Her Majesty Queen Sonja, Organising committee, participants of the congress, ladies and gentlemen – I am honoured by this opportunity to welcome you, on behalf of the Norwegian government, to this very promising congress. The main focus of the congress – family therapy – highlights an important area of therapeutic practice in the health services. In the course of the last decades, family therapy has gained a firm position as part of the standard repertoire of treatment methods in relation to psychic health.

The subtitle of the congress – reconciliation – signals that the following days of plenary presentations and workshops will have a scope that reaches further than the traditional clinical field. The program indicates that the topics expand from the family to the community and to reconciliatory work between ethnic groups and in a cultural context.

In 1998, the Norwegian Parliament adopted unanimously an ambitious plan -stretching over eight years - for the strengthening of the psychic health services in Norway. An important aspect of the plan is the true integration into the community of those who have suffered from mental illness. This implies providing adequate treatment measures locally. In addition we need to establish a basis for normal everyday life for people who have suffered mental illness of such severity that they have for some time been unable to function in relation to work, school or leisure. The health services will have to co-operate with the employment services, school authorities and child welfare services as well as administrative bodies for culture-, sports- and leisure activities. To my mind this ultimately is a question of developing attitudes and cultures that are tolerant, inclusive and have a high potential for reconciliation.

From time to time we experience serious criminal acts that evoke anger and fear in the population. That has quite recently been the case in Norway. When such things happen, the mental state of the perpetrators quickly put in question: Why were the mental health service unable to prevent the tragic event? It is natural that such questions are raised. However, it may also further complicate the task of integrating people who have suffered mental illness into the community because violence and threatening behaviour so easily become associated with mental illness in general. Fear and anger cause people to demand that the mentally ill and unstable should be treated in institutions, both in their own interest and in order to protect the public. These demands must be met with many different measures in addition to adequate treatment. The public needs information about mental illness. Having studied the congress program, it is my hope that a better understanding of how we can facilitate reconciliation in communities where the population has suffered the traumas of war, can contribute also to our ability to overcome the repercussions of irrational violent crime without stigmatising people.

In addition to this, of course, there are lots of people in the world community that have suffered the atrocities of war. These people are often faced with the challenges of healing the psychic wounds of war and assimilating in a foreign country and culture at the same time. As we all know, this process too often results in tension and conflict with the population in the new country. It is the aim of the Norwegian government to meet the psychosocial and mental health needs of people seeking political asylum, refugees and immigrants by distributing specialised know-how throughout the country. In the plan for strengthening the mental health services, this challenge is met by several measures. There will be established three regional centres for psychosocial services to refugees in addition to an already existing national centre. Further, certain hospital units will be given the task of developing and distributing competence in communication and treatment across language- and cultural boundaries. There will also be established a competence unit for the somatic and psychic health amongst immigrants, situated at one of our largest hospitals. Undoubtedly the type of experience that is to be shared at this conference will have relevance to these services.

I feel confident that the congress will contribute to our understanding of the challenges I have already mentioned, as well as other serious problems that are to be addressed, such as domestic violence, sexual offence, eating disorder and children in divorce situations. I would like to compliment the International Family Therapy Association and the organising committee on a comprehensive programme with a wide and innovative perspective.

Finally, I want to wish you all a fruitful congress!