Talking with Telmo Mourinho Baptista, EFPA President

Telmo Mourinho Baptista, EFPA President

Tomorrow begins the European Congress of Psychology in Moscow, at the same time as Telmo Mourinho Baptista ends his first four-year term as president of the EFPA Executive Council.

What do you think will be the main challenge to psychologists in the near future?

I think the main challenge for psychologist in the near future is to follow the developments that artificial intelligence (AI) is introducing in all kinds of services, including psychology. We are at an important point where we still have the time to participate in the debates that occur around the development of AI and the consequences for the citizens. There are many issues that need to be discussed,  like ethical choices, privacy and psychological consequences of a world that is dominated by Ai, instead of a world that has AI at the service of humankind. This is not farfetched, this future is already here, and we don’t seem to notice it in all the different applications that surround us, like personal assistants (ex: Siri, Alexa) or intelligent homes. I think the participation of psychologists is crucial at the different stages of development, and Europeans have started an important exemple of concern for the development of responsible AI. We must participate in this discussion 

Can you talk a little bit about some of the big issues that you have been advocating being president of the European Federation of Psychologists Association (EFPA)?

I have been advocating in general for a more psychologically informed process of decision. It is strange that with our solid knowledge about human behaviour we do not have a strong voice in policy making. There are already good examples, like the behavioural units that some governments created, but there is ample possibility for the different policies to benefit from psychological knowledge.

I also have been advocating for the development of the Europsy, in order to have more Europeans as Europsy holders.  Europsy is a great achievement, and we need to develop it, and discuss further developments, like specialities, and the competencies that are involved at the different levels. Working with the Universities is a priority, so that they can prepare their students to become Europsy holders.

Another aspect that I have been advocating is for the diversification of services to deal with mental health problems. We need to consider other forms of delivery of services, not just the one on one encounter. Group, organization and community interventions should be more applied. We need also to consider the impact of the digital world as a way of helping to deliver services. This implies new roles for psychologists, and collaboration with other professions in a more ample way. 

What’s the role of psychology for peace worldwide and what do you think that must be improved for that purpose?

Psychology can be of great help in peace processes. Improving communication between opposing parts,  understanding the needs of the people involved, negotiating and mediating conflicts, following up on the achievements to allow for permanent change,  are the type of activities that psychologists are experts. There is strong science that supports psychological interventions in peace processes,  We can assist in the reparation processes, to bring true peace to the hearts of people, allowing them to have a better life.I have seen testimonies of these processes and I wonder why psychologists are not used more in the peace processes. I guess the general public, and even decision makers, don’t know enough go our training and how we can be of help. 

For peace

The European Union is an ideal of peace. I think we have forgotten too many times about this.

Burkineau, Poland

The European Union is an ideal of peace. I think we've forgotten too many times about this. Europe has lived a historic period of peace since 1945, with some regional exceptions. When we complain about the European directives, the limits to deficit and indebtedness, the mobility or the rules of competition and the market, we may be right or wrong, but we must not forget the fortune that is peace.

Without peace we question the civilizational developments achieved, the economic development, the health, the education, the culture, etc. This, in addition to the suffering costs for the populations, with greater focus, for the poorest and most vulnerable.

Peacekeeping requires dialogue and sharing. Negotiation and respect for the other and for the differences. And we are all responsible! We are responsible when we let them decide for us, when we do not participate continuously in the social and political life of our communities, when we do not inform ourselves about the reasoning of the decisions that involve or affect us, when we only look at our individual and immediate interest without considering the collective and what is sustainable over time.

That is why when I look at recent "developments" in several countries, with very little europeism on the left and on the right, based on the exploitation of fears and / or dissatisfactions, I am not afraid for prosperity or for having to share with those who have nothing and are looking for a safer world to live in (far from wars and conflicts), or I am not afraid for the standardization of some rules ... I fear for freedom and for peace.

European construction it's a welfare, present in our lives. So present that we forget him as we forget the air we breathe, even when we lack it. However, the European Union is a human construction, imperfect, and needs to be improved. More participated and genuinely more inclusive and promoter of the rights and duties of its member states and its citizens. But that depends on whom? It depends on us all.

With different responsibilities, depending on the roles we play. But it concerns all of us. And we have no excuses to say, as a solution, when we do not like something that we see around us and that affects us: stop all this (European Union) because it does not serve us.

We Psychologists, as well as citizens, as professionals, try to contribute to the European construction effort. One of the ways is through EFPA (European Federation of Psychologists Associations), representing more than 300,000 psychologists in the European space (36 countries), for 2 years presided over by a Portuguese, Telmo Mourinho Baptista.

We create partnerships, try to gather synergies, learn from each other's experiences, promoting good professional practices at European level for all consumers of psychology services in this region of the world. EFPA has created EUROPSY, a diploma that recognizes professionals' competences to facilitate mobility in the European space, and that the OPP will soon make available to Portuguese psychologists.

It is a small contribution to networking, to dialogue and the consolidation of relationships between people, professionals and different countries, of a common geographic space with common interests. It is also a very small contribution, for a greater good, peace.

Published in portuguese language in the Sábado online magazine 28/04/2017.