Comedian Clare Summerskill joins a panel of guest speakers from
the mental health field tonight at a debate about health, happiness
and well being.
Working in partnership with DIVA magazine,The
H-word invites lesbian, bisexual, trans and queer
women to speak out about our happiness, health and well being and
discuss how we can support one another towards living happier, more
meaningful lives through a lively debate and workshops giving you
the chance to meet and network with women from our diverse
communities.
Summerskill who has talked openly and poignantly about her own
mental health issues will reflect on her experiences and draw on
the powerful plays and stories she has created on the subject.
Summerskill told DIVA: "Mental health issues effect everyone;
apparently one in four of the population and possibly higher for
LGBT folk. But shame and stigma surround people suffering from
mental distress, so in order to help our community we have to be
prepared to start listening to individual's stories; stories of
sadness, sorrow, abuse and also stories of recovery. When we listen
we can learn and when we learn we can start to heal. The H-Word is
an important event where voices will be allowed to be heard."
Also attending as panelists at the event are Meg Barker,
senior lecturer in psychology at the Open University
and qualified therapist working at the Lesbian and Gay
Foundation in Manchester.
Barker, who runs the BiUK group
which recently produced
The Bisexuality Report on bisexual experience
in the UK, also contributed to the British Psychology Society
report on
working with sexual and gender minorities and
the College of Sexual and
Relationship Therapy website.
Co-author of a book which explores the different ways of
understanding and working with depression and anxiety, she joins
PACE therapists Jo Beecham and Claudia Celadon.
Manager of the Children and Family Service at PACE,
Beecham also has a private psychotherapy practice and has
researched the impact of victimization on the lives of LGBT youth
and works with those affected by post traumatic
stress.
Celadon, a psychologist and psychotherapist
from Brazil, with over 25 years of clinical experience, currently
coordinates the counselling service at PACE as well as working
privately with clients. Her main areas of interest are substance
misuse and the overall impact of isolation in the LB
community.
Jane Czyzselska, DIVA editor and chair of
tonight's event says: "It's mental health awareness week and we
think its particularly important to address the stigma that
surrounds mental health issues, especially since women from our
communities are more likely to experience them than our
heterosexual counterparts. It's timely too, since the coalition
government is slashing funding to service providers working with
LGBTs, so we need to work together to support each other where we
can."
There are still places left at tonight's
event, so register here and come
along!
