Inaugural speech of the First National Congress of Psychology

Abstract

It is a great honour for me, and for the Governing Board of the Official Association of Psychologists, to open today the sessions of this First Congress. It is an honour because today marks the beginning of a new stage for our profession, and because the years when we had to occupy other people’s spaces to reflect on it, and on psychology itself, are now inevitably behind us.

I say a new stage is beginning because the reflections that will take place at this gathering of nearly one thousand five hundred psychologists, debating the fields of professional practice, models of intervention, methodological issues, and all those aspects that practitioners face in their daily work; represent a significant effort to achieve the objectives we set ourselves. In some ways, these objectives have already been surpassed by the massive and enthusiastic participation in the Congress, and by the existence of a professional reality more vibrant than we had imagined.

Our objectives are as follows:

- To hold a first meeting bringing together professionals from across Spain.

- To analyse the professional challenges faced by psychologists and to open up future perspectives grounded in the social reality of their practice.

- To review the different models of intervention and the methodologies employed in the various areas and services.

- To reflect on the different proposals for regulatory, ethical, training, and research development in psychology.

These aims will be pursued through:

- Five keynote presentations in the areas of Health, Education, Work, Society, and Professional Practice.

- Six multi-professional panels.

- Eight international guest speakers, representing prestigious professional organisations in areas where psychology plays a role.

- Five Technical Committees comprising a total of thirty members.

- Fifty roundtable discussions with sixty-eight coordinators.

- Three hundred and fifty-one communications.

- One thousand three hundred registered participants.