Tumbling with Pink Therapy

We are holding our 4th International Summer School for counsellors and psychologists and others providing emotional and mental health support to gender and sexual diversities (LGBTQ+)  on 8-12 July 2013. 

The five day intensive non-residential course in going to be held in London and will include an optional evening social programme of agency visits to support the learning on the course.

We have people coming from Finland, Italy, Poland, France and others under consideration.  Places are strictly limited, advice about low cost accommodation is available, but early enquiries and bookings are advised.

AN IDAHO EVENT
Despite a general decline in self-reported prejudice against gay and lesbian people in many western countries, overt anti-homosexual biases remain relatively common.  Even relatively recent figures for Canada show that prevalence of hate crimes against homosexuals equals those against Muslims and Asians, and is more violent.  Although there has been a lot of study into the causes of such prejudice, less attention is paid to developing and testing interventions to reduce it.  In this lecture Professor King  will discuss the nature of homophobia, how this knowledge guides efforts to reduce it and whether or not they are successful.  The lecture will be followed by a question and answer facilitated by Sir Stephen Wall, Chair of UCL Council and LGBT Champion.  

Speaker Information

Professor King is Director of UCL’s Mental Health Sciences Unit. He has been involved in large scale national and international research and amongst his research interestshe includes the epidemiology of sexual dysfunction, the stress and stigma faced by gay and lesbian people and the role of religious and spiritual beliefs in mental well-being.

Date and time :  Friday 17th May 2013 1-2pm

Venue: Room G.08 Roberts Building, Malet Place,

Registration : Free. Simply turn up on the day.

I’ve just been reading more around Objectúm Sexuality (OS) which is really interesting and I certainly feel fits within Pink Therapy’s ethos of non-pathologising approaches to diverse sexualities.  

I was not surprised to see a strong connection to Aspergers and the autistic spectrum for many people who identify as OS.  

OS is definitely something that needs further exploration and research.

We’re looking for about a dozen people willing to help us create some photos of people from gender and sexual minorities to illustrate publicity for our new Diploma in Relationship Therapy.

We’re looking for about a dozen or so individuals who can be in Central London on 19 May. 

We’re looking for people to model as:
Ideas for images include: a gay male couple, a lesbian couple, a BDSM D/s relationship (any gender), a trans person, a poly trio. We will pair people up to create a relationships.

We would like to have people across a range of ages, ethnicities and sub-cultures and looks and so it would be helpful if you could email us a face and full body shot so we can try and pick a range of people to represent our communities. Please send photos to admin@pinktherapy.com

We’re unable to pay a fee, but will be providing refreshments and your volunteering for this will be immensely helpful for us.

Training workshop 3 places remaining More details here Sun 21 April 10-5pm

This day will help participants develop a greater understanding of how to work with gender dysphoric individuals, including children, adolescents and families where a parent has transitioned.  It will provide a framework of how to work with other agencies including education and child and adolescent mental health services and will help participants understand the developmental trajectories and   associated difficulties that can be present in young people with gender dysphoria.

This day will outline therapeutic and physical support that is available in this area including latest advances in treatment and research.

This workshop will improve both knowledge and confidence of working in this often challenging area.  

We’ve just uploaded another paper to our small library of papers.  This time it’s a translation of our responding to requests to change sexual orientation paper and has been translated by Richard Bränström The direct link to the article is here

Check out all the translations here 

We’re still keen to find more volunteer translators.  If you want to join us, please get in touch 

We’re just announced the final details for our exciting new Diploma in Relationship Therapy with Gender and Sexual Diversities. This is an ideal course for qualified therapists who identify as LGBT and want to develop confidence and knowledge to work with their own communities and the different ways in which we conduct our relationships.

The event details for my two days of teaching have now been published on the website of my colleague Klecius Borges in São Paulo for September.  

Please share this news with anyone in Brazil who might like to attend the training workshops 

Full details here

I will also be presenting in Porto Alegre Brazil at the World Congress for Sexology

Details of my other speaking engagements this year can be found here which includes links to my trip to Malta, Dublin, Brazil and Liverpool.

If you identify as coming from a gender or sexual minority group and are wanting to train as a therapist, especially if you want to work with your own community, then you might want to check out how open the course is and what they might be teaching you.

Here’s a short set of questions to ask the course team  It’s as much about how they answer you as what they say!

We’re running a day workshop for therapists, (but teachers, youth workers and  social workers might also benefit) on working with children and young people with gender dysphoria and their families.

Sunday 21st April 2013 10-5pm with Dr Victoria Holt (Consultant Psychiatrist at the Tavistock Gender Identity Development Unit)  Full details on the link http://www.pinktherapy.com/Training/tabid/82/ctl/ViewCourse/mid/422/CourseId/127/language/en-GB/Default.aspx

This event forms part of a weekend on Transgender issues, the preceding day will be on working with gender dysphoria in adults and run by Michelle Bridgman

Attendees will gain an understanding of the issues affecting people who do not fit a binary gender model and/or are transgender. 

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

There has never been a more important time in the treatment of Transgender people. DSM V is being reviewed. Standards of Care are being challenged and the whole picture in the field of transgender 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 explore your fears and concerns in a supportive environment with one of the world’s most experienced clinicians on these issues.

Early booking is advised as places are limited and we expect this event to sell out.