Published: March 2024

Keywords:
Gianfranco Cecchin, Recollecting, In Memoriam, EFTA Congress, Mental Health Centre W. Thessaloniki, Fany Triantafillou, Andreas Tsafos, Grief, Federico Fellini, Nino Rota.

Abstract

Video presented at the special ceremony In Memoriam of Gianfranco Cecchin, after Luigi Boscolo's speech at EFTA's Congress, 2004, Berlin.

Images from Gianfranco's invaluable visits to Thessaloniki, memories and recollections of an inspired and inspiring mentor – Grief...

Mental Health Centre of West Thessaloniki

Fany Triantafillou, Andreas Tsafos and MHC’s Therapeutic Team

The Mental Health Centre of West Thessaloniki, Greece, was created in 1985 by selected and specially trained staff of The Psychiatric Hospital of Thessaloniki under the guidance of Fany Triantafillou and Efrossini Moureli.

It was the first NHS, out-of-the-hospital Community Unit within the Mental Health Reformation Context starting at the time.

From the start, it was organised on the systemic and basic psychotherapy principles, providing individual, group and mostly Family Therapy to the citizens of a vast, degraded, multi-problem area.

Its enthusiastic with Systemics therapeutic team, within five years, through relationships and supervision primarily by Gianfranco Cecchin, Lynn Hoffman, Harlene Anderson, Jaakko Seikula and George and Vasso Vasileiou (and many, many others) became a Centre of sharing knowledge in all over Greece. It was called "the Systemic MHC".

Fany Triantafillou was MHC's first Consultant psychiatrist – Director (followed by Violetta Kaftantzi, after her retirement in 2008).

Andreas Tsafos was the last from the initial therapeutic team. He retired last year.

Today, MHC provides various psychotherapy and outpatient psychiatric services while a small group of new-generation family therapists hold on to the systemic approach.