Black Psychotherapy Summer School

The future of our communities depends on our capacity to care for ourselves and one another.

For generations, our communities have carried crisis, grief, displacement, resistance and survival. Long before mental health became professionalised, we created ways of listening, witnessing, supporting and healing together. Yet many of us find ourselves holding an increasingly heavy load.

We are supporting friends through burnout, holding space for collective grief, navigating conflict within our movements and trying to sustain ourselves whilst living through political and ecological uncertainty, economic hardship and escalating violence.

The Black Psychotherapy Summer School is a four-day immersive learning experience for Black and Global Majority communities exploring how we can expand our capacity to offer support while refusing to abandon ourselves in the process. Rooted in decolonial, anti-oppressive and liberation-orientated frameworks, this programme explores what it means to build cultures of care that do not rely solely on professional services, but draw upon the wisdom, relationships and collective resources that already exist within our communities.

Our learning intentions include:

• Foundational counselling and listening skills

• Emotional and trauma first aid

• Understanding trauma, racial trauma and collective trauma

• Psychoeducation and community mental health

• Conflict transformation, accountability and repair

• Boundaries, ethics and sustainable care practices

• Burnout, resilience and sustainability within activism

• Power, identity and anti-oppressive practice

This is not therapy training. It is a practical, relational and politically engaged space where we can learn how to use therapeutic skills to build individual and collective power. No prior therapeutic training is required and therapists/trainee therapists are welcome to join.

Across four days, we will engage in experiential exercises, skills practice, reflection groups, discussion and embodied learning. We will leave with practical tools, greater confidence and a deeper understanding of how care can function as both a personal and collective practice.

Who Is this for?

• Community workers

• Activists and organisers

• Peer supporters

• Students and trainees

• Frontline workers

• Helping professionals

• Anyone interested in strengthening community-based approaches to care

By the end of the programme, you will have:

- Greater confidence supporting people in distress

- Practical communication and listening skills

- A deeper understanding of trauma and nervous system responses

- Tools for navigating conflict and repair

- Clearer boundaries and awareness of your role and limitations

- Resources you can immediately take back into your communities

- A network of people committed to collective care and liberation

Modules:

Day 1: Foundations of Community Care & Counselling Skills

Day 2: Psychoeducation & Emotional First Aid

Day 3: Trauma Awareness & Trauma-Informed Responses

Day 4: Conflict, Communication & Repair

Practicalities:

Timings

Each day will begin at 10:00 and end at 16:30. We will take a lunch break at 1pm for an hour and there will be a morning and an afternoon break. We encourage everyone to take additional breaks, if required.

Venue

Our venue location is Pan Intercultural Arts and the address is Ground Floor Wing, Camelford House, Albert Embankment, London, SE1 7TP

Directions

By Train: Vauxhall Station (Victoria Line & National Rail

Services) is the nearest – about a 4-minute walk.

By Bus: Several buses stop nearby, including routes 2, 36, 185,

156, 344, 436, 77 and 360.

By Car: Limited parking is available at Camelford House. We

recommend using public transport where possible.

Accessibility

The main event space is located on the ground floor and is accessible via a ramp. There is parking available for Blue Badge holders and wheelchair accessible toilets are available on site.

A quiet room and sensory toys will be available throughout the event. We encourage you to also bring your own sensory toys, if that would be helpful.  

Masks and sanitisers will be available at the check-in desk. 

A kitchen will be available for those who wish to bring their own lunch. There are also several supermarkets, cafés and food options within walking distance of Vauxhall Station.

Black Psychotherapy is committed to making this event as accessible and welcoming as possible. If there is anything we can do to support your participation, please get in touch. 

Learning materials

We will be providing a learning pack with all the materials and resources for each day. We encourage you to bring notebooks, laptops, tablets, or any other materials that you might need to make notes on. Please note that the teaching will not be recorded. 

Tickets and Scholarships

We have priced our Summer School to support financial accessibility for as many as possible. You are welcome to purchase one or multiple day passes or a 4-day pass to take part every day. We have a limited number of scholarship places for those who are encountering financial difficulties and the application form can be found here. The deadline for applications is Wednesday 29th July at 17:00 (BST). 

We would like to thank our funders, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, for supporting the delivery of our Summer School and our scholarship programme.