Pink Therapy News
Keeping YOU in the Frame
August 2009
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Greetings!
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 Welcome to the August issue of our newsletter, aimed to keep you abreast of developments in the field of working with gender and sexual minority clients.
This is a somewhat shorter newsletter this month - no doubt due to the time of year, but we hope you will find it interesting nonetheless
Work on relaunching our Directory of Pink Therapists is continuing and our software engineer is doing his best to build a comprehensive and valuable resource. As this new version will be able to include complementary therapists who are gay/trans friendly we are currently looking to find more complementary therapists. If you know anyone who may be interested, please ask them to get in touch!
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Calling Supervisors....
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 The
first of our next series of one-day workshops on the supervision of sexual minority therapy is due to take place on Friday 20 November
and if you are involved in supervising sexual minority therapy we're
confident you will find it of value, whatever your level of
experience.
This is often a neglected area in the training of supervisors and we will be presenting some of the differences one needs to be aware of when supervising therapists who are working with gender and sexual minority clients.
We aim to keep group sizes small for these workshops to allow time for discussion of your own dilemmas and challenges.
We will be repeating this workshop a few times during the year.
Click here for more details of the workshop
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The Other Halfs
Social and Support Network
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 Social and Support Network for cisgendered (ordinary) wives and partners of trans-identified (TV/TG/TS), trans-historied, and gender variant people in the UK
Those eligible are welcome to join their active Facebook Group via an introduction email to the admin at theotherhalfs@live.co.uk
Face to Face Meetings commence August 2009 and will run bimonthly in Southampton on Saturdays from 4.30 - 7pm
Minimum donation of £2 per person per meeting to cover necessary expenditures
Meetings will be friendly and informal with a Focus Time between @ 5.15 and 6.15 pm
Focus Time this August will be around the experiences as partners - the steering group each providing a ten minute insight into what that means for them, followed by an open floor discussion.
Thereafter the intention is to use this space as "our time" rather than for or about partners issues.
Suggestions thus far include:
-Crystals
-Handwriting expert
-Image Consultant
-Avon Lady
-Podiatry
-Film make-up Professional (special effects - not drag)
-Gardening
Further ideas to be gleaned from those who attend.
For further information and directions to the venue for our meetings contact
theotherhalfs@live.co.uk
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The Way to Go from Here - A dialogue with Persia West
7-9 pm, Thursday August 27th 2009
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 We are living in interesting times, times of uncertainty and change.
For me one of the changes is in the direction of my work.
Now it's time to focus on perception, consciousness, how our minds shape our experience.
It's about taking charge of our restless minds and how they run in circles as they run our lives.
Only then can we find our centre, the reference point which lies behind our minds, and with this find a natural state of integrity, balance and presence from which to create the way to go from here.
These 'Interesting Times' are not just about change in individuals, but in our collective consciousness, in the underlying ways we think and feel, what our individual and collective values are, what we want, where we are going.
How can we best ride this wind of change?
Not by thinking and perceiving things as we always have done, that's for sure; this is how we created the present out of the past.
Albert Einstein understood such situations well. He said, 'Problems are never solved at the level of thinking that created them.'
The answer, then, lies in shifting our level of thinking, our level of awareness, where we are thinking from rather than what we are thinking.
It's like climbing a tall tree to get a view of the entire wood, not just the trees, so we can get a perspective on the patterns and currents of life around us, not just being lost in the issues in front of us.
When we are more aware, we access a natural and underused insight, so we can see what is going on, rather than think we understand. Then it is simple to see the Way to Go from Here.
When we see that everything, including ourselves, is in a constant state of flux, and that's just how it is, how it's always been, our attitude towards change shifts, and wider choices show themselves.
Uncertainty may then be welcomed, as evidence of openness to something new, fresh ways to go from here.
Reservations are required, space is limited.
The cost is £20, in cash on the night. No invoices, receipts given.
Reduced rates for those who need them, please ask.
For reservations and enquiries email persia@pramana.eu
7-9 pm, Thursday August 27th 2009
The Psychosynthesis and Education Trust
Tooley Street, London Bridge
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New journal Psychology & Sexuality
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 This is a reminder that submissions are currently being accepted for the first few issues of the new journal Psychology & Sexuality which will be published by Taylor & Francis from January 2010. The journal adopts a broad understanding of psychology such that work that may traditionally be seen as outside the remit of psychology is included. Check out their website ( http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/rpse) and follow the details there if you are interested in submitting a research article, literature review, theoretical piece or book review. They would also be grateful if you could also publicise the journal wherever possible and encourage articles from your colleagues and students. The journal is designed to fill the gap in the market for an international journal which publishes high-quality quantitative and qualitative psychological research on sexualities. Psychology & Sexuality will advance knowledge and understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, heterosexual and queer issues in psychology and allied disciplines. Furthermore, the journal will aim to be progressive and radical with regard to current debates in critical psychology whilst also inclusive, publishing good quality quantitative and qualitative work. |
| Study exploring therapist's experiences of working with the LGBT community |
Ben Piper is a Trainee Counseling Psychologist currently undertaking a study exploring therapist's experiences of working with the LGBT community, particularly with male clients who self-identify as bisexual or engage in bisexual behaviour. He is particularly interested in ways in which therapists and counselors affirmatively engage with this cohort of clients. This study is being carried out to fulfill the requirements of a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology at the UEL.
Ben is currently looking for participants so if you are interested or know of someone who could be interested in participating in this study please get in touch with Ben at:
pabenjamin21@aol.co.uk
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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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