menu

MindOut Counselling Service deliver unique training opportunity

Dr Meg-John Barker will be presenting a workshop for counsellors and psychotherapists on March 10 in Brighton for MindOut the LGBT mental health service.

The workshop will cover the new British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) guidelines written by Meg-John Barker for working with Gender and Sexual Relationship Diversity.

This workshop is an excellent opportunity for counsellors CPD and MindOut are thrilled to have such a celebrated academic and author at this event.

George Tidey, the MindOut counselling Coordinator, said: “Understanding how to work with Gender and Sexual Relationship Diversity is essential for all therapy professionals and I hope that as many counsellors as possible take this opportunity to really inform themselves on how they can work in an ethically and informed way with GSRD”.

Meg-John Barker is the author of a number of popular books on sex, gender, and relationships, including Queer: A Graphic History, How To Understand Your Gender, Enjoy Sex (How, When, and IF You Want To), Rewriting the Rules, The Psychology of Sex, and The Secrets of Enduring Love. They have also written a number of books for scholars and counsellors on these topics, drawing on their own research and therapeutic practice.

To book your space visit, click here: – Or email: George.tidey@mindout.org.uk

To access the low cost counselling service available at MindOut, click here:


Event: Gender, Sexual and Relationship Diversity: Understanding the New BACP
Good Practice guidelines with Dr Meg-John Barker

Where: The Nest Nursery School (Seven Dials), 52 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 3JB

When: Saturday, March 10, 2018

Time: 10am – 4pm

Cost: £120

Worthing Pride announce main stage line up

Organisers reveal main stage line up for Worthing Pride on July 14 at Libertine Bar launch party on Thursday, February 8.

Spice and Miss Disney with the Worthing Pride committee
Spice and Miss Disney with the Worthing Pride committee

Entertainment at the launch was provided by Spice and Miss Disney with speakers from the two nominated charities Worthing Pride are supporting this year Allsorts Youth Project and West Sussex Coastal Mind speaking passionately about the work of their organisations.

Josie Kelly from events company Vivacious Events explained the importance of Pride to the people of Worthing before introducing members of the Pride Committee and the events sponsors.

Worthing Pride will open at 10am on July 14 with The Pride Dog Show in Denton Gardens, followed by the Pride Parade at 1pm which will start from opposite The Burlington Hotel, proceeding along Worthing seafront, past the Pier, to Beach House Grounds where the main event will take place from 1pm to 10pm with live entertainment and music, food, drink and information stalls, plus a dedicated kids entertainment field from noon – 6pm, provided by Nic n Bens.

Main stage will be hosted by Spice the bearded drag queen who will be joined during the afternoon by Miss Jason, Sally Vate, Miss Disney, vocalists Allan Jay, Jason Lee, Jason ThorpeEva La Diva who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent and ABBA tribute act Abba Magic.

DJs Claire Fuller, Missy B and Trick, will be banging out the tunes and Brighton & Hove Sea Serpent RFC will be on hand demonstrating a few rugby moves.

Following the days celebrations there will be a Post Pride Party at the Libertine Bar, 46-56 Portland Rd, Worthing BN11 1QN.

Spice who will be hosting the main stage, said: “I am so excited to have been asked to be part of Worthing’s first ever Pride – it’s going to be a great event with a real community feel. When meeting the people behind it, the first thing you notice is their absolute passion for Pride, and as they transfer that enthusiasm to the event itself… well, it can only be a success!

“We’ve got some top quality acts to entertain everyone all day and well into the evening. Add to that the dog show in the morning, the parade, and the official after parties and it’s going to be a long day in heels for me… and I can’t wait!”

Organiser will be raising money for the Brighton based Allsorts Youth Project and West Sussex Coastal Mind.

For up to date information about Worthing Pride, click here:

To check out their Facebook group, click here:

“Coming out at genderqueer liberated me”, says Courtney Act

Drag queen legend and winner of Celebrity Big Brother Courtney Act tells Evan Davis about her relationship with Andrew Brady – and why his self-confidence is something we should all aspire to have.

Courtney told attendees at National Student Pride in London yesterday, that coming out as genderqueer freed her.

Speaking on the #QueerAF live podcast with renowned BBC Newsnight presenter Evan Davis, Courtney Act spoke about how realising she was genderqueer freed her from her anxieties of not being masculine enough.

She also discussed being careful about her relationship with Andrew Brady “as it could ruin his career.”

Living beyond the binary is important to Courtney. The Celebrity Big Brother (CBB) UK winner and the season 6 Drag Race star spoke about the defining moment that changed how she saw gender and sexual identity.

“There’s a lot of labels and how important they are. Once we start living in that truth. For example, genderqueer set me free from feeling not good enough as a man. It set me free from not feeling valuable enough, strong enough as a man.”

“When I realized my femininity was important and could be celebrated, it laid to rest a lifelong struggle with my gender.”

She also spoke about people in the house criticising her and Andrew.

While the LGBT+ viewers of the Channel 5 program fell in love with the friendship that grew between the two unlikely housemates during their time together in the CBB house – many of her housemates warned her of her actions and told her to stop manipulating her fellow housemate as it could be departmental to his career.

“They told me to be careful as I knew what I was doing and that Andrew didn’t and that what we were doing could have a bad effect on his career.”

Courtney Act, on the other hand, turned the situation into a lesson everyone in the house didn’t know they needed.

Unlike her housemates, including the homophobic former MP Ann Widdecombe, Courtney told the students that he fact Andrew Brady feeling comfortable and confident in himself to be able to express how he felt – is something to celebrate.

“But what I think is more important Andrew acting on his feelings and feeling like he was able to do that.”

 

National Student Pride, took place in London at the University of Westminster’s Marylebone campus. The main daytime festival on Saturday, February 10, had panels, performances and a careers fair with over 1700 LGBT+ students from across the UK taking part in the weekend of festivities from Friday 9 to Sunday February 11. The evening entertainment was hosted by the infamous G-A-Y night clubs, culminating with a party at G-A-Y Heaven.

X