ISPS UK

Reflective Space
2025-05-09 11:30 - 13:00 UTC | Zoom
ISPS UK is returning with our Reflective Space, a ninety-minute online forum every month.
This group will be particularly relevant for workers – 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.
Those 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 UK trustees – Simon, Jess & Dorothée.
Groups will be 11.30am-1.00pm every second Friday of the month (with no group over August).
Please see below for dates for the first six months:

Friday 13th December 2024
Friday 10th January 2025
Friday 14th February 2025
Friday 14th March 2025
Friday 11th April 2025
Friday 9th May 2025

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 get involved?
Members: This group is free to attend for ISPS UK members. 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.
Non-Members: Non-members can attend for a £5 donation per session, please email admin@ispsuk.org to register or alternatively if you would like to become a member, please follow this link. Please get in touch in cases of financial hardship if you want to participate.

Family & Friends Journaling Group
2025-05-10 14:00 - 16:00 | Zoom
ISPS UK are delighted to introduce a free online journaling group which is for family members and friends of people with lived experience of ‘psychosis’. The group will be co-hosted by ISPS UK trustees Julia and Jen on the second Saturday of alternative months.
Q: What is journaling?
A: Journaling is a creative and informal practice of expressive writing. We start with a journaling prompt and then spend about 10 minutes responding to this in our journals. We follow this with a sharing and discussion space – but please note, you are never required to share your writing or to speak if you don’t wish to. The session is 2 hours long and there will be time for 3 writing prompts per session (the prompts are provided by the facilitators).
Q: Why is this group limited to friends/family members?
A: Helping to care for someone who has experienced or is experiencing psychosis can be challenging, confusing and emotionally draining. And dealing with mainstream mental health services can be often make things worse, leaving you feeling frustrated and exhausted. At ISPS UK we recognise that the particular needs and concerns of friends and family members are often overlooked in the urgency of a crisis situation; we also know how important it is to be heard and to feel supported. This journaling group will offer a space in which to explore the issues that are relevant to friends/family members, and to connect with others who have had similar experiences.
Q: Must I commit to every session?
A: No, you may attend any or all of the dates. These will be stand-alone sessions.
Q: Do I need to bring anything?
A: Just bring along a notebook or journal or even loose sheets, on which to write, and a pen or pencil that is comfortable to write with. This will be your own personal space in which to record your thoughts, feelings and ideas – so please do find a way to keep this journal secure and private to yourself.
Q: How do I get involved?
A:
Members: This group is free to attend for ISPS UK members. 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.
Non-Members: Non-members can attend for a £5 donation per session, please email admin@ispsuk.org to register or alternatively if you would like to become a member, please follow this link. Please get in touch in cases of financial hardship if you want to participate.

Conference: Beyond Them & Us, Finding Common Ground
2025-05-14 10:00 - 17:00 | Central Hall Manchester, Central Hall Manchester, Oldham Street, Manchester, M1 1JQ
Users & survivors of mental health services, their families and carers and mental health workers are often seen as having opposing positions. Consequently, opportunities for finding common ground, developing authentic relationships, and true allyship are rare.

Join us for this interactive and participatory conference where we’ll be using the innovative Trialogue approach to explore our differences and take the first steps to how we can work more effectively together to tackle the issues that matter most to us all: inadequate services, inequality, poverty, discrimination and the wider factors underlying many people’s experiences of madness and distress.

The conference will be hosted by the extraordinary Dr Líam MacGabhann with support of the ISPS UK Committee and will include our Annual General Meeting on the same day.

ISPS UK members receive a whopping 40% discount to the published ticket prices, please join as a member or contact us if you are already a member to request the discount code.

Your ticket price includes lunch & refreshments throughout the day.

For details of our host, all sessions/workshops and to purchase a ticket, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/beyond-them-and-us-finding-common-ground-tickets-1237142639939

Please email events@ispsuk.org for any queries.

Raising Our Consciousness: Lived Experience Reflective Group
2025-05-21 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-06-18 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-09-17 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-10-15 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-11-19 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-12-17 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
This monthly reflective group is a space for people with lived experience of ‘psychosis’ to get together and explore the ideas, beliefs, values and philosophies we use to explain and make sense of our lived experience of distress and ‘psychosis’. Facilitated by ISPS Trustees Neil Caton and Jacqui Dillon.
How do I get involved?

This group is free to attend for ISPS UK members. Non-members can attend for a £5 donation per session. Please get in touch in cases of financial hardship if you want to participate.

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/raising-our-consciousness-lived-experience-reflective-group-tickets-1349583162569

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

In Conversation With: Mary Ann Kenny, The Episode
2025-05-28 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
ISPS UK are pleased to host a discussion with Mary Ann Kenny, author of The Episode. In this gripping memoir, Mary Ann details her descent into psychosis, her hospitalization, and her inspiring journey back to health and happiness. The event will start with a book reading by Mary Ann, followed by a Q&A hosted by ISPS UK.

Further information about The Episode can be found here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/467892/the-episode-by-kenny-mary-ann/9781844886869

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-conversation-with-mary-ann-kenny-the-episode-tickets-1334972431479

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

Reflective Space
2025-06-11 18:30 - 20:30, 2025-07-09 18:30 - 20:30, 2025-09-10 18:30 - 20:30 | Zoom
This Reflective Space is an online monthly group particularly relevant for ‘workers’ – 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.
Those 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.
Facilitated by ISPS Trustees Simon Downer and Jessica Pons.
How do I get involved?
This group is free to attend for ISPS UK members. Non-members can attend for a £5 donation per session. Please get in touch in cases of financial hardship if you want to participate.
For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reflective-space-tickets-1383756546079

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

Member's Networking Event: Creating Common Ground
2025-06-25 18:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
We’re thrilled to invite all ISPS UK members to an online networking event to get to know one another better, learn more about ISPS UK’s work and vision for the future, share your stories and feedback with trustees, and connect with members across our network – workers, carers, family & friends and those with lived experience all welcome!

We want to work with our members to create an active network of allies, empowering each of us to do meaningful work in our own areas and make a bigger difference together. We look forward to seeing you there!

Discussion topics this quarter:

“What brings you to ISPS?”
“What one change would you like to see in the system?”
“How are you going to be involved in making this happen?”

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/isps-uk-members-networking-event-tickets-1349581256869

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

In Conversation With: Susan Grundy, Mad Sisters
2025-07-03 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
ISPS UK are pleased to host a discussion with Susan Grundy, author of Mad Sisters. A poignant memoir of a caregiver’s lifelong struggle to break through the barrier of her sibling’s mental illness in search of sisterhood. The event will start with a book reading by Susan, followed by a Q&A hosted by ISPS UK.

Further information about Mad Sisters can be found here: https://ronsdalepress.com/mad-sisters/

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-conversation-with-susan-grundy-mad-sisters-tickets-1334985992039

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

Family & Friends Journaling Group
2025-07-12 14:00 - 16:00, 2025-09-13 14:00 - 16:00 | Zoom
ISPS UK are delighted to introduce a free online journaling group for family members and friends of people with lived experience of ‘psychosis’. Facilitated by ISPS UK Trustees Julia Macintosh and Jen Kilyon.

What is journaling?

Journaling is a creative and informal practice of expressive writing. We start with a journaling prompt and then spend about 10 minutes responding to this in our journals. We follow this with a sharing and discussion space – but please note, you are never required to share your writing or to speak if you don’t wish to. The session is 2 hours long and there will be time for 3 writing prompts per session (the prompts are provided by the facilitators).

Why is this group limited to friends/family members?

Helping to care for someone who has experienced or is experiencing psychosis can be challenging, confusing and emotionally draining. And dealing with mainstream mental health services can be often make things worse, leaving you feeling frustrated and exhausted. At ISPS UK we recognise that the particular needs and concerns of friends and family members are often overlooked in the urgency of a crisis situation; we also know how important it is to be heard and to feel supported. This journaling group will offer a space in which to explore the issues that are relevant to friends/family members, and to connect with others who have had similar experiences.

Must I commit to every session?

No, you may attend any or all of the dates. These will be stand-alone sessions.

Do I need to bring anything?

Just bring along a notebook or journal or even loose sheets, on which to write, and a pen or pencil that is comfortable to write with. This will be your own personal space in which to record your thoughts, feelings and ideas – so please do find a way to keep this journal secure and private to yourself.

How do I get involved?

This group is free to attend for ISPS UK members. Non-members can attend for a £5 donation per session. Please get in touch in cases of financial hardship if you want to participate.

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-friends-journaling-group-tickets-1349599671949

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

In Conversation With: Bella Jackson, Fragile Minds
2025-09-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
ISPS UK are pleased to host a discussion with Bella Jackson, author of Fragile Minds. The event will start with a book reading by Bella, followed by a Q&A hosted by ISPS UK. Fragile Minds is the story of the staff who believed they could make a difference, but were worn down by morally ambiguous tasks, impossible workloads and a systemic resistance to change. It is the story of the patients who are failed by hastily made diagnoses, overreliance on medication, coercion, stigma and inconsistency of care, and of the inspiring individuals struggling for justice and revolution. Fragile Minds documents Bella Jackson’s time as a trainee mental health nurse, and the devastation and hope she encountered in winding corridors and behind locked doors. With compassion and care Bella introduces us to a vivid cast of staff and patients, prompting us to look closer, ask questions and demand more for them. Further information about Fragile Minds can be found here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/463932/fragile-minds-by-jackson-bella/9781529939774
For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-conversation-with-bella-jackson-fragile-minds-tickets-1668389661389
Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

Family & Friends Group
2025-10-23 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-11-20 18:30 - 20:00, 2025-12-11 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
ISPS UK are delighted to introduce a free online group for family members and friends of people with lived experience of ‘psychosis’. Helping to care for someone who has experienced or is experiencing psychosis can be challenging, confusing and emotionally draining. And dealing with mainstream mental health services can be often make things worse, leaving you feeling frustrated and exhausted. At ISPS UK we recognise that the particular needs and concerns of friends and family members are often overlooked in the urgency of a crisis situation; we also know how important it is to be heard and to feel supported. This journaling group will offer a space in which to explore the issues that are relevant to friends/family members, and to connect with others who have had similar experiences. Facilitated by ISPS UK Trustees Julia Macintosh and Jen Kilyon.

How do I get involved?

This group is free to attend for ISPS UK members. Non-members can attend for a £5 donation per session. Please get in touch in cases of financial hardship if you want to participate.

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-friends-group-tickets-1349599671949

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

Member's Networking Event: Creating Common Ground
2025-11-12 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
We’re thrilled to invite all ISPS UK members to an online networking event to get to know one another better, learn more about ISPS UK’s work and vision for the future, share your stories and feedback with trustees, and connect with members across our network – workers, carers, family & friends and those with lived experience all welcome!

We want to work with our members to create an active network of allies, empowering each of us to do meaningful work in our own areas and make a bigger difference together. We look forward to seeing you there!

Discussion topics this quarter:

Sharing our plans for the year ahead and discussing them as a group.
“How do we collaborate together?”

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/isps-uk-members-networking-meeting-tickets-1754122500619

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

In Conversation With: Anders Sørensen, Crossing Zero
2025-12-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Crossing Zero: Psychosis, Trauma, and Coming Off Antipsychotics – In conversation with Anders Sørensen and Jacqui Dillon Hosted by ISPS UK.
What if psychosis isn’t a disease to be suppressed or managed, but a story to be understood? What if extreme states can be explained entirely through psychological and social – not biological – mechanisms? Join psychologist and researcher Anders Sørensen, PhD, in conversation with Jacqui Dillon, for a powerful dialogue on trauma-informed, non-pathologizing approaches to psychosis – and how to safely navigate withdrawal from antipsychotic medication through hyperbolic tapering.
Despite decades of widespread prescribing, most clinicians receive little to no formal training in how to safely discontinue so-called antipsychotics. Clinical guidelines often detail when to start medication but rarely how to stop – even though long-term use carries well-documented risks, from metabolic and neurological adverse effects to emotional and cognitive blunting.
At the same time, emerging research reveals that withdrawal symptoms from antipsychotics are common, can be severe, and are frequently misinterpreted as relapse due to a overlap in symptoms. This confusion perpetuates unnecessary long-term treatment and misunderstanding of what psychosis – and recovery – truly are.
In this live conversation, Anders Sørensen, a Danish psychologist and researcher specializing in psychiatric drug withdrawal and psychotherapy for severe cases, joins Jacqui Dillon, survivor, activist, and author, to explore:

How to understand psychosis through a psychosocial, trauma-informed, and relational lens rather than a pathologizing one.
What so-called antipsychotic drugs actually do – and don’t do – to the brain and mind.
How to safely reduce or discontinue antipsychotics using evidence-based hyperbolic tapering principles.
How to differentiate between withdrawal reactions and genuine relapse, and how to support people through either.
How coming off medication is not the end of treatment, but the beginning of true healing.

Further information about Crossing Zero can be found here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/8797625906
For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-conversation-with-anders-srensen-crossing-zero-tickets-1965114796255
Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

Raising Our Consciousness: Lived Experience Reflective Group
2026-01-28 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
This monthly reflective group is a space for people with lived experience of ‘psychosis’ to get together and explore the ideas, beliefs, values and philosophies we use to explain and make sense of our lived experience of distress and ‘psychosis’. Facilitated by ISPS Trustee Neil Caton and guest facilitator Dina Poursanidou.
How do I get involved?

This group is free to attend for ISPS UK members. Non-members can attend for a £5 donation per session. Please get in touch in cases of financial hardship if you want to participate.

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/raising-our-consciousness-lived-experience-reflective-group-tickets-1981115468697

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any qeries.

Raising Our Consciousness: Lived Experience Reflective Group
2026-02-25 18:30 - 20:00, 2026-03-25 18:30 - 20:00, 2026-04-22 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
This monthly reflective group is a space for people with lived experience of ‘psychosis’ to get together and explore the ideas, beliefs, values and philosophies we use to explain and make sense of our lived experience of distress and ‘psychosis’. Facilitated by ISPS Trustee Neil Caton and guest facilitator Dina Poursanidou.
How do I get involved?

This group is free to attend for ISPS UK members. Non-members can attend for a £5 donation per session. Please get in touch in cases of financial hardship if you want to participate.

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/raising-our-consciousness-lived-experience-reflective-group-tickets-1981115468697

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

Family & Friends Group
2026-03-12 18:30 - 20:00, 2026-04-16 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
ISPS UK are delighted to introduce a free online group for family members and friends of people with lived experience of ‘psychosis’. Helping to care for someone who has experienced or is experiencing psychosis can be challenging, confusing and emotionally draining. And dealing with mainstream mental health services can be often make things worse, leaving you feeling frustrated and exhausted. At ISPS UK we recognise that the particular needs and concerns of friends and family members are often overlooked in the urgency of a crisis situation; we also know how important it is to be heard and to feel supported. This journaling group will offer a space in which to explore the issues that are relevant to friends/family members, and to connect with others who have had similar experiences. Facilitated by ISPS UK Trustees Julia Macintosh and Jen Kilyon.

How do I get involved?

This group is free to attend for ISPS UK members. Non-members can attend for a £5 donation per session. Please get in touch in cases of financial hardship if you want to participate.

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/family-friends-group-tickets-1981162910597

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.

Member's Networking Event: Creating Common Ground
2026-03-18 18:30 - 20:00 | Zoom
We’re thrilled to invite all ISPS UK members to an online networking event to get to know one another better, learn more about ISPS UK’s work and vision for the future, share your stories and feedback with trustees, and connect with members across our network – workers, carers, family & friends and those with lived experience all welcome!

We want to work with our members to create an active network of allies, empowering each of us to do meaningful work in our own areas and make a bigger difference together. We look forward to seeing you there!

Discussion topics this quarter:

TBC

For details and registration, please visit our Eventbrite page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/isps-uk-members-networking-meeting-tickets-1981163496349

Please contact events@ispsuk.org with any queries.
