Pink Therapy News
Keeping YOU in the Frame
July 2009
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Greetings!
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 It's been a busy month again, we've had some changes in personnel and are saying thanks and good bye to Cloud Taylor who has been with us as a Clinical Associate for several years and welcome to Fedja Dalagia who is joining us as a new Associate. Fedja will shortly have a new page in the Associates section.
Fedja trained at the Site for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and has a strong reputation in helping develop British psychoanalytic thinking, having published and spoken at therapy conferences. We are delighted to have him on the team.
Dominic has also started to get some administrative help part time and Olivier Cormier-Otaño a recent graduate from the Certificate in Sexual Minority Therapy programme is working in the office for a couple of hours a week and Jack Holroyde is helping with the relaunch of the Directory. Jack is a unpaid Director for the Queer Youth Network and the LGBT Consortium and so brings a good knowledge of the LGBT third sector and has project management expertise
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Directory of Pink Therapists
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 We are having a major relaunch of the Directory in the next month or so and so new applications and annual invitations to renew have been put on hold. In the new system you will be able to create and maintain your own profile, updating it whenever you want, whereas updates under the current system updates could only be done annually unless they pertained to a change in contact details.
This will take a strain off Dominic since he has very little admin support and the new system will be much better and more comprehensive; it will be possible to include complementary therapists and therapists working overseas.
This updated system requires some new software to be written and the software engineer is working as fast as possible to get it ready. You will be informed once we have it up and running.
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Certificate in Sexual Minority Therapy
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Six students graduated as the first cohort from our Certificate in Sexual Minority Therapy programme this month and we received some excellent feedback from the students as how to improve the course and were pleased to have Carmen Ablack, our External Moderators' positive report on the programme.
 Recent graduates of the Cert SMT programme with supervisor Damian Mc Cann
The next intake for this programme will be in October 2010 and if you are interested to do it, you need to be aware numbers will again be limited probably to a cohort of 10 students and so it's worth registering your interest early.
We're delaying the course partly to develop it a little further but some information about the previous course is available by following the link: Click here for information on the course
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Gay/Bi Men's Therapy Groups
with Tim Foskett
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 Therapy in a group is a learning laboratory for relationships. The process you go through is a rich source of learning about yourself, and how you relate to others. This experience, and the skills you practise along the way, helps you develop authentic and intimate relationships in other parts of your life. A therapy group is a kind of psychological gym. Used consistently, it can be an intense learning experience with lifechanging potential. The ongoing therapy groups I facilitate provide a regular space to explore issues and concerns in your life with other gay and bisexual men. You can use a therapy group to gain selfunderstanding, support, feedback and assistance in making changes in the future. You can work on any area of your life, including: · Your relationships with other people - friends, family and lovers · Your feelings about yourself and your ability to deal with life's challenges · Unresolved issues and experiences from your past · Changes and transitions in your life · Working out what you want from life and bringing this into being Therapy Groups starting in late September - some places available within it. Gay/Bi Men's Therapy Groups, meets fortnightly 6.30 - 9.30pm on Wednesday & Thursday evenings, near Finsbury Park. |
| Pink Paper newspaper closes |
 The only national gay newspaper is victim of recession
"The loss of the Pink Paper is a big blow to the lesbian and gay community," said gay human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell.
""We have lost a major source of news and information. It was an invaluable forum for debate and helped us coordinate campaigns against homophobia.
"Although the online version will remain, it is no substitute for the fortnightly paper, which reached many people who are either not online or who enjoyed the portability of the printed version.
"Without the Pink Paper, the lesbian and gay community is likely to become more fragmented and isolated, with people in one part of the country being much less aware about what is happening in other parts of the country," said Mr Tatchell.
News statement by Tris Reid-Smith, Editor of the Pink Paper
Pink Paper is being forced to suspend printing its newspaper after this week's issue, due to the economic downturn.
Instead the Pink Paper will continue online at PinkPaper.com and through its weekly newsletter, Pink Paper Xtra, delivered straight into your email inbox.
The publishers hope to start printing the newspaper again when the economy recovers and the advertising market improves.
As a free newspaper, Pink Paper relies almost entirely on advertising income. This time last year it was a very successful business but since then organisations have slashed their spend on print advertising, meaning the paper has been unable to cover its costs.
Read on:
http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=1077
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Gay Mens Group
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 The Group coordinator at the Metro Centre in Greenwich is in the process of setting up a Gay men's group which will start on the 13th of July at our space in Vauxhall.
The twelve week Group is for Gay men aged between 25 and 50 who would like a safe non judgemental space to explore issues which impact psychology on well being which might include Self Esteem, The Scene, Sex, Drugs and Alcohol, Body Image and any other relevant issues which will be agreed on the first evening.
If you or any clients feel would benefit from this group to contact :
robertf@metrocentreonline.org
or telephone 020 8305 5000
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| UK Trans Survey on Domestic Violence |
Domestic Violence and abuse is in the limelight more than ever before. The levels of abuse to heterosexual women are 1 in 4 - the same figure experienced by LGBT people. In previous research carried out by Brighton¹s Spectrum LGBT Forums Count Me In Too project, along with Press For Change's research in their Endangered Penalties report, it was shown that an alarming figure of 64% of Trans people had experienced Domestic Violence at some time. With this in mind Spectrum London along with Broken Rainbow feel it is time to revisit this subject, consulting Transgendered people, investigating if these levels are more indicative of a wider audience nationally. The survey hopes to confirm previous research, and raise awareness to agencies and service providers of the issues surrounding domestic violence in the transgendered communities. The Online survey can be found here: http://www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=1012451The survey will be open from 8th June 2009 until the 1st September 2009 presenting the findings from early October. Please can you share this survey with as many organisations as possible within the LGBT community and beyond so that the message can be spread far and wide to transgendered people in the UK .
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PSYCHOLOGY OF SEXUALITIES
Request for participants for video research
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 Rowena Viney is a lesbian PhD student at the University of York and is carrying out research on how people construct social relationships in everyday talk, particularly in relation to lesbian identity. Currently looking for lesbian volunteers to take part in video recording everyday interactions.
Research will contribute to work within the field of conversation analysis, which seeks to understand how people communicate with each other in everyday settings. This includes not only what is said but also the small details of interaction, such as how people use gaze and gesture. Therefore, such conversations are video-recorded to capture how people communicate non-verbally, for example through nodding or smiling.
How it works:
You will be asked to video-record approximately 2 hours of ordinary interactions between you and your friends or family members. This could include, for example, everyday occurrences such as mealtimes or having coffee, or planned events such as dinner parties. You will get a video camera to make the recording, which she will show you how to use, and you decide which interactions to record. If you change your mind about any of the recordings that you make, you can erase them before returning the equipment.
What happens next:
She will make written transcripts of the recordings and maintain confidentiality by anonymising any names and places mentioned in the talk. Your personal details are not passed to any other people. If you are interested she can let you know about her findings when she is finished.
If you are interested in taking part in this research, or if you have any questions, please contact:
Tel: 07968 442194
Email: raev500@york.ac.uk
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Call for Contributors - Diversity within LGB communities
Edited by Roshan Nair and Catherine Butler
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This book aims to widen the existing psychological and therapeutic literature on lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) issues within a British context. The book unpicks what it means to be lesbian, gay, and bisexual by exploring the social-cultural differences within these labels and how these differences interact to make being LGB a unique experience for each person who use these labels or identities. The aim of the book is to open up therapists' understanding of this diversity and encourage their curiosity when working with sexual minority clients. It is hoped that by doing this, therapists will work in an ethical, supportive and non-discriminatory way with sexual minority clients. Each chapter will be approximately 10,000 and we are trying to encourage a male and female writer for each chapter to ensure than there are broad gender considerations of each topic. We are specifically looking for writers on the following topics: · Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers · Religion. Faith and spiritual communities · Mental Health · Class If you are interested or would like more information please contact Roshan on Roshan.Nair@nottingham.ac.uk or Catherine on butler.catherine@gmail.com
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One in Four - Placement Opportunities
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One in Four is a counselling service for people who have been sexually abused. They have recently changed their policy regarding therapists having had direct experience of abuse themselves and are now looking to recruit some more counsellors who may be interested in volunteering with them. Please email admin@oneinfour.org.uk if you are interested in finding out more about the service or visit their website: www.oneinfour.org.uk |
Sponsors for running the New York Marathon
Raise money for NSPCC
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 Catherine Butler is running the New York marathon on 1st November and she is just starting her training. She is trying to raise £2500 for the NSPCC and is looking for sponsors
www.justgiving.com/catherinebutler
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That's all for this month, thanks for your attention, and please do send us things that have a specific relevance to people working with gender and sexual minority clients. |
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Dominic Davies
Pink Therapy
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