Established in 1953 as the IUFO Commission on Marriage and Marriage Guidance (subsequently: Commission on Marriage and Interpersonal Relations), the ICCFR adopted its present name in 2001 to make clear the focus of its work. Its extensive international membership includes organisations and individuals involved in couple and family therapy, relationship education, social work, mediation, psychology and psychiatry, research, social policy, family courts and the law, and family organisations. As a result, the Commission sustains a groundbreaking interdisciplinary dialogue about couple and family relations and the support provided for them by the professions.
Our annual international conferences and, lately, webinars have themes reflecting the current activities and concerns of the membership and of the wider public. Participants gain information on new thinking about couple and family relations, as well as opportunities to network with and learn from likeminded individuals. Archive conference reports and papers are held in the database of GIDS (Institute of Sociology, KU Leuven, Belgium) and recent ones are published on this website.
The conferences also promote collaboration with family-related professionals and organisations worldwide. Conferences are normally held in a different part of the world each year, often co-hosted by a local organisation. About twenty countries are usually represented at these events.
Plenary keynote presentation sessions are complemented by numerous workshops addressing specific topics in more detail. Discussion groups are a distinctive feature of our conferences: here, participants engage in discussion about the theme of the conference or issues relating to their own special interests.
ICCFR is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). The Trustees determine the Commission’s purposes and agenda. The ICCFR Council, which includes all the Trustees, plans and manages the annual conferences and the Commission’s international communications.