INTERNATIONAL BALINT FEDERATION

GENERAL SECRETARY: DR JOHN SALINSKY

32 WENTWORTH HILL WEMBLEY MIDDLESEX HA9 9SG ENGLAND

TEL/FAX: 44 20 8904 2844  email: Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

Minutes of the meeting of the General Assembly of the Federation held on Sunday 5 October 2003  in the Kaiserin-Friedrich-Stiftung, Berlin, Germany


Present:

Dr Heide Otten (president)               GERMANY       Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Kornélia Bobay (vice-president)    HUNGARY        Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Marie-Anne Puel (vice-president)  FRANCE            Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr John Salinsky (general secretary) UK                       Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Michel Delbrouck (treasurer)        BELGIUM            mailto:Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Heather Suckling ( general secretary elect) UK         Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Marion Lustig                            AUSTRALIA        Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Rubens Hirsel Bergel                  BRAZIL                 Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Ante Gilić                                   CROATIA             Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Branka Jovancevic                     CROATIA
Dr Sanja Blaûekovic-Milakovic       CROATIA            Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Stanislava Spehar-Stojanović     CROATIA             Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Karel Koblic                             CZECH REP.         Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Helena Nielsen                         DENMARK            Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Annette Davidson                     DENMARK            Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Marja Nick                              FINLAND               Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr FranÁois Auger                        FRANCE                 Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Michelle Moreau Ricaud          FRANCE                   Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Prof Ernst Petzold                         GERMANY             Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Stephan Alder                          GERMANY             Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Kornélia Bobay                        HUNGARY             Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Prof Benyamin Maoz                     ISRAEL                   Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr AndrÈ Matalon                         ISRAEL                   Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Juris Batna                                LATVIA                  Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Jorste Dorsthost                        NETHERLANDS
Dr Mariecke van Schie                   NETHERLANDS     Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Barbara Jugowar                       POLAND
Dr Maria Skommer                        POLAND
Dr Jorge Brand„o                          PORTUGAL            Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Alberet Veress                          ROMANIA              Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Eva Veress                               ROMANIA               Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr AnitaH‰ggmark                       SWEDEN                  Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Henry Jablonski                        SWEDEN               Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Tina Nystrom Rohnis                SWEDEN
Dr Ingrid Ursing                             SWEDEN                Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Heinrich Egli                             SWITZERLAND      Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Alan Johnson                            USA                          Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Donald Nease                           USA                         Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Doris Blass                               UK                           Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Marie Campkin                         UK
Dr Andrew Dicker                         UK                            Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Caroline Palmer                         UK                           Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Lenka Speight                           UK
Dr David Watt                                UK                    Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.
Dr Sotiris Zalidis                             UK                    Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

 

1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Apologies were received from Dr Vladimir Vinokour (Russia), Dr Erica Jones and Dr Paul Sackin (UK)

Non-members who expressed an interest in the IBF but who were unable to attend were Dr Hristo Kozhuharov and Dr Valcho Yordanov (Bulgaria), Dr Guido Prato Previde (Italy), Dr Ljiljana Milivojevic (Yugoslavia), Dr Martin Ivanovski (Macedonia) and Professor Olga Kuznetsova from Russia.


2. MINUTES

The minutes of the last meeting held on 3 May 2003 in Miercurea-Ciuc, Romania, were circulated and approved.

3. PRESIDENTíS ADDRESS

The president (Dr Heide Otten, Germany) thanked everyone for their participation in the Congress and for their papers. The question now was: where will the next one be?

4. TREASURERíS REPORT

The treasurer (Dr Michel Delbrouck, Belgium) presented his balance sheet which showed that in the year to end September 2003, the Federation had a total income of Ä 4394 and an expenditure of Ä1120 giving a profit of Ä3274.  He reminded us that we had decided to spend some of the surplus on paying for the Ascona prize winning students to come to the Congress to receive their prizes. The fees remain for the present at Ä700 full subscription for a national Balint Society and Ä70 for individual membership and for Balint Societies in Eastern Europe.

Action: Any societies that have not yet paid!!

5. SECRETARYíS REPORT The general secretary (Dr John Salinsky, UK) said that he wished to report that he had very much enjoyed his 10 years in the post. He had served under four presidents and helped to organise seven International Congresses. Now he was very happy to hand over to Dr Heather Suckling who he was sure was going to be an excellent successor. The meeting thanked John for all his work and hoped that he would continue to be active on the Council of the Federation.

6. INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS

The officers of the Federation elected at the last meeting were:
President: Dr Heide Otten (Germany)
Vice-presidents: Dr Kornelia Bobay (Hungary) and Dr Marie-Anne Puel (France)
Treasurer: Dr Michel Delbrouck (Belgium)
General Secretary: Dr Heather Suckling (UK)

7. 14th INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS, OCTOBER 2005

Dr Anita H‰ggmark (Sweden) said that the Swedish Society had definitely decided to host the Congress in 2005. The venue had not yet finalised but it would be either in the city of Stockholm or in a Conference venue just outside. The city was exciting to be in but it would also be good to for us to be able to live and work together in the same building which would be possible in a conference centre. After some discussion about the best time of year and the need to avoid clashing with religious holidays there was a consensus in favour of late August 2005. There will be more information and further opportunities for discussion atat the next meeting of the Council.

Action:  Anita Haggmark

8. ASCONA PRIZES

Prof Ernst Petzold (Germany) told us that the closing date for the 2004 Ascona essay competition would be 31 March and the prizes would be awarded in Ascona some time in June 2004. Ernst reminded us that the Monte Verit· in Ascona ( Southern Switzerland) was a Zauberberg or ëMagic Mountainí and an inspiring place to visit.  We should all encourage our students to write essays and enter them for the competition. The rules were the same as before and essays should be sent to Dr med. Alex Amman, Grtafenriedstrasse 1, CH 3074, Muri, Switzerland. Email: Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.

Action: All

9.DATE AND PLACE OF NEXT MEETING

Dr Sanja Blaûeković-Milaković (Croatia) invited us to come and hold our meeting during the Balint summer School at Dubrovnik which will be held from 7th-12th June 2004. After some discussion about who could or could not be available at weekends or mid-week, we settled on Saturday 12th June 2004 as the date for the meeting. Further information will be available nearer the time. Sanja will send Heather the electronic version of the flyer so that it can be circulated.

Action:  Sanja Blazekovic--Milakovic

10. WONCA MEETING IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA, USA, 12 OCTOBER 2004

The Secretary said that we had been planning to hold a council meeting at the WONCA Conference as it will be attended by thousands of family doctors and primary health care workers from all over the world. It will be a very good opportunity to let them all know what Balint has to offer. Dr Alan Johnson (USA) told us that the Americal Balint Society was hoping to have a workshop at the Conference which would include a fishbowl, a forum on group leadership and a discussion on leader credentialing. The International Federation Council meeting could be held on the same day. However it might be necessary for delegates to enrol for at least one day of the main Wonca conference which could be expensive. Further details will be available from Dr Mary Hall ( Dit e-mailadres wordt beveiligd tegen spambots. JavaScript dient ingeschakeld te zijn om het te bekijken.). Dr Alan Johnson agreed to contact Mary to find out whether those attending only the Balint day would need to pay the fee. If so he will ask her if she can negotiate a special rate. He will email Heather with the information so that she can circulate it.

action: Alan Johnson and Heather Suckling

11. OTHER BUSINESS

At this point Dr Heather Suckling (UK) took over from John Salinsky as General Secretary. She welcomed the conference delegates who had not previously been to a Council meeting or general assembly or had not been able to come recently. They were:

Dr Marion Lustig (Australia) Dr Karel Koblic (Czech Republic) Dr Juris Batner (Latvia) and Dr Rubens Hirsel Bergel (Brazil) and Drs Mariecke van Schie and Jorste Dorhorst ( Netherlands).

There follow reports of activities from the member countries:
Dr Jorge Brand„o (Portugal) said that his translation of John Salinsky and Paul Sackoinís book What are you feeling, doctor?  would soon be published and would be made available to family doctors all over Portugal.

Dr Mariecke van Schie (Netherlands) told us that Balint was still alive and well in Holland with about many active groups. However, it is difficult to form a Balint Society as they are unable to provide educational points for attendance at groups and meetings.

Dr Donald Nease (USA) mentioned the Balint-L email Listserve of which he is the secretary. American Balint Society members find this is a very effective way to communicate over long distances and he recommended it to people in other countries as well. (There are already some non-Americans on the List).

Dr Karel Koblic (Czech Republic) said that there was no Balint Society in his country so far but they were able to operate under the umbrella of the Czech Society for Psychotherapy.

There was some further discussion about financial matters. Should small Societies continue to pay a reduced fee and how small did they have to be to qualify?  Heather Suckling suggested that each person could pay an individual subscription (Ä70) until there were 10 members, after which it would be less expensive to pay the full fee for a Society (Ä700). This would encourage the formation of more new Societies. Don Nease asked about how the Federationís surplus was to be used and Michel told us that in addition to paying for prize-winning students to come to Congresses (see Treasurerís report) we had decided to use some money to pay for an International Balint Website and an International Journal. Dr Henry Jablonski (Sweden) said that we should value the International Federation and its work. He had the impression that the Board (Council) was run on a shoestring and although members might have questions about how the money was spent this was not a reason not to pay. It was agreed that ìUse of IBF fundsî would be tabled as an agenda item at the next meeting.

Action: Heather

The president invited everyone to write something in the guest page of the International Balint website and to make links to it from their national websites. Ernst Petzold showed us copies of four journals from France, Germany, Romania and the UK and urged us to read them and write for them. (There are also journals produced in Belgium and Italy).

Dr Andre Matalon (Israel) suggested that membership of the IBF should include a subscription to one of the journals (depending on the language of the members).This will also be added to the agenda for the next meeting.

Action: Heather

The meeting was then concluded and those present adjourned for a delicious buffet lunch provided by the German Balint Society.

General Secretary John Salinsky
Secretary Elect Heather  Suckling