Some really cool things from the 2026 ASFA Conference
The weather was very ordinary, but the connections and learning were fantastic!
At one point I was thinking about not going, but I am really glad I did. The ASFA crew are MY crew. We talk the same language and we generally see the world and our clients in a very similar way. It's great fun to be around them, and I left there full of knowledge, hope, and inspiration.
The highlight for me was to meet some people that I have known for many years through emails, papers, books and webinars but we have never met face to face:
Dave and Debbie Hogan from Singapore are an amazing couple. We were planning to stay together at the 2020 Sydney Conference but that was cancelled due to COVID. They were great supporters of the Journal of Solution Focused Practices, both when we initially rebuilt it, and later when there was a bit of 'difficulty' amongst some of the team. We were able to hang out quite a lot, and I am hoping to visit them in Singapore in 2027 (more info to come, but it's pretty exciting!)
Guy Shannon from the U.K. was one of the keynote speakers, and it was great to finally meet face to face. I was honoured for Guy to mention me in his keynote address at the 2019 SFBTA Conference (in USA) and later he also gave me a mention in his book. Guy delivered a really good pre-conference workshop, and I had a couple of really good conversations with him and his partner Bernice.
I kept myself busy by running a workshop on Single Session Therapy and facilitating a discussion on the history of the Solution Focused Approach in Australia and New Zealand. It was an honour for me to host Michael Durrant (Aus), Kate Kowalski (USA), along with the N.Z. contingent of Emma Burns, Brent Gardner, and Judi Miller. The recording of this discussion will be available soon, and hopefully later in the year there will be a more detailed paper published.
The standout workshop for many was hearing Alan Wade from Canada talking about Response-Based Practice. It's not exactly Solution Focused Brief Therapy, but most people thought the 2 approaches work really well together. You can find out more here at the Centre for Response Based Practice. It was great to meet Alan and hear about some really interesting work.
What's planned for 2027?
2 big announcements are on their way:
The 2027 ASFA Conference is already being organised and we expect to hear the date and location announced soon.
I'm going to be heading overseas in 2027 on what will be the biggest moment in my whole career! Stay tuned for the big announcement!!!
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