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Pink Therapy News
Embracing Diversity
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November 2011
In This Issue
Commited or Not
Working with Sexual Feelings
The Development of the Self
Tina Livingstone
Internships at Pink Therapy
Call for Contributions
Gay/Bi Men's Therapy Groups
Loving Men at New Year
Join Our Mailing List!
Greetings!
Dominic Davies
It's been an amazingly busy month in terms of external training and consultancy.

I've been to Oxford Relate where we had 24 therapists from within and without of Relate.  The following weekend I was in Cambridge working with supervisors on what's different about supervising gender and sexual minority therapy and then just this week Tim Foskett and I met with senior staff from the Relate Institute and some of their centre managers and senior practitioners to have a consultation day on how they might become the organisation of choice for all relationship issues whatever the constellation or gender and sexual diversity.  It was an exciting and very productive day and we hope the beginning of a long relationship between us.

Sadly, last month we have lost our vibrant young intern Paris Lees and instead, we're about to be joined by another intern Owen Francis. Owen will be working on extending our reach to complementary health practitioners and writing some journal articles and for the mainstream press on why gender and sexual minorities need culturally sensitive health care provision as a prelude to our expanding the Directory to embrace some more holistic approaches to health.

 
Dominic Davies
Director


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Committed or Not - Relationship therapy with sexual minorities
26th November 2011

Three in a bedThis workshop is devoted to developing a framework for the thinking and practice of undertaking therapy with sexual minority couples.

 

Current thinking about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lifestyles in relation to coupledom will be examined. Although the workshop will identify specific challenges facing sexual minority couples, some of which may bring them for help, attention will also be paid to the factors which contribute to healthy functioning within couple relationships.

 

The trainers for this workshop are our clinical associates Damian Mc Cann and Leah Davidson who both have a long history of working with sexual minority relationships and this workshop is ideal for experienced relationship counsellors and those who are thinking extending their work in this area.

 

More information and book places here

 

 

Working with Sexual Feelings in the Consulting Room
14th January 2012

DaybedMost therapists will be aware of sexual feelings in their therapeutic work with clients. Some therapists will frame this as erotic transference or counter transference and perhaps not be willing to see any here and now erotic feelings as belonging to them and the client.

 

Sexual feelings may emanate only from the client, but most of us will recognise our own feelings of attraction to some clients from time to time. 

 

Rarely are therapists taught to work with these issues, and often therapists find it difficult taking such complex feelings to supervision.

 

It may be particularly difficult to seek consultation on such feelings if one is a gay male therapist due to societal projections on to gay men as "hypersexual" and "predatorily seductive."    

 

This workshop will explore sexual attraction and erotic feelings, whether 'real' or transference based and how one can work with them ethically and professionally. There is tremendous therapeutic potential in being able to work creatively with such feelings.


More information and book places here

 

The Development of the Self & the Function of the Therapeutic Alliance
21st January 2011

Developing of the self - reaching

How do we get a self? What do we mean by 'having a sense of self'? How secure or insecure do we feel about who we are and our connections to others? How is our sense of self shaped in a homophobic, gendered culture?


This workshop will explore the idea that, from the beginning of life, we construct our 'senses of self', including our sexual and gendered selves, from our experiences of being in interaction with others. We will look at some ideas about the relational nature of the 'self', drawn from contemporary approaches to psychoanalytic psychotherapy. Using concepts from attachment theory, we will think about how our sense of ourselves develops initially within the context of our early relationships with others, and continues to emerge and change through our interactions with significant others throughout life. 

 

 More information and book places here

 

Tina Livingstone AASMT

 Tina Livingstone

We're delighted to have been able to accredit Tina Livingstone her Advanced Accredited Sexual Minority Therapy status during this past month and she is the latest person to be awarded this mark of significant contribution and training gender and sexual minority therapy.

 

If you are interested in becoming accredited by us either at the standard level or the Advanced level, please click on this link for further details of the scheme.  

 

 

Internships at Pink Therapy

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As our workload is expanding, we're now in a position to offer one or two  part time internships to people wishing to offer their services and help the organisation reach out to gender and sexual minorities.  

 

We're ideally interested in recent graduates who might be looking for valuable work experience and in particular are looking for people who might be interested in becoming Information Officers, Public Relations and Marketing and Social Media, and a film maker.  

 

We're not looking for clinical interns, these posts are purely administrative, (back office) posts and will suit enthusiastic people who have a spare day or two a week to offer us some much needed help.  Please email a c.v. to Dominic at [email protected] with an outline of your availability and interest area.  Local travel and lunch expenses will be paid.

Call for Contributions: Queering Ecopsychology
European Journal of Ecopsychology

 EJE logo

Ecopsychology potentially has a lot in common with queer theory and politics. Both are committed to transformational practices without drawing clear lines between personal and political, social and ecological. They both blur other boundaries, questioning taken for granted borders (e.g., between heterosexuality and homosexuality or self and ecosystem). Both have roots in feminism and include ongoing efforts to deepen awareness of intersecting patterns of power and oppression. Both invite us to expand our experiences of intimacy and relationships. 
 
At the same time, Ecopsychology, like any other area of thought, has the potential to develop borders, orthodoxies. In what ways might those be softened, crossed, queered? What does queer theory, queer politics, have to offer to the tasks of radicalising ecopsychology, of keeping it vital? In this special issue, the European Journal of Ecopsychology seeks to bring together writing by scholars, activists, therapists and other practitioners exploring the fertile edge between ecopsychology and queer. The journal accepts a variety of types of writing. 

The EJE also very much welcomes non-academic writing drawing on experience in activism, therapy, spirituality and other practices involving psychological and ecological aspects. 
 
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: 1st June 2012 
 
 
QUEERIES TO GUEST EDITORS: Meg Barker, Martin Milton &/or Jamie Heckert  

 

Gay/Bi Men's Therapy Groups

with Tim Foskett

Tim FoskettTherapy in a group is a learning laboratory for relationships. The process we go through is a rich source of learning for developing authentic and intimate relationships in other parts of your life.
A therapy group is a kind of psychological gym, and can be an intense learning experience with life-changing 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 self-understanding, 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

If you are interested in joining a group, please email [email protected] 
or ring on 07531 009547 to find out more. 

More information is also available at 



Loving Men at New Year

30th Dec 2011 - 2nd Jan 2012

GovernmentAt Buckland Hall, Brecon Beacons, Wales.

There'll be lots of activities throughout the three days, including a host of optional workshops to join in - on themes that help you make connections, explore intimacy within respectful boundaries, have some fun, step outside of your comfort zone and reflect on your year. There's also fantastic countryside to explore and delicious vegetarian food will be served throughout the event.
It will take place at Buckland Hall, a spectacular country house, set in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales.
  
 
LMNY starts with dinner at 6.30 pm on 30th Dec, and finishes by 3 pm on 2nd Jan.

Prices and accommodation:  * Dormitory (4 beds) �319.00  * Twin Ensuite (2 beds) �359.00  * Single occupancy �495.00 (Limited number available).

Your fee covers all costs of the workshop. Assistance may be available for men on low incomes from the Loving Men Bursary Scheme.

For bookings and further information please visit www.lovingmen.org or email [email protected] or 07592 610 925



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.
Dominic Davies
Pink Therapy