Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: Moving Towards Action Together

On Monday 26th February 2024, the PPN-SE, in partnership with the University of Reading, ran our Equity, Diversity & Inclusion: Moving Towards Action Together Event, organised by Professor Margo Ononaiye.  We are delighted to announce that this event was a complete success and we would like to thank everyone involved in making this day so memorable.

We were pleased to welcomed attendees from a range of services and clinical/professional backgrounds with the maximum attendance of 82 people. Importantly, 45 of our attendees represented Trusts, 21 attendees represented Educational Providers, 6 attendees from NHS England / ICBS, 5 attendees from the Expert by Experience community and the rest representing external or other Mental Health organisations delivering services to the NHS. Furthermore, 26% were clinical and educational leads / directors, 16% of attendees were educational providers (professors / lecturers) and 42% being clinicians (Therapists, Clinical Psychologist, Neuropsychologist, Psychological Practitioners, Assistant Psychologist). We also collected information of attendees identifications based on gender, ethnicity and disability to allow us to understand the reach of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion message of the event.

The event showcased work from a range of professionals across the South East region.

• Professor Margo Ononaiye (Psychological Professions Network South East Widening Participation, Lead Programme Director / Professor of Clinical Psychology, School of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead, University of Southampton) presented the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Audit Tool (PPN - Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion).
• Dr Adrian Whittington (National Clinical Lead for Psychological Professions Co-Chair of the Psychological Professions Network South East) presented the Psychology Profession Work Force Benchmarking Survey.
• Professor Allàn Laville (Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, Professor of Equity in Psychology, University of Reading) presented and discussed LGBTQIA+ Positive Practice Principles and its applications to clinical work.
• Dr Warren Matofsky (Senior Lecturer, Clinical Psychologist & Group Psychotherapist Psych. D Clinical Psychology Training Programme University of Surrey) & Dr Goran Lukic (Lecturer & Admissions Lead Psych. D Clinical Psychology Training Programme University of Surrey) explained why we should stop talking about under-represented groups: Social Justice-doing through co-production & clinical psychology training.
• Dr Nick Grey (Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Associate Director of Psychological Professions, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust) & Dr Neha Cattra (Counselling Psychologist, Education and Training Specialist for Psychological Professions) presented their working with Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Increasing diversity in the Psychological Professions at Sussex Partnership NHS FT: 'What Went Well', 'Even Better If' and ‘Where Next’?
• Shaine Singer (Expert by Experience, Poet Published Author, Star of Channel 4’s ‘The Undateables’) & Paul Wilshaw (Previous Service User, Theatre Producer, Podcast Presenter) who presented emotive and thoughtful poetry in which they expressed their experiences of accessing Learning Disability services and support.
• Dr Alasdair Churchard (Course Tutor and Clinical Psychologist, The Oxford Institute of Clinical Psychology Training and Research) gave the last presentation of the day in which he discussed the importance of Historical Awareness in Equity, Diversity & Inclusion from a Psychological Perspective.

We wanted to share this event with you all with access to the presentations and resources from the PPN - South East webpage resource section.