Pink Therapy News
Keeping YOU in the FrameApril 2011
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Greetings!
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We have been really delighted with the response to our appeal for donations and sponsorship for our 2nd International Summer School.
A number of people have become Patrons of the Scholarship Fund which we've set up in partnership with London Friend to enable people from countries which have virtually no gender and sexual minority (GSM) support infrastructure and where GSM's have few if any civil rights.
We have also just heard that we've received sponsorship and endorsement for this project from UKCP and BACP and somewhat unexpectedly the European Green Party.
We've been inundated with applications for our Scholarship Fund from therapists across Eastern Europe, Greece, Singapore and Colombia. We may not be able to meet all the requests for a place this year, as we do need to have some fee paying therapists too!
Over the next couple months we plan to have a number of fundraising events including a charity art auction, Dine with the Stars dinners and a music event. We've also been donated 40 advance and pre-publication copies of Alex Drummond's new book Queerying the Tranny (see below).
This is a very full newsletter and you'll see we're also promoting a number of therapeutic groupwork events. Groups are a really valuable way of enhancing the well being and relationship skills of our communities and we're pleased to help promote this important work. Director |
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Ageing, Growth, Time and Change: Working with the Older LGBT Person
Saturday 14 May 2011
|  This workshop explores the experience and psychic world of the older LGBT person. We will think about the specific interests and needs this client group might bring to therapy, and explore ways of working. The likelihood of working with a significant age difference in the therapy room can stimulate feelings and associations for both client and therapist, and we will explore the meaning of this. The approach will be informed by ideas from primarily psychodynamic theory, and also by social constructs of ageing. We will consider the essentially ageist nature of western society, and how LGBT people may be both similar and different to heterosexuals in their developmental needs and experiences as they grow older, and how these might be explored within the therapeutic relationship.
We will explore relational life and needs (including the challenges of long term couple relationships, inter-generational relationships, and the experience of ageing alone); the wider social and cultural arena (including the youth-oriented dynamics of the gay scene and the place of the older person); sex and sexuality (as seen by self and others); and the dynamics of the client/therapist relationship.
Click here for more information |
Working with Gender Identity with Michelle Bridgeman
Saturday 21 May 2011 | |
 There has never been a more important time in the treatment of Transgendered people. DSM V is being reviewed. Standards of Care are being challenged and the whole picture in the field of transgendered health is under scrutiny. Most importantly, you will leave feeling more confident in your ability to work in what is often seen as a very challenging field whilst, at the same time, enjoying an opportunity to exploreyour fears and concerns in a supportive environment with one of the worlds most experienced clinicians on these issues.Participants will gain an understanding of the issues affecting people who do not fit a binary gender model and/or are transgendered.
You will gain an understanding of:
- Terminology
- Current clinical treatment pathways for people questioning their gender identity
- Pathways for those seeking gender re-assignment
- Practical ideas that can be applied in your own therapy Practice
- A Case study
- How Psychotherapy can be effective in this field
- Your own fears & concerns
- How to embrace those fears and concerns and how to work with them.
Click here for more information
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 Gay and bisexual men are sometimes concerned about their sex lives being out of control. They may present for help with self-diagnosed "sexual addiction". In this workshop, we will offer some new ways of thinking about sexual compulsivity and explore whether the 'Addiction model' is appropriate for conceptualising and working with such issues.
Sexual addiction is not a recognised and validated diagnostic category in the DSM or ICD. Treatment approaches are largely sex negative, pathologising and can compound the shame the client is already feeling about their sexuality. They also lack a political and cultural analysis. In this workshop we will offer non-shaming, sexuality affirmative ways of conceptualising sexual expression - and explore some alternative ways of understanding and working with people who feel their sexuality is out of control.
We will explore how you can integrate some of these new concepts into your own therapeutic model. The seminar will be both didactic and experiential with opportunities to explore client and personal material. The workshop is open to therapists of all genders and sexual identities.
This workshop will be co-facilitated by Dominic Davies and Tim Foskett, sharing their immense collective experience of working with gay and bisexual men on these issues. We run this workshop every two years and space is limited so we encourage early application to ensure you don't miss out. Click here for more information
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International Summer School - Accomodation
|  London resident? Spare room?
At a recent meeting of the Pink Therapy Associates where we were discussing accommodation for the people seeking scholarships for the International Summer School, a number of colleagues offered their spare room as a more personal and friendlier way of offering accommodation to the international visitors, in the vein of the old 'Crash Pad' resources of bygone years! We wondered whether there were other therapists in London who might be willing to offer a spare bedroom to participants? The official school dates are: 4-9 July, although with Pride being on 2 July, this might be helpful to commence 1 July-10 July. Some may still prefer hotels, but it might be a great way to make a new friend with a therapist living overseas.
If you live in London and are interested in offering something, please email training@pinktherapy.com with Summer School Crashpad as the subject header and we'll be in touch.
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 the Tranny - Charitable Donations for Pre-publication copies
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Alex D  rummond has recently written a new and quite personal treatise on transgender issues, with a particular emphasis on male cross dressing. This is a hugely neglected area - especially from a non-pathologising psychological perspective. He is both advancing new theory AND sharing his personal story of living as a transgender activist. You can learn more about the book from his website: Queering the Tranny. Alex has donated 40 pre-publication copies of the book to support the International Scholarship Fund and so buying this book from us will mean you are also helping us to fund raise to support therapists living and working in countries where gender and sexual minorities have a hard time for finding support and understanding. We're asking for a donation of £20 incl P&P (slightly cheaper than they will be sold on Amazon from June onwards, and the donation will go to the International Scholarship Fund. which is being managed in partnership with London Friend. Cheques should be made out to London Friend for £20 and sent to: Book Offer, Pink Therapy, Apt #3, 3-4 Archer St, London, W1D7AP. Alex will also be running a workshop offering new perspectives on working with cross dressers on Sat 4th June 2-5pm at our Soho office. More details to follow.
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LGBQ Minority Stress Study
Volunteers Needed
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 If you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning, please participate in a national and anonymous on-line survey study on the psychological effects of sexual minority stress on LGBQ people's mental health and identity. The purpose of the study is to better understand interrelationships among shame, emotional ambivalence, internalized homophobia, personal mastery, and the process of positive identity formation. The study is being conducted by Dr. Darrell Greene and Dr. Paula Britton, through John Carroll University and the JCU Education and Allied Studies Department. The study will take about 20 to 30 minutes to complete. Benefit to you as a participant involves contributing to our understanding of the psychological effects of sexual minority stress in our communities, and your knowledge of helping counselors to know how better to help LGB and questioning people with positive identity development. Complete the survey, and be eligible to win from $10 to up to $50 in gift cards. If interested, please go to the following surveylink: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LGBQMinorityStressSurvey |
Dying To Wake Up
Blog about Anxiety and Depression
|  Nathan is a gay man who has suffered from anxiety and depression, has come through this and written a blog. This might be a useful way to gain insight into the experience of depression from a gay male perspective.
Here is the link:
http://dyingtowakeup.blogspot.com/
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Islington Mind is looking for two volunteer counsellors for Outcome
|  Outcome is a day centre facility for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered people with mental health problems. The service provides counselling and support, advocacy, a midday meal, alternative therapies, and a warm and friendly atmosphere to socialise in. Outcome meets every Tuesday between 10:30 and 4:00, and has been run by a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered team for 13 years. It is one of the few LGBT mental health services in London, and usually has 20-25 clients each week.
Outcome main aim is to provide a sanctuary for LGBT people - somewhere safe where they can be themselves, socialise free from discrimination, receive counselling and therapies to improve their mental health, learn new skills and acquire knowledge to improve their quality of life.
Candidates should be at least in their second year of training. Supervision will be provided.
Please send a brief outline of your training and experience of counselling or a CV to
olivier.counselling@hotmail.com
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Getting Ready: Loving Yourself - Intimacy workshops for gay and bisexual men
29 April to 1 May 2011
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Getting Ready: Loving Yourself. The Loving Men Team is launching their new Intimacy Programme with this workshop at the end of April.
They write: "Many of us think about love as something that happens outside of ourselves. Either we are giving love to another or receiving it from another. And when no love is coming our way it can feel lonely, painful and hopeless. That is, until you see the possibility of giving love to yourself.
This workshop for both single men and those in relationships, is all about the ways you can develop a richly loving relationship with yourself, in contrast to the more common critical, undermining, neglectful or neutral ways of relating to yourself.
When we have cultivated this inner love, instead of emanating anxiety or neediness in relationships or in the search for love, we are able to radiate a sense of security, warmth and openness, and the unique aspects of our own personality. Through this process we are able to attract love from others, rather than feel the need to chase or demand it."
Getting Ready: Loving Yourself is for gay/bi men who are single or in relationships and takes place in London Bridge on the weekend of 29 April to 1 May.
For more details or to book www.lovingmen.org |
Being Gay and a Man
5 May to 7 July 2011
|  A new therapy and personal development group for gay men that offers you the opportunity to explore what being gay means to you. The group provides a supportive community in which to work with issues such as sexuality, self-esteem, fear and shame, manhood, rejection, prejudice and relationships. Groups offer a powerful and unique setting for breaking away from isolation and understanding how you relate to yourself and others. Groups are also a cost effective option to therapy.
Ten weekly sessions from 5 May to 7 July 2011 (6.30-8.30pm) Awareness Centre, 41 Abbeville Road, SW4 9JX (Nearest tube: Clapham South) £25 per two-hour session For more information or to book a place, phone Gilead on 07967 666 713 or email groups@practica-ltd.com
www.practica-ltd.com or www.theawarenesscentre.com
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Therapy group for gay and bisexual men
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 Tim Foskett, a clinical associate with Pink Therapy, has a space in his Thursday afternoon on-going therapy group for gay and bisexual men, which meets every three weeks from 2 - 6 pm. He writes: "Being in an on-going group is an excellent way of embedding therapeutic insights and learning in your day-to-day life. The combination of support, insight and challenge within an on-going group is second to none."
For more information about this, call Tim on 07531 009 547, email him on tim.foskett@me.com or see www.timfosketttherapy.co.uk
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Sexual Orientation and Trans and the NHS Workshop
Monday 18th April
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 Find out about the National LGBT Action Plan from the Government Equalities Office
Hear from the Department of Health LGBT lead
Understand equality objectives for the NHS
Hear about reducing inequalities in Trans health from GIRES
Find out about how you can sign up to the Stonewall's 'Healthy Lives' programme and soon to be launched LGBT Champions Network
http://gires.org.uk/soatnhs.php Monday 18th April 10:30am - 3:30pm Avonmouth House, London SE1 6NX (Nearest tube Elephant & Castle) For more information and to reserve a place please contact healthylives@stonewall.org.uk |
Charles Moser to attend Sex, Health, Media day
6th May 2011
| Charles Moser, US author of 'Sex Disasters' and 'Sadomasochism: Powerful Pleasures', and campaigner for the removal of paraphilias from the DSM, will now be speaking at the Sex, Health, Media day on 6th May in London.
Sex, Health, Media: May 6 2011, Friends House, Euston, London
This practical one day event is designed for youth workers, teachers, health professionals, journalists, NGOs, businesses and academics working in the areas of sex education, health and media studies. It responds to widely expressed concerns about young people's sexual health, sex education, sexualization and media use and provides an opportunity to network, share ideas and consider positive and practical responses to these concerns.
Our speakers are Petra Boynton, academic, agony aunt and award winning blogger at http://www.drpetra.co.uk, Heather Corinna, writer, activist, educator, and founder and executive director of Scarleteen http://www.scarleteen.com/ - the highest ranked sex education resource on the Internet, and Alan McKee, Professor, media expert and author of the groundbreaking The Porn Report (2008).
In a series of discussions on working together, the day will also focus on examples of successful collaborations between a range of organizations, practitioners and researchers.
The cost for the event is £80 and includes refreshments, lunch and a set of online resources.
If you would like to reserve a place, please contact Feona Attwood at f.attwood@shu.ac.uk
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Joe Kort Workshops
May 2011
|  Joe Kort, a well-known American psychotherapist, sexologist and author (Gay Affirmative Therapy for the Straight Clinician: The Essential Guide; Ten Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives, 10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Find Real Love; etc), is coming to England in May to present a number of workshops. Each workshop is a bit different - this one is for Therapists! CPD certificates will be handed out to those attending.
In the Couples Workshop, 'Getting the Love you Want', based on the work by Harville Hendrix in his seminal book of the same name: participants will learn to deepen and enhance what is already good in their relationship or heal what is causing pain and hurt. Couples will explore what brought them together in the first place, what causes the most problems and how to use these points of conflict in the relationship as opportunities for healing and growth.
The workshop for individuals: 'Reclaiming the Man in the Mirror' is for Gay and Bi-Sexual men. In this workshop, participants will explore their sexual identity, help to understand what is healthy versus unhealthy sex, understanding shame, love and intimacy. The goal of the workshop is to learn more about yourself as a Gay/Bi-sexual Man and develop tools and practices to live in integrity and to develop strong relationships, both intimate and non-intimate.
'Sex on the Download', is a workshop essential for anyone working with adults today. This workshop will address the relatively new phenomenon of sex on the internet - sex at the touch of a button. It will look at healthy versus unhealthy sex and issues around sexual addiction and intimacy.
For more information about Joe , please refer to Joe's website: www.joekort.com or contact Joe at joekort@joekort.com For information about the workshops in particular, please contact, in England, Mic Austen at 07788-442835
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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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