2026 seminar schedule: 

Wednesday 25 February 4.00pm-5.00pm

Speakers: Julie Allan, Art psychotherapist and Dr Andy Cook, Consultant Clinical Psychologist Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

“The Gold in Our Scars: Kintsugi as an Art Therapy Intervention in Forensic Mental Health”

Kintsugi, meaning “golden joinery ” is a Japanese art form in which broken pottery is repaired with precious metals. Rather than disguising cracks, it highlights them as part of the object’s history, creating beauty through visible repair. This approach offers a meaningful metaphor for forensic mental health, where individuals often feel defined by trauma, offending, and stigma. Honouring these “cracks” as part of a person’s narrative can support a shift from perceived brokenness toward resilience and renewed identity.

This seminar will explore how Kintsugi can inform art therapy practice in forensic settings. The emphasis on repair parallels art therapy’s ability to externalise internal experiences, regulate affect, and support narrative reconstruction through creative processes. By working with materials that are broken, mended, and transformed, clients can engage with themes of continuity, change, and self‑worth.

For those whose lives have been shaped by adversity and marginalisation, Kintsugi‑inspired art‑making offers a powerful, dignity‑affirming framework for therapeutic engagement and psychological integration. Although the talk will discuss Kintsugi as part of an art therapy intervention, it hoped that it will have relevance for practitioners working more widely with service users experiencing psychosis.

Wednesday 25 March 4.00pm-5.00pm

Speaker: Dr Lisa Wood, NIHR Clinical Fellow in North East London NHS Foundation Trust, Clinical Associate Professor at University College London

“Considerations in adapting Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for psychosis (CBTp) for inpatient settings”

Wednesday 29 April 4.00pm-5.00pm

Speaker: Prof Emmanuelle Peters, Professor of Clinical Psychology and PICuP Director

“STAR (Study of Trauma And Recovery): Effects of a Trauma-Focused therapy integrated with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for psychosis (TF-CBTp) for people with posttraumatic stress and psychosis symptoms”

Wednesday 27 May 4.00pm-5.00pm

Speaker: Prof Lorenzo Pelizza, Associate Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Bologna (Italy).

“Early intervention in psychosis in Northern Italy: a diffuse (“liquid”) model between research and clinical practice”

Wednesday 24 June 4.00pm-5.00pm

Speaker: Maria Ferrara MD PhD, Research Fellow at the Department of Psychiatry, Ferrara University and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Yale School of Medicine

“Sex differences in psychosis: focus on women’s care needs”

*July - August Summer Break*

Wednesday 30 September 4.00pm-5.00pm

Speaker: Dr. Joanne Hodgekins, Clinical Associate Professor, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia

“Improving Social Recovery in Psychosis (ISRIP): a definitive randomised controlled trial and process evaluation of Social Recovery Therapy compared to treatment as usual for people with psychosis and severe social disability”

Wednesday 28 October 4.00pm-5.00pm

Speaker: Shôn Lewis MD FMedSci, Professor of Adult Psychiatry, University of Manchester

“CareLoop digital symptom monitoring system for people with psychosis”

Wednesday 25 November 4.00pm-5.00pm

Speaker: Carmen Simonsen, Associate professor, University of Oslo

Title TBC.

2027 seminar schedule: 

Wednesday 27 January 4.00pm-5.00pm

Speaker: Nik Nikolić, Principal Pharmacist and Advanced Clinical Practitioner and NIHR Doctoral Clinical Academic Fellow

“Role of ADHD in Autistic people with psychosis”