Sexual oppression and its impact on mental health and well-being: implications for psychology and psychotherapy

Transcription

1 Sexual oppression and its impact on mental health and well-being: implications for psychology and psychotherapy Who should attend? Psychotherapists, counsellors, and psychologists Students of psychotherapy and psychology Academics and researchers Universities and FE colleges Education authorities Social services Community safety teams Community support officers Criminal justice practitioners Psychotherapy & Counselling Psychology Reflections Research Centre Equality and diversity practitioners Annual One-Day Conference Family protection units Saturday 29 October :30-16:30 Anti-social behaviour coordinators Family justice centres Health service professionals Outreach and support teams Community and voluntary organisations Registration: 08:30-09:30 Regent s University London Inner Circle, Regent s Park, London NW1 4NS Book early! Regent s staff, students and RSPP professional members: 50 ( 40 if received by 30 September 2016) Public: 85 ( 75 if received by 30 September 2016) Non-Regent s students: 60 ( 50 if received before by 30 September 2016 Please book online at store.regents.ac.uk

2 Professor Brett Kahr Promiscuous virgins and celibate whores: traumatic origins of the erotic tumour Professor Kahr has worked in the mental health profession for more than 35 years. He holds several institutional appointments, including the post of Senior Fellow at the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships at the Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, as well as Senior Clinical Research Fellow in Psychotherapy and Mental Health at the Centre for Child Mental Health. Professor Kahr worked for many years in the fields of forensic mental health and disability field, as well as marital mental health, and has served as Chair of both the Society of Couple Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists and of the British Society of Couple Psychotherapists and Counsellors. He has also had a long career as a media psychologist, and has worked for several years as resident psychotherapist on BBC Radio 2, and as spokesperson for the BBC mental health campaign Life 2 Live. Professor Kahr has authored eight books and served as series editor for over 40 additional books. He edits the Forensic Psychotherapy monograph series for Karnac Books and also co-edits its History of Psychoanalysis series. His book Sex and the Psyche a large-scale survey of the sexual fantasies of British adults published by Penguin Books, became a Waterstone s non-fiction bestseller, and a Sunday Times Book Club choice. The book has been serialised in both The Observer and The Times, and has since been translated into many foreign languages. A historian of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, and author of an award-winning biography of Donald Winnicott, Professor Kahr serves as a trustee of the Freud Museum London and of Freud Museum Publications. His most recent book is entitled Tea with Winnicott. Sexual oppression bedevils men, women, and children far too frequently. Throughout the course of human history, innocent people have suffered from child sexual abuse, rape, sexual bullying, and even sexual enslavement. More recently, with the advent of modern technologies, young and old alike have to endure sexual oppression through cyber-bullying and, even more dangerously, through the manufacture and distribution of child pornography. But sexual oppression can also be a state of mind, and one can struggle with oppression in the complete absence of any obvious external traumata. In this presentation, Professor Kahr will draw upon his work as a clinical practitioner and as the Principal Investigator of the British Sexual Fantasy Research Project, and will consider the many ways in which human beings become oppressed by private sexual fantasies and desires which result in shame, in attacks on intimacy, in the cessation of sexual activity, or in the indulgence in destructive sexuality: symptomatic states which often serve as unconscious repetitions of early trauma. In particularly severe instances, the sexual fantasy constellation becomes so destructive that it threatens the very life of the individual and his or her partners. Professor Kahr has referred to this type of sexual fantasy as the erotic tumour. Drawing upon extensive case material and the findings of his research project having surveyed the sexual fantasies over 25,000 adults Professor Kahr will explore some of the painful and deadly paradoxes of human sexuality, and discuss ways in which psychotherapists can intervene more effectively to reduce the trauma of erotic tumours and other dangerous states of mind. Professor Martin Milton From fag to fab : sexual identity, minority stress and psychological distress Martin Milton is Professor of Counselling Psychology at Regent s University London. As a BPS psychologist specialising in psychotherapy he also runs an independent practice in psychology and psychotherapy. In 2012 he received the BPS award for the promoting of equality of opportunity. He is the editor of Therapy and Beyond (BPS Blackwell), Diagnosis and Beyond and Sexuality: Existential Perspectives. In this talk Professor Milton discusses the intersecting areas of sexual identity and orientation. He explores the ways in which both overt negative and some contemporary positive attitudes and behaviours are based on a problematic binary perspective or polarized mindset. Professor Milton describes how this perspective leads to minority stress, which in turn leads to significant personal and social difficulties. He outlines how this binary perspective is embedded in much current mental health policy, psychological research and psychotherapeutic theory and considers the ways in which more intersectional and relational models can help us enrich our understanding so that we engage with LGBT clients in a more informed and attuned manner.

3 Dr Terence Nice Hear my suffering and see my wounds : tales of selfharm, attempted suicide and sexual oppression Dr Nice is Lecturer in Psychological Therapies and Chair of Ethics at the Centre for Professional Practice at the University of Kent in Canterbury. He is a visiting lecturer at Regent s University London where he teaches and supervises students undertaking the MA Psychotherapy & Counselling. Dr Nice was appointed as Associate Specialist Lecturer at the University of Kent after having graduated as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist in His training inspired him to attend the Tavistock Centre in London and complete a three-year MA in infant and young child observations. He has always been fascinated by a developmental trajectory with regards to child, adolescent and adult mental health. Dr Nice has worked clinically as a specialist psychotherapist in a child and young person s mental health service for many years. His specialist interest is self-harm and attempted suicide in young people and he is an active researcher in the NHS and within the wider community. Dr Nice is a member of the UKCP Research Faculty Committee and a reviewer for the British Journal of Psychotherapy and the Journal of Social Work Practice. He has presented workshops and papers in London and Dublin and has conducted many regional radio broadcasts on the topic of self-harm and suicide. Self-harm, suicide and sexual oppression are national and international issues that present major challenges to the design and provision of psychological services that genuinely address the therapeutic needs and interests of children, young people and adults. This paper explores the dynamic and paradoxical tensions that collide in exploring the notions of self-harm, suicide and oppression, around issues of gender, power, authority and trauma. These explorations depart from a psychoanalytical perspective, starting with Freud s celebrated case of Dora and moving through contemporary developments in assessing and treating those individuals who self-harm and attempt suicide. Freud s construct of repression is compared and contrasted with the notion of sexual oppression. Central to this paper is the question of how sexual oppression presents itself as a force or a plurality of forces, which moves young people or adults to self-harm or attempt suicide. This is explored in relation to self-harm and suicide in minority groups, especially in relation to young Asian women in the UK. The use of sexual violence and rape as weapons of oppression and subjugation are examined through recent conflicts in Bosnia and Syria. In addressing these issues, it is concluded that psychological interventions and treatment programmes require us to actively listen and incorporate the experiences and insights of those who self-harm and attempt suicide, looking beyond their symptoms and understanding oppression in context. This requires a shift in conceptualising self-harm and challenging oppressive practices. Such conceptions and presumptions only serve to engender selfoppression, shame, guilt and stigma. Dr Nice draws upon diverse inter-disciplinary materials and uses clinical case studies to illustrate the central arguments embodied in this paper. Candice Rakusin Communication and knowledge about sex in Jewish marriage Candice Rakusin graduated from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa in 2004 with an undergraduate degree in Law and English Literature. In 2006 she obtained an honours in English Literature from the University of Johannesburg. She has since been involved in teaching the equivalent of GCSE and A-levels in South Africa at her alma mater. Ms Rakusin s latest endeavour is an MSc in Psychology at Regent s University London. Her experience working at a private Jewish day school and extensive exposure in working with Jewish teenagers sparked her interest in psychology and education, and her master s dissertation is a spin-off of this passion. Sex is a crucial, spiritual and expected part of Jewish marriage, but in some sub-groups it is a topic that lacks discussion, communication and education. Although researchers suggest that premarital education encouraged marital satisfaction (e.g. Maybruch, 2012), levels of satisfaction are high in orthodox marriages (Schnall et al., 2013). This study explores communication and knowledge about sex among Jewish participants and whether these can be used to predict marital satisfaction. It is hypothesised that lack of sexual education, levels of religiosity and absence of communication about sex can be used to predict marital satisfaction. However, this relationship will be mediated by sexual satisfaction. The study utilises quantitative, anonymous self-report questionnaires. The independent variables within the study are communication, levels of religiosity and sexual knowledge. The dependent variable is marital satisfaction, while sexual satisfaction is explored as the mediator. A structural equation model is to be used to measure results. The study concludes that sex, communication and education are subject to controversy in Jewish marriages and strictly governed by norms. Implementation of education in schools could correct this. This study could help to negotiate anxiety around sex and communication allowing for higher levels of marital satisfaction.

4 Dr Andrew Smith Therapy with victims of abuse who have also sexually offended Dr Smith has worked in the area of sex offending as an expert witness for 12 years, first with Ray Wyre Associates, then with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation from 2006 until He was awarded a PhD by Cardiff University in 2010 on strengths-based approaches to sex offending, and is a regular contributor to journals and books. Dr Smith is a qualified probation officer and counsellor, with an MA in Solution-Focused Therapy from Birmingham University, a certificate in Rogerian Therapy, a certificate in psycho/ social groupwork and a professional certificate in treating sex addiction. He is a registered member of BACP (British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy) and a member of and recognised therapist with ATSAC (Association for the Treatment of Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity). Dr Smith regularly trains social workers, therapists and other child protection professionals in the area of sexual risk and acts as a consultant for UK Overseas Territories. Dr Smith explores the issues involved in providing therapy to sexual offenders who are also victims of sexual abuse. The question of whether or not victims of sexual abuse are more likely to go on to abuse others is addressed, followed by an exploration of ways in which being a victim of sexual abuse can make the person more vulnerable to repeat victimisation and pro-offending sexual tendencies. The challenges faced by therapists working with this particular client group are outlined, focusing on clientvictim issues, the therapist s empathy over-spilling into collusion, and related avoidance of offence-focused work. Qualitative data from probation officers working in a rehabilitative context with sexual offenders is cited, usefully informing the challenges faced by therapists. A fictionalised case study is presented, regarding a middle-aged man who was sexually abused as a teenager and proceeded to sexually offend as an adult. Practice illustrations, taken from the case study, include strengthsfocused techniques and questions which can assist in the therapeutic, rehabilitative task. Dr Rachel Thomas Sexual oppression and complex trauma: from asylum seekers to dissociative disorders Dr Thomas is a consultant clinical psychologist and psychotherapist. Specialising in complex trauma and dissociation since 1996, she has worked for 10 years at the Tavistock Clinic and began working for the Clinic for Dissociative Studies, UK in She will become its Director in December Dr Thomas also has a private practice, undertaking complex medico-legal reports for asylum seekers involved in Home Office proceedings, including victims of torture, trafficking and other forms of political and familial abuse overseas. Dr Thomas s paper explores sexual oppression within a traumatised population. She describes the types of oppression evidenced by UK asylum seekers and patients within a London clinic for dissociative disorders. The presentation examines the psychological consequences for these groups and asks the question: how do two oppressed and largely tortured populations experience sexual oppression in similar and divergent ways? What lessons can be learned from the consequences of overseas oppression in facing and accepting that closer to home?

5 Panel Members Dr Maria Luca Conference Organiser/Convener/Panel Member Dr Luca is Senior Research Fellow at the School of Psychotherapy & Psychology, Regent s University London. She is Reader in Psychotherapy & Counselling Psychology and Head of the Regent s Reflections Research Centre. Her previous administrative roles include Head of the School of Psychotherapy & Counselling Psychology at Regent s. She worked in the NHS for 12 years and currently has a small private practice in London. Dr Luca is a reviewer for various publishers and peer-reviewed journals. Her current research projects include: sexual attraction and the erotic in therapy; sexual bullying among university students; the lived experience of migrants, and medically unexplained symptoms and grounded theory. Dr Luca supervises the research of PhD and taught doctorate students and is external examiner for doctorate theses. She has given papers widely, both nationally and internationally, and run workshops on handling sexual attraction in therapy. She made a television appearance on Sky News (25/03/2016), discussing sexual bullying among young people. Included in her publications are Sexual Attraction in Therapy: Clinical Perspectives on Moving Beyond the Taboo - A Guide for Training and Practice (London: Wiley, 2014), The Therapeutic Frame in the Clinical Context Integrative Perspectives (London: Brunner-Routledge, 2004) and Containment of the Sexualized and Erotized Transference in the Journal of Clinical Psychoanalysis, Vol. 11 No. 4, Fall International Universities Press. Professor John Nuttall Convener/Panel Member John Nuttall is Head of School and Professor of Integrative Psychotherapy at Regent s University London and teaches theory, skills and research methods in the field. He is a professional psychotherapist in private practice. Professor Nuttall has had an extensive career in senior management in multinational industry and commerce, and is a Certified Management Consultant and Chartered Marketer. He has written widely on management and psychotherapy and his special interests include psychotherapy integration, organisation theory, and the provision of counselling and psychotherapy in the community. He is also honorary psychotherapist and Chair of the charity West London Centre for Counselling, a major provider of therapeutic counselling in primary care. Please note that this programme may be subject to change without notice