Partners for Counselling and Psychotherapy are delighted to welcome Pink Therapy and Aashna to our broad front of organisations, as we continue to work together to support diverse practice and present a strong and united challenge to the homogenisation of the profession.
Pink Therapy:
Pink Therapy was set up 21 years ago by Dominic Davies and is a large independent and virtual therapy and training organisation focussed around improving the mental health and quality of therapy available to gender, sex and relationship diverse (GSRD) clients. GSRD is our preferred term to expand beyond LGBTQ as it embraces people who are Asexual, involved in BDSM/Kink, or who have consensual non-monogamous relationships. All groups that might have a challenging accessing mainstream counselling and sexological/relationship therapy organisations.
We run an international training programme (largely delivered online), have an active Facebook private group for therapists (https://www.facebook.com/groups/143121662383294/) and have been active in the Coalition Working Group against Conversion Therapy since it’s inception. We run an annual conference, put the presentations on our YouTube channel for free access. We also have an accreditation scheme for people who have undertaken specific training to work with GSRD clients, a Mentoring scheme for Trainee Therapists and a variety of standalone online CPD self-study modules more info here: www.pinktherapy.org Founder: Dominic Davies returned his Fellowship from BACP in anger at their inertia on work around GSRD esp trans issues. He is a Fellow of the National Counselling Society and the National Council of Psychotherapists.
Aashna:
Shammi and Pretish met during their training at the Minster centre six years ago. Through our training and now with our own private practices, we as second generation British Asians, are very much aware the need to nurture and facilitate inclusion within the therapeutic field. Culture, faith, religion, colour, social background, sexuality, gender and neurodiversity (to name a few) all have a real impact on individuals’ lived experience and we believe that these should be recognised in the therapeutic alliance.
We set up Aashna because we recognise the struggle diverse groups face in finding therapy that meets their needs, as well as the challenge practitioners from diverse backgrounds, face in trying to reach and support their communities. Aashna is a unique therapeutic space, offering individuals from all backgrounds the opportunity to come together to nurture our voices and support each other to facilitate change. With the support of Jamie Crabb (Aashna), Alyson Jaffe (The Minster Centre), Eugene Ellis (BAATN), Richard Bagnall-Oakley, Sasha Kaplin (PCU) and Beatrice Miller (PCSR) Aashna’s Let’s Get Uncomfortable (LGU): Embedding explorations of race, ethnicity, culture and power in therapy embodies this social justice vision.
Inline with our ethos and with the support of Shoshi Asheri we created Aashna + . A social justice project at heart, where individuals from marginalised groups are offered longterm, affordable, relational and culturally sensitive therapy. This is where the clients, therapists and the wider community are all part of a larger project.