A cross-party organisation working to put compassion, inclusion, and cooperation at the heart of politics.
Compassion has the power to change politics for good. From inequality to homelessness, online abuse to refugees dying at sea – imagine how these issues would be tackled if compassion was the main motivation of decision-makers.
Contact: https://www.compassioninpolitics.com
The CHO is the leading charity advancing the practice of Healing: promoting its benefits as a recognised complementary therapy by providing education, research and information to a wider audience of Healing and healthcare practitioners and society as a whole. ATH is a member of the CHO.
Contact: https://the-cho.org.uk
We advocate for a new attitude to healthcare: one which forges partnerships across society, emphasises prevention and a multi-faceted approach and empowers a healthier, happier population.
We think everyone should be part of the conversation about health, not just a select professional elite.
Contact: College of Medicine.org.uk
Check out ATH Facebook. Our Facebook Forum is a member only discussion group and it is for all ATH members. It is not accessible to members of the public.
Contact Dr Tim Ridge or Sue Thomas for details of how to access. https://www.facebook.com/therapeutichealers
Our Twitter feed is managed by Denise Cohen. twitter link@ath91902953
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing (APPGAHW) was formed in 2014 and aims to improve awareness of the benefits that the arts can bring to health and wellbeing. During 2015–17, the APPGAHW conducted an Inquiry into practice and research in the arts in health and social care, with a view to making recommendations to improve policy and practice.
Contact: https://www.culturehealthandwellbeing.org.uk
Creative Health the Arts for Health & Wellbeing. A summary in 16 pages. Short Report illustrated by David Shrigley
Download this PDF.
GDSR (Gender, Sexuality & Relationship Diversity) This new term replaces LGBTQ+ . For further info read this excellent article by Dr Meg-John Barker.
https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/5877/bacp-gender-sexual-relationship-diversity-gpacp001-april19.pdf
RACE article by Mahmood Ahmad UKCP psychotherapist
https://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/news/how-to-stop-being-silent-about-race
The member’s only networking Zoom meetings are held bi-monthly Wed eves from 5.30-7pm. All ATH members welcome. Come and join us.
Contact: Linda Brazier lindabrazier231@gmail.com for further info.
Dates & Topics for 2024
| 24th January Winter Blues, how do you cope? 27th March Thinking about Past Life Therapy >introduced by Kate MacKenzie 25th May topic to be decided 31st July topic to be decided 18th September provisional date 20th November topic to be decided | |
Topic: Gender, Sexuality and Energies, Shared Experiences 31/5/23
This huge topic unleashed an interestingdiscussion and one which will be revisited.
We looked at acceptance and respect and the use of correct pronouns. Would the
energies and vibration within the client “feel” different.
Also if past lives may have affected trans gender people. How confident would we
feel ,as healers, if someone presented as LGBTQI+. We cannot assume all clients are
heterosexual.
Reference was made to a presentation to British Wheel of Yoga members by Josetta
Malcolm (they/them) who had given permission within that for using aspects of their
talk entitled ” Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in Yoga “
There is much more to discuss on this topic and hopefully other networking meetings
will cover more aspects with new views from members. Linda Brazier
We did discuss some of the controversies and complexities surrounding this topic, eg.
gender, self-identification and the possible effects on women’s rights, ie. the concerns
that feminists are raising. There is also the question of equal competition in sports,
where a male to female trans person may have superior biological physical strength.
And some members shared their experiences of meeting and working to support trans
people and/or their relatives. Delcia McNeil
Topic What is Spiritual Awareness 21/7/23
We found a great deal to discuss and share and filled the hour and a half easily.
We all agreed awareness can arise from meditation and prayer, we also discussed
other experiences which are known to contribute and may bring immediate
awareness, but thought , generally a gradual awakening was preferable. Staying
grounded and connected to the Base Chakra whilst finding and following our own
path to awareness was thought important, bringing a deeper understanding of our
purpose in life.
To be open to insights we may be shown and the meaning of them, for example ,we
are more than the body and mind and the experiences that come from this
understanding.
A beautiful quote on the evening from an attendee was that spiritual awareness was
like ” A Pool of Peace “
We talked about how we each felt spiritual awareness and how we tried to keep that
awareness during daily life.
A lovely evening. Linda Brazier
Possible reading Four Quarters T.S. Elliot
Topic Who does the Healing? The healer or Healee?
An excellent discussion which brought forward many thoughts.
“The combined efforts of the healer, the healee and the Univerasl Energy Life Force
are all brought together during healing.” “The healer being the conduit of the healing
energies, ensuring beforehand the healee is open to healing and be ready to heal.”
“The healing energies travel to where they are needed, but healers often find they are
directed to specific areas of the body.”
“There must be gratitude for healing received and the ability to channel healing.”
“It is important for the the healer to be protected from any negativity from the
healee,however they may experience physical symptoms such as yawning, heavy
breathing, belching and coughing and some healers may mirror or take on the healees
symptoms in order to cleanse them”.
There is a lovely song which starts Every Little Cell in my Body is Happy, which can
be found on YouTube.
A broad topic which could be returned to.
Linda Brazier
ATH Core Group Member
Find her podcast on Spotify, Pocketcasts, Googlepodcasts
The Craftivist Collective
The Craftivist Collective is “an inclusive group of people committed to using thoughtful, beautiful crafted works to help themselves and encourage others be the positive change they wish to see in the world
SHARING NATURE
Take a moment to think about the idea that nature is flowing through you all the time. Think about everything that is solid within your body. Bring to mind your bones, your muscles, your teeth, your skin and hair. Consider that they all come from the natural world. They are all made from the elements that, before becoming part of your body were part of the rest of the natural world. And they will be returned sooner or later. Consider that these elements never belonged to you, you are sharing them with the natural world.
Think about the water in the world around us. Water is found in our sea, lakes, glaciers, rivers, streams and clouds. It is also found in our bodies. We have water in our cells, our blood, our saliva, our tears and our sweat. Recognise that we are sharing this water with the rest of nature around us.
Air is all around us, we can feel it against our skin and hear it moving through the leaves of trees. Plants release the oxygen we breathe, and the air we exhale is used again and again by the plants. We are an integral part of the natural world. Air is continually entering and leaving the body as we breathe in and out, we can’t hold on to the air, any more than we can hold on to any of the other elements we share.
By kind permission of author Claire Thompson
I thought you might be interested to know about this book. It is a collection of pieces about the experience of working with body and awareness, written by 20 different therapists, artists, writers etc.
I have written a chapter for this book called the Emanation Body that uses a buddhist model to show how I work with my clients using psychotherapy and movement therapy (Rhythmic Healing). So far I have read about half of the other chapters and have really enjoyed them, they are both accessible and informative. I thoroughly recommend it.
“The field of embodied awareness is transdisciplinary and multi-faceted: it has no academic subject listing, but is of central importance to those seeking to understand art, dance, the psychology of health, trauma, learning & development, the psycho-ecology of extinction and climate change, proprioception and interoception, ecological awareness, meditation, and the need for societal transformation in an age of multiple convergent crises. Here 20 practitioners bring a wide range of perspectives to bear on the subject”
Warm wishes, Anna Murray Preece ATH member
