Martiño Rodríguez, researcher of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra, has been appointed president of the Spanishassociation for the research and development of Family Therapy (AEI+DTF). At the ICS, Rodriguez is researcher of the project 'Education of affectivity and human sexuality' where he leads the subproject E(f)FECTS, the first randomized clinical essay in emotionally focused couple therapy in Spanish-speaking countries.

Rodríguez holds a PhD in Psychology and is a systemic family therapist accredited by the Spanish Federation of Psychotherapist Associations (FEAP). Also, at the University of Navarra, he coordinates the four subjects that make up the pathway of family therapy of the Master's Degree in General Health Psychology (MPGS) of the School of Education and Psychology. She is also visiting professor at the University of Santiago de Compostela, University of Deusto, Universidad Pontificia Comillas and Brigham Young University and is currently directing four doctoral thesis .

In the last year she has published several articles in scientific journals such as Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, Family Process or Contemporary Family Therapy.

partnership between researchers

According to the expert, some of the challenges he has to face as the new president of the association are: to promote a network among Spanish researchers in family and couple therapy, to encourage partnership among members to support the research in this field and promote the incorporation of new members and the strengthening of International Office with other associations.

The main goal of the AEI+DTF is to support the research applied in the field of family and couple therapy. It was founded in 1997 by a group of university professors who are experts in family and couple therapy led by José Antonio Ríos González, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and "the most influential Spanish family therapist of the 20th century," according to Rodríguez.

In the board board of directors of the association there have been some of the figures of reference letter in Spain in this field, such as Valentín Escudero (University of La Coruña), Carles Pérez (Ramón Llull University), Miguel Garrido (University of Seville), or Ana Martínez Pampliega (University of Deusto) who will be taken over by Martiño Rodríguez for a period of 4 years.

One of the most outstanding activities organized by the AEI+DTF is an annual international symposium that seeks to bring together researchers from reference letter in the field of family and couples therapy in Spain. In 2019 the event was co-organized by the ICS under the degree scroll 'Keys to manage the therapeutic withdrawal and new models in intervention with couples.' and featured international speakers, such as Shayne Anderson and Lee Johnson from Brigham Young University (USA). "My role as president is to consolidate the annual Symposium as a moment of meeting for Spanish therapists and researchers," he concluded.