Due to this chronic underrepresentation, we have formed a Talking to Schools Project Team which aims to increase the awareness of Clinical Psychology as a profession to students from under-represented backgrounds. Currently in its pilot stage, the Talking to Schools project will involve offering a series of presentations to schools in south-west London who self-identify their student population to be from these under-represented groups.  

Presentations will focus on mental health, clinical psychology as a career and the importance of diversity and inclusion within the profession. The first pilot presentations will be taking place in November 2021. With the future goal for these presentations to be offered on a yearly basis and incorporated into the leadership unit for 3^rd year trainees. The impact of these presentations on student aspirations will be measured and presentations adjusted to the needs of different population groups.

The Talking to Schools project is also being trialled in a number of other Clinical Psychology courses run by London Universities. The Surrey University project team have played a key part in contributing to the development and coordination of this shared agenda. Furthermore, the project has linked in with several research projects to offer students attending the presentations the opportunity to experience clinical psychology research. 

The Surrey University Project team is comprised of Ryan Woolhouse; Charlotte Atkin; Sophie Farthing; and Lizzy McManus. 

The afternoon will kick off with a keynote speaker, followed by posters and networking and to close - a panel discussion with Q&A from the audience. This will be an open and inclusive environment where we can all learn from each other.

To register for this event please click here: LGBTQSTEMday Tickets, Wed 24 Nov 2021 at 13:30 | Eventbrite (surrey.ac.uk)

For more information, please click here: Black history Tube map - Experience London (tfl.gov.uk)

Various members of the UOS Staff Team will be attending this event. Dr Catherine Huckle will also be presenting on 'Building Engagement and Sustainable Change in EDI Initiatives'.

For more information and to register attendance please click here: GTICP Annual Conference 2021 | BPS

We know Islamophobia still exists in the world today, with Muslims facing abuse, physical or verbal attacks on their places of worship or their property, and ethnic profiling. 

The best way to counter islamophobia is by starting with yourself. Educate yourself on the hardship Muslims face and speak up when you see something that doesn’t seem right or fair.   

There will be a series of UOS events throughout November including 

For more information please click here: Islamophobia Awareness Month
 

So far, our Curriculum Working Group has been a really interesting space to begin to think together about the aspects of psychology that are foregrounded from the outset of the course, the message that this conveys, and how we might realign the course's opening content with our vision for a 'decolonised' curriculum. 

 

Moving forwards, I hope that staff and students alike will actively, explicitly and routinely ask questions such as the above, to help us to think critically about what we learn and teach. What we conceptualise through our curricula as 'knowledge' or as 'valid' is not benign - when we centralise or marginalise ideas, we centralise and marginalise people. This directly affects those we aim to serve. I hope that we can begin to embed this recognition in the culture of our course so that we can begin to take steps to rebalance the inequity this creates."

Irrespective of the populations healthcare professionals are in contact with, the impact of maternity experiences can affect women and birthing people, and their families, at all stages of the lifespan. 

Please click the link to see the lay summary of this report.  

The workshop was structured as follows: 

The workshop successfully allowed trainees to consider decolonisation across different aspects of clinical psychology and the steps they can take to decolonise clinical psychology. 

The TADF Race and Culture training model is inclusive of all clients. We acknowledge aspects such as social-cultural factors, racial-cultural discrimination, cross-cultural/racial relationships, group trauma, racial-cultural identity, migration, acculturation, cultural conflicts, and meaning, whether spiritual or not. These are psychologically relevant to ALL, including White identities.

There is an early bird discount for those that join prior to the launch on Februrary 18th.

Click here for more information: Race, Culture & AntiDiscrimination Practice (tadf.uk)

This event will be educational in nature, and through informed respectful discussions, provide an opportunity for the forging of closer relationships, social cohesion, and to further align ourselves with the guiding principles of the Race Equality Charter as set out by Advance HE.

This event will be chaired by Narinder Garcha, Chair of the Race, Equity & Inclusion Steering Group at Birmingham City University

For more information and to register for the event click here: Webinar (microsoft.com)