People live in a circuitry of relationships, and family relationship has great impact on the manifestation and healing of individual problems. However, human service practitioners have traditionally focused on treating the individual and are unprepared to deal with the complex family issues of contemporary society. Our work has proven that many behavioral and emotional problems in adults and children are merely reactions to interpersonal issues in the family and the larger society. Getting the family to resolve their conflicts is a far more useful and cost effective approach in relieving family members from their distresses. Having established the HKU Family Institute (HKUFI), the same group of visionaries deems it timely to form the AFT in their continuous effort to lead such a paradigm shift. In 2015, AFT has become AAFT, in order to expand its work to include other Asian family therapists. The AAFT is an independent organization that aims to raise the family therapy profession to a higher profile, set the standard, and enhance the professional development of family therapy practitioners in the region.
