Thu 22 October 2020 17:00-18:30
Online
In honour of Black History Month, the team at Mindful Healthcare are coming together to discuss black mental health.
In a country where black people are in the minority, it’s commonplace to find yourself as the only black person in the room. Whilst research has been slow to acknowledge the physical and mental impact of racial discrimination, black people have found ways to cultivate hope and resilience in the form of community.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for us to create physical communities, Mindful Healthcare is creating a virtual space for black students to learn about mental health and share in their collective experience.
Speakers:
Mica Gray is an aspiring clinical psychologist and poet. Her academic background is in Philosophy, Psychology and Neuroscience. She has lived experience of psychosis and is interested in non-medical explanations for psychotic experiences. Her poetry has been published in the anthology ‘the colour of madness’ exploring BAME mental health experiences in the UK and in the radical mental health magazine ‘Asylum’. She is also the author of the poetry collection ‘When Daisies Talk’ which explores the themes of race, psychosis, depression, womanhood and spirituality.
Ifetola Esther Ojo is a student currently on a Development Studies course at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Sara Bafo is the Welfare and Liberation Officer at Goldsmiths, University of London Student Union. She believes it’s more important than ever that students feel part of a community and all liberation groups are heard and protected.
Fowsia Kadiye is the Education Officer at Goldsmiths, University of London Student Union. She is focused on advocating for more funding for university counselling services and making a massive push for the racial justice work started by GARA to continue as well as looking at the BAME attainment gap and decolonising the curriculum.
Marcia Gardner is a BACP accredited therapist with varied therapeutic experience working with a range of issues for both adults and children.
Jennifer Okolo is a senior occupational therapist, speaker and activist with experience in mental health inpatients and forensics. She is also the founder of She Aspires - a brand centred around a digital platform that asks young females to write and interact on a series of real-world issues that affect them.
Facilitator:
Jo Chukualim is a mental health associate at Mindful Healthcare with over 7 years' experience. She is passionate about reducing the stigma around mental health issues and has been featured on numerous publications as an artist, writer and producer. Jo has worked with charities, non-profit organisations and hospitals such as the well-known Cambridge University Hospitals, Science Resources Africa and Comic Relief, lending her skills in art, design and research.
The event is open to students who self-identify as Black and from an African or Caribbean background.
Limited tickets are available to book now using the link here!