What works for women and those who care for them?
Tuesday 24 March 2009
St Andrew's Healthcare, Northampton
Despite advancements in services for women experiencing social adversity, trauma, abuse and mental health difficulties, individuals and teams working within this often challenging area know there are considerable improvements still tobe made.
Aimed at a multi-disciplinary audience, this one day national conference is relevant to those caring for women utilising both mental health andlearning disability services, whether young or old. Delegates will be able to hear from leaders within the field, share knowledge with others and participate in workshops, providing an opportunity to gain practical skills and knowledge in relation to a range of interventions
St Andrew's Healthcare and the Women in Psychiatry Special Interest Group (WIPSIG) at the Royal College of Psychiatrists are delighted to welcome three prominent external speakers.
Liz Mayne is the National Lead on the Implementation of Violence and Abuse Policy. Violence and abuse was the key underpinning theme to the Mainstreaming Gender and Women's Mental Health Implementation Guidance (DH 2003). In particular, it states that adult mental health services should acknowledge and address the links between violence, abuse and mental ill health. Liz has extensive experience in the field of women's mental health, and has been pivotal in many of the recent advances made in this area.
Roxane Agnew- Davies is a Senior Research Fellow at London South Bank University and a Mental Health Advisor to the Greater London Domestic Violence Project. Her specialist area is the psychological effects of domestic violence. Her session will address the effects of domestic abuse on self esteem and incorporate guidelines for good practice in working with the victims of domestic abuse.
Dr Rob Hale is a Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst at the Portman Clinic. His current work centres around providing consultation to four secure untis to establish a psychodynamic understanding of the patients and the processes they stimulate in the institution and the individual staff members.
The morning session will be chaired by Dr Fiona Mason who is committed to ensuring that women, subject to adversity in life and who develop mental health difficulties, receive appropriate help. Fiona has worked as a Consultant in Women's Services for over ten years. She is also Chair of the Executive Committee of the Women in Psychiatry Special Interest Group at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and a member of the National Programme Board for Gneder Equality and Women's Mental Health.