ISPS UK

ISPS UK Reflective Group
2024-05-10 12:00 - 13:30, 2024-03-15 12:00 - 13:30, 2024-01-12 12:00 - 13:30 UTC | Zoom
ISPS UK would like to offer members our new reflective space, a ninety-minute online forum every two months.
All members of ISPS are welcome.
This group will be particularly relevant for professionals – GPs, nurses, peer support workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, therapists etc.- to reflect on the challenges and rewards of working with people experiencing ‘psychosis’ in the current system.
Members who have an interest in ‘psychosis’ as one of the many forms of human experience may feel alone or alienated in their work. Others may want to share their ways of finding creative solutions. Our hope is that the group will be a source of mutual support, listening, community and belonging.
The group will be facilitated by ISPS trustees – Simon & Jess. Groups will be 12-1.30 pm on the dates below:
Friday 3rd November 2023
Friday 12th January 2024
Friday 15th March 2024
Friday 10th May 2024
There is no obligation to attend all of the available groups, and members are free to attend as many or few as they want.

How do I join?

This group is open to ISPS UK members only, if you would like to become a member, please follow this link.

The details on how to register for the event have been sent to members. If you are a member and would like to receive these details again, please email admin@ispsuk.org.

Psychosis: Why Relationships Matter (ISPS UK Seminar & Annual General Meeting)
2024-04-26 12:00 - 16:30 | Keyworth Lecture Theatre, Keyworth Arts and Media Centre, London South Bank University, Keyworth Street, London, SE1 6NG, United Kingdom
We are delighted to invite you to the Annual General Meeting of ISPS UK where we will be joined by three renowned guest speakers who will explore problems with the current paradigm and why relationships are crucial to social and psychologically informed approaches to ‘psychosis’.
The afternoon will begin with a series of exciting talks by Professor John Read, Lisa Archibald and Dr Jacqui Dillon, as we delve into why relationships matter for those living with the experience described as ‘psychosis’. We will explore the profound space between two individuals, where connections are forged, meaning is made, and lives are transformed. How do these relationships happen within the context of mainstream services and how can we stay connected with people through crisis?
Our three talks will be:
• “How Diagnoses Keep People Apart” (Prof. John Read)
• “First Do No Harm – Iatrogenic Harm in Mental Health” (Dr Jacqui Dillon)
• “Intentional Peer Support – A relational approach to experiences that might get labelled as ‘psychosis’ ” (Lisa Archibald)
There will be an opportunity for some lively discussion with speakers and together we’ll explore the possibility of genuine collaboration in our work.
The Seminar will be followed at 3.30pm by the ISPS UK Annual General Meeting where you can learn more about our work this past year, contribute to future decisions and discuss your thoughts/feedback with trustees. AGM papers will be circulated to members at least 14 days prior to the meeting.
This gathering provides us with the invaluable chance to come together, share, celebrate, and collectively shape the path forward. We look forward to seeing you there.
Attendance is free for ISPS UK members and we have a limited number of free places for LSBU students. Seminar tickets are £25 for non-members.

Relationships with Anti Psychotics: Navigating Withdrawal Or Reduction
2024-01-25 18:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Are you struggling with redcuing or withdrawing from anti psychotics? Or supporting someone who is? Join us for an insightful online event where we will explore the challenges and complexities of navigating withdrawal from these medications.
Our speaker Mark Allen will talk to us about his journey withdrawing from anti psychotics and Dr Jeremy Wallace will talk about his experience supporting people through this process.
During this event, we will discuss various aspects of reducing or withdrawing from anti psychotics, including the risks and opportunities in navigating this process.
Whether you are considering reducing your medication or are already in the process, this event will offer a safe space for discussion and learning.

For further information and to sign up please visit: https://navigatingwithdrawalisps.eventbrite.co.uk Everybody welcome!

ISPS UK Reflective Group
2023-11-03 12:00 - 13:30 | Zoom
ISPS UK Reflective Group

ISPS UK would like to offer members our new reflective space, a ninety-minute online forum every two months.

All members of ISPS are welcome.

This group will be particularly relevant for professionals – GPs, nurses, peer support workers, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, therapists etc.- to reflect on the challenges and rewards of working with people experiencing ‘psychosis’ in the current system.

Members who have an interest in ‘psychosis’ as one of the many forms of human experience may feel alone or alienated in their work. Others may want to share their ways of finding creative solutions. Our hope is that the group will be a source of mutual support, listening, community and belonging.

The group will be facilitated by ISPS trustees – Simon & Jess. Groups will be 12-1.30 pm on the dates below:

Friday 3rd November 2023

Friday 12th January 2024

Friday 15th March 2024

Friday 10th May 2024

There is no obligation to attend all of the available groups, and members are free to attend as many or few as they want.

How do I join?

This group is open to ISPS UK members only, if you would like to become a member, please follow this link.

The details on how to register for the event have been sent to members. If you are a member and would like to receive these details again, please email admin@ispsuk.org.

Love, Patience and Kindness: Working in Different Ways with 'Psychosis'
2023-09-12 09:30 - 16:00 | M Shed, Princes Wharf, Wapping Road, Bristol, BS1 4RN, United Kingdom
The aim of this conference is to explore how we can support each other to improve services and experience across sectors, with a dialogue between people with experience of psychosis, their families and networks, and those working with them in all kinds of different settings, such as community projects, mental health services, charities, individual therapists.
An innovation and exploration event from the Psychosis Health Integration Team, in partnership with the International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis UK, and Bristol Hearing Voices Network. Supported by Bristol Health Partners, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute, and ISPS UK.
We will hear from people with different perspectives on working with ‘psychosis’, including:
Jacqui Dillon – Writer, Activist and Consultant
Dorothee Bonnigal-Katz – Founder and Clinical Director of the Psychosis Therapy Project
James Robinson – Peer Support Worker, Bristol Early Intervention in Psychosis Team, Co-Director Bristol Psychosis Health Integration Team (HIT)
Jess Pons – ISPS UK Trustee, Psychotherapist, and project manager for https://synergiproject.org.uk/ a racial justice and mental health programme hosted by National Survivor User Network (NSUN)
Conor McCormack – Bristol Psychoanalyst in private practice
Hanna Van Der Woude – NHS Clinical Psychologist, Training Lead for Psychosis
Simon Downer – NHS Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, ISPS UK Trustee and Co-Director Bristol Psychosis HIT
The current discourse in psychiatry and mental health creates groups of those who are mentally ill and those who are mentally healthy. It defines ‘recovery’ from psychosis as a reinsertion or reintegration into mainstream society. Psychotic ‘patients’ are seen as faulty in some way, and those from whom others (the healthy) need protection.
This conference will speak to a different narrative: that life itself is problematic, and we are all finding our own solutions to that. We hope to begin a dialogue that allows ‘psychosis’, and the ways that people experience that, to be seen as a particular way of negotiating life. We will hear each other’s voices, and put ourselves in a position of trying to understand.
In this creative and interactive conference, we will be able to consider how we might build networks to support and learn from each other.
Register here: ‘Love, Patience and Kindness: Working in Different Ways with Psychosis’ Conference Tickets, Tue 12 Sept 2023 at 9:30 | Eventbrite
Download: Love, Patience and Kindness – conference flyer

ISPS UK Webinar: Staff Relationships with Antipsychotics
2023-07-13 18:30 - 20:30 | Zoom
Our series of three webinars, Relationships with Anti-Psychotics, continues on 13 July with Staff Relationships with Antipsychotics.
What are the ethical dilemmas and personal conflicts that people working in mental health services face in relation to antipsychotic medications? Simon Downer, ISPS UK Trustee, will Chair this webinar which will be a dialogue where health care professionals share their own experiences of inpatient and community work in relation to antipsychotics. How do psychiatrists learn to think with patients about medications? How do personal beliefs influence staff practice? Do healthcare professionals struggle with using medications? How are issues of power addressed in relation to antipsychotics? These and other questions will be explored by a panel of people working in psychiatry. The attendees will be invited to participate in the discussion.
Registration and more information
Registration is free for ISPS members, please enter the promo code “Member” when registering. Registration is via Eventbrite at Relationships with Antipsychotics: Staff Relationships with Antipsychotics Tickets, Thu 13 Jul 2023 at 18:30 | Eventbrite
