NEW & UPDATED 15 OCT 2022
THE CONFERENCE IS NOW FULLY BOOKED, AND IN-PERSON TICKETS SALES ARE CLOSED.
WE HAVE RELEASED SOME LAST MINUTE DISCOUNTED ONLINE-ONLY TICKETS FOR £100 (PLUS FEES). PLEASE NOTE THAT HOLDERS OF THESE TICKETS WILL NOT RECEIVE BOOKS!
Unfortunately, we have had to reprogram our Tenth Conference due to unforeseen challenges to our commitment to ensure greater access to the conference content.
Our new theme will critically reflect on the process of psychotherapy and explore whether, as a model, it is fit for purpose in responding to and healing the mental health needs of the queer communities. We will look beyond the austerity and arcane rules surrounding the traditional 50-minute hour with weekly appointments and explore whether this cis-heteronormative model is culturally sensitive and robust enough to meet the profound mental health demands of the queer communities. Almost every queer therapist knows how their initial training failed to adequately prepare them for addressing the needs of their GSRD communities. We have all heard of micro-aggressions and therapeutic ruptures from therapists who were not culturally attuned and sensitive.
Since Covid, clients report difficulty accessing 1:1 therapy with many therapists fully booked and holding waiting lists. Let's step back and take time to consider if there may be more effective strategies to meet the demands of our communities.
Our speakers will argue that we need to adapt and find new ways to make psychological support available, especially to younger people who might naturally be sceptical of therapy and, in the case of gender-expansive young people, daily exposed to considerable social hostility. We need to consider practical and flexible approaches to support and develop the resilience of our clients.
At this Conference, we will explore two best-selling self-help books that have changed the lives of many clients. A new LGBTQIA+ Mental Health App is bringing therapeutic work to the mobile phones of any client and some of the long-established group workshops and their impact on well-being, community-building and resilience. We will also hear from our clinical associate and Loving Men co-founder, Tim Foskett on an inspiring talk and be joined by others doing extraordinary work outside the consulting room.
As we are emerging from the impact of the Covid pandemic and adjusting to the new normal, this Conference will be in a hybrid format. We will welcome those who wish to meet in person and engage directly with the authors at our usual conference venue, Resource for London. We sincerely hope many of you will be eager for some real-life engagement and a chance to celebrate survival.
Our conferences have always been an essential point in the calendar when therapists from across the country (and often wider afield) come together to network and break down some of the isolation of being a professional therapist working with marginalised clients.
The Conference will be professionally filmed and broadcast live for those who don't feel ready for in-person conferencing or where the journey is too much. The recordings will be available for anyone purchasing an online ticket for viewing after the event.
Dominic Davies
CEO and Founder of Pink Therapy.