Introduction to Psychosexual Therapy with Dr Naomi Adams and Dominic Davies Saturday 11th (1pm - 7pm) and Sunday 12th February 2006 (9.30 - 5.30pm) (TWO DAY COURSE) Central London Fee £180 (Directory Members); £200 (Others)

Unless one does a specialist sex therapy training, one is probably ill prepared for understanding much about sexuality issues. Even if one did do a psychosexual training, probably very little was mentioned about minority sexualities.

This two day workshop provides an introduction to some of the key issues in working therapeutically with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender clients with psychosexual concerns. The workshop will cover current models of sexual response, the classification of sexual difficulties and a brief review of the literature and then explore some of the implicit assumptions in these hetero-normative models. By widening our understanding of sex, sexuality and sexual difficulties we will give workshop participants an opportunity to explore some of the multiple contexts (sexuality, gender, age, ethnicity, culture, religion etc) that shape both clinicians and clients views of sexual difficulties and diverse sexual practices. We will then move on to interactive exercises with the aim of helping participants develop practical skills in assessment and therapeutic interventions with individual clients and couples. We hope that by the end of the two days, participants will feel a greater sense of confidence in incorporating discussions of sex and sexual functioning into their general clinical work and/or developing their psychosexual therapy.

BEAUTIFUL SOULS: ugliness, body fascism and self-esteem with Keith Silvester Saturday 11 March 2006 1.30pm - 7.30pm Central London £85 for members of the Directory of Pink Therapists £95 for others

The contemporary western gay world is dominated by images of physical perfection, commonly expressed through advertising and marketing linked to the sexual allure of certain stereotypes – usually youthful. Although most of us would claim not to 'buy in' to superficial representations of the bodily ideal, they hold a tremendous sub-conscious power over us. In our personal lives there is often considerable hypocrisy when it comes to how we treat people who may not match up to certain physical expectations we may hold. This feeds a cultural cycle of low self- esteem, which usually remains hidden but gets played out in the way people reject and get rejected. Traditionally, we have blamed the straight world for our legacy of low self-esteem, yet the gay world has continued to propagate and maintain images and ideals which perpetuate this.

In this workshop, open to women and men, we will explore our personal responses, attitudes and experiences to the whole area of physical appearance and how we represent these issues to those we work with. We will examine how we relate to our clients, and how images and projections affect and inform transference and countertransference reactions.

You might like to know about Pride Direct, a large web based business directory for the LGBT community. They are keen to keep the Directory up to date and you can register and advertise your practice for free.

If you do decide to take out higher profile paid advertising, please mention you heard about their site through Pink Therapy.

A day of Gay Men’s Health: A day of workshops Saturday 4th February 10am – 4pm

We are presenting a series of power session workshops in one day Each workshop will be 80 minutes and deal with different topics: ‘Setting goals for change’, ‘The sex therapy chat room’ ‘Dealing with prejudice and diversity’ and ‘A Positive approach to HIV’

The day will be held at Health First SE1. There will be a facilitated discussion group towards the end of the day for feedback and to explore gay men’s health needs in the Borough. Open to all gay men but priority will be given to gay men who live or work in Southwark.

Also, Healthier Gay Men ‘Getting What I Want’ a Monday evening group for gay men to explore sexual health starting on Monday 9th January and running each Monday evening from 7.30pm to 9.30pm for twelve weeks to Monday 26th March 2006. Participants will be expected to attend all the sessions at Health First next to London Bridge Station.

The group will be facilitated and the intention is for the members of the group to bring the issues they are either concerned about or want to find out more about and explore through discussion and facilitated exercises.

For further information and to book a place on either event, please contact Simon on 020 7835 1495 Funded by Southwark Alliance

Freestyle London is a new project working for young lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) youth across the capital, based within the Consortium of LGBT voluntary and community organisations. Right now we have an exciting opportunity for a full-time worker to join us to co- ordinate this project.

The Freestyle London Project Manager is responsible for overseeing the development and management of projects that challenge the homophobic and transphobic prejudice faced by young LGBT people across the capital, as well as promoting the civil and human rights of LGBT youth. The worker will also ensure young people are consulted on all Freestyle London projects, includign events, training and research.

For further information and an application pack, please contact admin@lgbtconsortium.org.uk, telephone 0207 064 83830, fax 0207 064 8283, stating if you require the information in an accessible format. Alternatively you can download the job pack from www.lgbtconsortium.org.uk . Please note that where possible application forms completed and returned electronically would be preferred.

Based on books by renowned author bell hooks: these workshops will explore living by a ‘love ethic’, as well as the place love has in healing wounds of the past and how love supports movements for social justice

The workshops will run over 8 weeks, meeting in a safe experiential group. DATE Thursdays – 23rd February to 13th April TIME 6.30 -9pm VENUE Spiral - 2 Shelburne Road, London N7 6DL COST £165 for 8 weeks. Deposit of £80 to secure place.

CONTACT HAVVA MUSTAFA – 01273 557942 for more information. Havva.mustafa@ntlworld.com

Dr. Charles W. Socarides, a well-known psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who maintained publicly, long after it was considered scientifically acceptable to do so, that homosexuality was a condition amenable to treatment and even to conversion to heterosexuality, died on Sunday at Metropolitan Hospital Center in New York. He was 83 and lived on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.