IFTA Proposal & Presentation Guidelines
Proposals are sought for the next IFTA World Family Therapy Congress in one of the following categories:
- Brief Presentations (20 minutes)
- 45 Minute Presentations (lectures, workshops, or panel)
- Poster Presentations.
- Proposal Deadline: October 31, 2026.
*Please review this page/document in its entirety. There is important information throughout that will provide answers to many questions.
Proposals:
Proposals must include the title, short description, and long description in English.
Presenters present in English. Applicants should submit a proposal with a title of no more than 90 characters and a short but thorough description of the presentation in 50 words or less. The short description will appear in the Congress program. In addition, include a longer description of your presentation of 300 words or less. The longer description will appear in the IFTA World Congress Book of Abstracts.
For all types of presentations described below, presenters must be present at the IFTA World Congress to have their name and poster display title published in the IFTA World Congress materials.
There are three different types of presentations at IFTA World Congress. They are:
20 Minute Brief Presentations
These are short presentations that highlight your research, clinical, or supervisory work. Your presentation will be paired with another presentation and is facilitated by a moderator. Where possible the two presentations are grouped under a common theme. Presentations are invited on clinical work, social policy, social justice, family therapy education, training, supervision, research, theory. (Limited to two presenters per proposal)
No Audiovisual will be available for the Brief sessions. You may wish to bring handouts for your attendees.
45 Minute Presentations
This is an opportunity to share work with colleagues in some depth. Presenters usually use two formats, lecture or workshop. The lecture format is intended to focus on content and is primarily didactic with minimal audience participation. The workshop format is intended to be interactive, with emphasis on experiential exercise and/or small group discussion in addition to some lecture.
Proposals can range on a variety of topics; clinical work, research, theory, family therapy education and training, supervision, social policy, and social justice. (Limited to four presenters)
Posters
Posters feature the work of researchers or other effective work in the field of family therapy. For example, (1) quantitative or qualitative research involving couples or families; (2) interventions with families or couples in larger systems; (3) family therapy training programs, supervision, or initiatives; or (4) larger system interventions. At the Congress, a poster number will be assigned and placed on each poster display in order to help attendees identify each display from a list of all posters. (Limited to four presenters)
At an assigned time, presenters will stand by their poster so they can discuss their topic with interested Congress attendees. Please see the “Congress Schedule/Agenda” in the congress web site for the notice of the Poster Session.
We recommend that presenters have a 2-page handout to provide. Poster size and dimensions: Posters should be no larger than 92 cm (36 in) wide x 76 cm (30 in) high. Posters should be no smaller than 70 cm (28 in) x 70 cm (28 in).
Consult Poster Instructions and Submission.
Students Proposals
The IFTA World Congress welcomes students to submit proposals. Student proposals are open to graduate students across any discipline that furthers systemic therapy. Documentation of current graduate student status must accompany the proposal submission.
While it is customary for graduate students to list their faculty advisor in academic conferences, in this congress only presenters are listed in the program brochure and final program book. Thus, do not list your advisor unless he or she is presenting and registering for the IFTA World Congress. There is a place to enter your Faculty Advisor’s name in the Proposal Submission form.
Proposal Submission
Proposals must be submitted using the online form on www.ifta-congress.org. The boxes on the online form limit the text length for the presentation Title (<90 characters including spaces), the Short Description (<50 words), and the Long Description (<350 words).
Presenters will receive an email to acknowledge receipt of their proposal. After proposals are reviewed, presenters will receive an e-mail to acknowledge the Status of their proposal, defined as follows.
- Accepted: Proposal will be part of the Congress Program, contingent upon presenter Registration.
- Wait Listed: Proposal is not accepted at this time but is being placed on a “waitlist.” The proposal may be accepted upon the condition that an opening becomes available in the Congress Program.
- Rejected: Proposal is not accepted.
IMPORTANT Please note: Only the lead presenters receive the confirmation and any other information relevant to the Congress. As a lead presenter, it is YOUR responsibility to inform the other presenters of any information from the Congress Event Office.
Limited Acceptances: Due to the growth of the IFTA World Congress we are only able to accept one proposal by any presenter. If your name is on more than one proposal, we will accept those abstracts that best fit the Congress theme or help to round out the Congress program. Please note that this applies to whether you are the lead presenter or co-presenter. If there is room in the program for a second presentation we will contact you. Poster presentations do not count toward your presentation total.
Contact Information: Needed for each person who plans to present the presentation. If there is more than one presenter, the person listed first will be considered the main presenter.
Congress Registration – IMPORTANT
Within one month, after receiving an Acknowledgement of being Accepted, presenters and co-presenters must register and pay the full Congress fee. Completed registration confirms presenters as an official part of the Congress Program.
If a presenter does not register within one month, the presentation will be put on the waitlist. Another proposal from the waitlist will replace your spot. If you register after you proposal has been dropped, we will do our best to get you into the program but no there are no assurances.
If a co-presenter does not register within one month, their name will be DROPPED from the Program. If they register before four weeks of the IFTA World Congress, they will be in the program brochure. After that time, we will add them to the final program book.
International Journal of Systemic Therapy
One of the benefits of being a member of IFTA is The International Journal of Systemic Therapy. We strongly encourage World Congress presenters to submit their work in the journal. The Editor will be present during the conference and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Editor at the Congress Registration desk.