• Next BSMHD meeting – Manchester 12 July 2007
• Healthy Deaf Minds in Manchester
• Healthy Deaf Minds in London
• BSMHD 2007 Annual Conference – Feedback
• 7th European Congress on Mental Health and Deafness, 11 – 14 September 2007
• Joining Forces in Forensic Psychiatry Pre-Conference – 11 September 2007
• Accepting and working with voice-hearing Conference – 14 September 2007
• Dramatherapy

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Next BSMHD meeting – Manchester 12 July 2007

The next BSMHD meeting will be held in Manchester on 12 July 2007 at the Manchester Deaf Centre, Crawford House, Booth St East, Manchester, M13 9GH. The meeting will be an opportunity to meet staff from the Health Services and Deaf Organisations in the North West region. BSMHD Meetings are open to all members and are free to attend. If you would like to attend please contact Jonathan Isaac, [email protected] .

Dates of future meetings: 27 September 2007 in Exeter, 11 December 2007 in Edinburgh, 13 March 2008 in Birmingham and 10 July 2008 in Cardiff.

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Healthy Deaf Minds in Manchester

We are holding a Healthy Deaf Minds meeting on 11 July 2007 at the Manchester Deaf Centre, Crawford House, Booth St East, Manchester, M13 9GH. Starting at 6.30pm and finishing at 9pm. Full communication support, tea & coffee are available. Entrance will be free for this initial meeting. The presentation will be about the Sign Community (BDA) Counselling Service by Hazel Flynn. This is the first Healthy Deaf Minds meeting to be held outside London and the aim is for an organising committee to be established in Manchester to make the meetings a regular event. We are very grateful to the Lloyds TSB Foundation for England and Wales who are supporting the expansion of the Healthy Deaf Minds project. Further meetings will be held at venues across the country, usually linked to the quarterly BSMHD Members meetings.

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Healthy Deaf Minds in London

The next meeting of the Healthy Deaf Minds London Group will be on Wednesday 1 August 2007 at the Small Meeting Room, Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London (opposite Euston Station). In order to receive automatic Emails you only need to subscribe at: [email protected] . All meetings are on a Wednesday at Friends Meeting House, Euston. Starting at 6.30pm and finishing at 9pm. Full communication support, tea & coffee are available. Entrance fee is £5 to cover the cost of room hire.

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BSMHD 2007 Annual Conference Feedback

The BSMHD Annual Conference was held at the Council House, Bristol on Thursday 24 May 2007. There was an excellent turnout with about 150 people there. We had a few problems, in the two days prior to the conference we lost our Chair and one of our speakers. We are very grateful to Caroline Mullins for stepping in at very short notice and doing an excellent job as Chair for the day. The venue was impressive but having the refreshments in the same room did present some problems with noise. We are grateful for all the feedback we received and are taking note of the comments made, which will contribute to the arrangements for the 2008 Annual Conference in Edinburgh.

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7th European Congress on Mental Health and Deafness, 11 – 14 September 2007

Joining Forces in mental health care for deaf, hard of hearing and their families is the central theme during the 7th European Congress being held in Haarlem. Specialist mental health care for deaf and hard of hearing people is developing fast this decade. A platform for mental health professionals is growing, locally, nationally and across the borders. Working together in this specialist field of mental health care concerns us all: not only ourselves but also the client in his environment, other professionals, one’s own organisation and other services, administration, insurance companies, and other authorities involved.

Joining forces can be viewed from various angles, and therefore specific challenges and issues need to be addressed. Questions to be highlighted may include:

· How to work together with the client, his family, the school, and his work etc.
· How to understand the specific situation in which the client grows up now and in the past.
· How to start a service where there is none.
· How to organise a healthy organisation.
· How to motivate others to co-operate.
· How to share knowledge and expertise.
· How to find and keep partners in cure and care.
· How to bend a competitive relationship into a more productive one.
· And how to negotiate with local and other authorities.
· Co-operation embraces many aspects and perspectives, and no-one can do without co-operation.

The congress is for: Mental health professionals working in the field of deafness and hearing impairments, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, psycho- and other therapists, nurses, social workers, educationists, interpreters, policymakers, administrators, managers, etc.

Official Languages: English, International Sign Language and Dutch Sign Language.

The final programme (workshops and kaleidoscope included) are now available on the congress website www.esmhdcongress2007.com . Keynote Addresses, Workshops, Kaleidoscope, Training Courses, Pre Conference Meetings, Poster Presentation. There are more than 100 abstract contributions.

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Joining Forces in Forensic Psychiatry Pre-Conference – 11 September 2007

On Tuesday 11 September 2007 the Kersenboom is organising a pre-conference about forensic psychiatry for deaf and hard of hearing clients. The pre-conference is connected to the ESMHD Congress.

For further information go to the Congress website at www.esmhdcongress2007.com

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Accepting and working with voice-hearing Conference – 14 September 2007

Together is proud to be hosting the national conference to mark World Hearing Voices Day 2007 at the Thistle City Hotel, London. This exciting event will explore alternative ways of thinking about voice-hearing, and practical ways to help support voice-hearers to deal with their experiences.

Topics to be covered include:

· impact of hearing voices on people’s lives
· coping strategies from outside of traditional psychiatric practice, which really work
· demystifying hearing voices and self-harm
· alternative explanations for the causes of voice-hearing
· voice dialogue – a method for people who hear voices of exploring the voices’ motives and discovering different ways of relating to them.

There are specific sessions for deaf service users who experience voice-hearing and sign language interpreters will be available throughout the day.

Who is the conference for?: mental health professionals; anyone who hears voices (or sees visions, or has unusual experiences); friends and supporters of people who hear voices.

For further details go to www.together-uk.org

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Dramatherapy

Dramatherapy involves verbal and non-verbal work and makes use of a wide range of theatrical and dramatic techniques, such as story-telling, story-making and enactment, improvisation, role-play, mime, puppets, movement, music and Sign language (voice) work.

In 2003 I completed a postgraduate diploma in Drama and Movement Therapy at the Central School of Speech and Drama. The course trained me to work with clients to enable them to creatively express themselves through the art forms of drama and movement. The course built on my previous experience from my degree in Theatre Arts, Education and Deaf Studies at the University of Reading. I have good communication skills and can relate to people of all disabilities, as I am myself deaf. My range of experience with a number of theatre companies and institutions has given me a good understanding of the potential in this work. Are there opportunities to set-up projects like this in day centre or prison?

I can be contacted by e-mail: [email protected]

Glen Connor
HPC Registered Dramatherapist

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