Presented by Sappho Events to mark the end of Mental Health Awareness Week.
The pandemic has had widespread effects on the mental health of the LGBTQ+ community in the UK, with unprecedented demand for support services and dramatic increases in experiences such as anxiety, depression, and low mood.
As we begin transitioning out of lockdown, our panelists LGBTQ+ activist and community leader Lady Phyll (Black Pride UK and Kaleidoscope Trust), comedian Suzi Ruffell (Keeping it Classy, Dance Like Everyone Is Watching) and leading LGBTQ+ therapist Lorna Fulton (ELOP, London Friend, and private practice) will unpack the intersectional experiences of the LGBTQ+ community, and offer tips and tools as we move towards a (hopefully) more COVID-free world.
Learn about our LGBTQ+ leader's personal and professional experiences working with the LGBTQ+ community and managing mental health challenges during the pandemic.
Unpack re-entry anxiety and sensory overload; from feeling on edge in bigger crowds, going back into the office, getting on the tube, or feeling drained when meeting friends and family for long-awaited catch-ups.
Discover ways to monitor your emotional wellbeing and health, and look after yourself before and after social activity.
Whether you’re dealing with an underlying or active mental health condition, or are interested in hearing about mental health in the LGBTQ+ community, the panel offers an accessible and welcoming environment to consider how we can access and get support as a community.
Sappho Events Founder, Maryann Wright, will chair the evening.
The LGBTQ+ Mental Health Panel is presented by Sappho Events, creators of safe, sober and social events for LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people across the UK to connect over common interests.
To find out about more of our social events, visit: www.sapphoevents.co.uk
WHEN: Wednesday 19 May, 6-7pm
WHERE: Zoom (a link will be sent to ticket holders the day before the event)
PRICE: free
QUOTES FROM PANELISTS
Image Credit: Corinne Cumming
"Black LGBTQI+ people have been so disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, the lockdowns and the isolation that beating the pandemic have required. It's also important to remember that this time likely made worse pre-existing ill mental health in our community because of what it takes for us to navigate the world as Black people. As the world begins to reopen, it's important that Black LGBTQI+ people are supported meaningfully and with culturally-specific interventions that make space for the complexities of our lives and the potential for our joy," Said Lady Phyll.
“I have always spoken very openly about mental health on stage, I have always found getting it out really helps me. I am delighted to be involved in this event with Lady Phyll and Lorna,” said Suzi Ruffell.
BIOGRAPHIES
Panelist - Lady Phyll (she/her)
Phyll Opoku-Gyimah is the nucleus of the award-winning celebration and protest that is UK Black Pride. Widely known as Lady Phyll – partly due to her decision to reject an MBE in the New Year’s Honours' list to protest Britain’s role in formulating anti-LGBTQ penal codes across its empire – she is also the executive director of Kaleidoscope Trust, an organisation working towards the liberation of LGBTQ people around the world; a community builder and organiser; an Albert Kennedy Trust patron, and a public speaker focusing on race, gender, sexuality and class. She's regularly called upon to advise nascent LGBTQ organisations around the world to help leaders create cogent organising strategies, establish robust partnership networks and work effectively in service of the LGBTQ community.
ukblackpride.org.uk and kaleidoscopetrust.com
Twitter - @MsLadyPhyll
Instagram - @ladyphyll
Panelist - Suzi Ruffell (she/her)
Regarded as one of the best up-and-coming acts, Suzi won best club comic at the 2019 Chortle Awards. It has been a busy few years for Suzi, with three sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival resulting in her recording her show Keeping It Classy for Live from the BBC – released last summer – and a clip racking up over 16 million views on Facebook. Her shows receive critical acclaim, and have nabbed her the working-class comedy crown of her generation. Suzi has most recently appeared on Live at the Apollo, Mock The Week, Roast Battle, Ultimate Worrier, Hypothetical, Stand Up Central and Comedy Central at the Comedy Store.
Suzi is also a regular on BBC Radio 4 including The News Quiz and The Now Show, as well as co-hosting the hit podcast Like Minded Friends with Tom Allen.
After another sell out show in Edinburgh, Dance Like Everyone Is Watching is one touring the UK after being named as one of the top ten reviewed shows at the festival (third year running for Suzi). She’s recently added The Jonathan Ross Show, The One Show, House of Game and Harry Hill’s Clubnite amongst many others to her TV appearances. She has many projects in television development including a sitcom and an entertainment show.
Instagram - @suziruffellcomedy
Twitter - @suziruffell
Panelist - Lorna Fulton (she/her)
Lorna Fulton is an MBACP registered therapeutic counsellor working in London Bridge and Hackney with LGBTQ+ identifying clients. Her practice is GSD affirmative, sex positive and knowledgable in queer and trans* identities but most of all she provides a safe and non-judgemental space for you to explore and work through whatever might be going on for you. Lorna works therapeutically for a number of LGBTQ+ organisations including ELOP, London Friend and formally PACE before its closure. She also works within an LGBTQ+ service at Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest, where she is a Senior Psychological Therapist.
Lorna currently runs same sex domestic abuse workshops for survivors of DA and a number of therapeutic groups covering sober sex, relationsips and intimacy, work stress, low mood and depression and anxiety through the lens of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Outside of her work as a therapist, Lorna trains other psychotherapists, counsellors, analysts, and psychologists in affirmative LGBTQ+ practice.
Twitter - @LFultonTherapy
Chair - Maryann Wright (she/her)
Maryann Wright is a communications specialist working in the charity and entertainment sector. A proud LGBTQ+ woman passionate about the representation of and provision of spaces for queer women and non-binary people in the UK, she is the director of Sappho Events, producing safe, sober and social events for LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people to connect over common interests in non-alcohol-fulled environments. She is also an LGBTQ+ ambassador for Inclusive Minds, consulting on LGBTQ+ representation in children’s literature. Prior to Sappho Events, Maryann co-founded Women in Theatre and Screen, Australia in 2014, campaigning for gender equality in theatre, film and television. She has produced all-women theatre festivals and think tank events tackling systemic concerns about the representation of women in the entertainment industry, and was nominated for the 2017 Australian Women in Leadership Award for her work with WITS.
Twitter - @mmaryannwright
Producer - Sappho Events
Sappho Events creates safe, sober and social events for LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people across the UK. We welcome lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual, asexual, intersex and questioning women, including trans masculine and trans feminine, non-binary and gender fluid people, of all races, religions, classes, ages, and abilities. Sappho’s events centre around common interests such as literature, film, crafts, history, wellbeing, advocacy, gaming, dating, outdoor activities, and lots of tea and coffee. Wherever you are in your LGBTQ+ journey - whether you’re questioning, coming out, in the closet, or out and proud, Sappho Events is a safe, welcoming and inclusive space for you.
Instagram - @SapphoEvents
Twitter - @SapphoEvents