Board of Management was elected:  

 President: Ying Wai Cheung (Netherlands)

 Vice President: Tea Jermaniš (Croatia)

 Secretary General: Elvira Aghalarova (Azerbaijan)

 Finance Officer: Umut Doğan Bilici (Turkey)

 Marketing Officer: Robin Willems (Belgium)

 Member Representatives Officer: Mária Melinda Fehér (Belgium)

 Events Officer: Nicole Saliba (Malta)

 Academics Affairs Officer: Vita Bogdanic (Croatia)

Upper row from left to right: Umut Doğan Bilici (Finance Officer), Tea Jermaniš (Vice President), Elvira Aghalarova (Secretary General) and Mária Melinda Fehér (Member Representatives Officer)
Lower row from left to right: Robin Willems (Marketing Officer), Nicole Saliba (Events Officer), Ying Wai Cheung (President) and Vita Bogdanić (Academic Affairs Officer)

For the very first time, an 8th member has been added to the Board of Management. This decision was approved at the Joint Executive Board & Member Representatives Meeting back in November. With the Academics Affairs Officer, EFPSA is looking for a strong representation in the academic field through collaborations with universities, research institutions and researchers. Another new position has been added to the Executive Board called the Human Resources Responsible. This person will be responsible for the well-being of the Working Community as well as the recruitment of new potential Executive Board members.

After the excitement of the Congress in Denmark, we are already looking forward to the 34th Congress in Ireland. Moreover, the bid for Congress 2021 has been won by the Netherlands.

Written by 
Ying Wai Cheung
President of EFPSA (European Federation of Psychology Students' Associations)  

The European Society for Psychology Learning and Teaching (ESPLAT) officially recognized as a European Society in Brussels

The first few months of 2019 have been exciting and important for psychology learning and teaching in Europe. The newly established European Society for Psychology Learning and Teaching (ESPLAT) was officially recognized as a European Society in Brussels, along with the development of a new logo and website.  

The aim of ESPLAT is to advance the learning and teaching of psychology – at all educational levels and across all forms of learning – on the basis of scientific evidence.

As such, we embrace the scholarly research of teaching and learning. This includes both research that examines the experiences, effectiveness, or processes of various learning activities in psychology, as well as considering how psychological theory and methods might inform teaching practice.

We strive to provide a forum for teachers and researchers in pedagogical issues: a space (online and offline) in which we can share experiences, establish connections, and learn from each other in a European context.

Sally Wiggins
President of ESPLAT

ESPLAT will be hosting the first of our biannual conferences in Utrecht, from September 25-27, 2019.

Full details are available on our conference website  

The conference theme focuses on how we can foster the psychologists of the future through our teaching and learning practices. As we all face challenges in our working lives and within higher education, now is the time to identify ways in which our teaching can most effectively contribute to this landscape. Our future psychology graduates will be more valuable than ever, and we play an essential part in their journey toward their professional lives.

The ESPLAT team is very much looking forward to welcoming delegates to the conference in September, and to being part of the future of European psychology learning and teaching. 

Written by
Helen E. Bakker 

Improving the mental health of children in care worldwide

EFPA Promotion and Prevention member Niels Rygaard created the Fairstart Foundation  to provide NGOs and governments with blended learning solutions. 460 educated staff from 26 countries are now educated online and train attachment based care to the foster parents, residential and refugee camp staff of more than 30.000 children

In response to the 2009 UN call to improve care for the millions of children and youth who lost parental care, Rygaard invited international researchers and psychologists who contribute to the design of online based educations: how to train local groups of foster parents and group care staff in attachment based practices.

In two year partnerships from Greenland to Europe, Africa and Asia, this low cost solution now enables NGOs and governments to professionalize their staff and train thousands of caregivers with free programs, adjusted to 20 local languages and culture.

Current partnerships are with SOSChildren’s Villages in four East African countries, and Greenland government. The project was nominated for the Robert Roe Award 2017 by the Danish Psychologist Association and international researchers.

Read more here 

Written by
Niels Rygaard
Founder of Fairstart Foundation
Member of the EFPA Board of Promotion and Prevention 

Click to view on Youtube videos about Fairstart Foundation programs:

  2 minutes examples of how partner organisations apply our programs (with Spanish subtitles)

 About the online instructor education 

 Description of  Fairstart  by  Niels Rygaard 

What is ‘EMDR’ therapy and how does it work ?

www.emdr-europe.org 

and more here 

Game-changer

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a therapeutic method that has gained increasing popularity over the past several years, especially among men and women suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

What is EMDR?

EMDR is a fairly new form of psychotherapy originated by Francine Shapiro, PhD in 1987, when she  "made the chance observation that moving her eyes from side to side appeared to reduce the disturbance of negative thoughts and memories. "

Following decades of research, trials, studies and refinements, EMDR is now recommended "as an effective treatment for trauma in numerous international practice guidelines, including those of the American Psychiatric Association and the Department of Defense."