(click here for more info Public Policy Exchange) as a follow up from an All Party Parliamentary Group on Body Image last year.
Central YMCA played a big role in this APPG Body Image group, and a colleague and myself became involved via the YMCA. We developed and facilitated some workshops for Key Stages 1 & 2 pupils in primary schools. We fed back our experiences to YMCA and they were included in the published report: 'Reflections on body image'. More details can be found by visiting www.ymca.co.uk/bodyimage/This conference is a bit of a first for me. I've presented at a number of conferences over the last 3 or 4 years as part of my PhD, but each of those has been one which I've had to apply to present at. This is the first one for which I was approached by the organisers and invited to attend. I'm sure it comes from the work I did last year as part of the APPG Body Image inquiry; but it's a privilege to be invited to present.
It feels like a recognition of my developing expertise and all of the research I've engaged in over the last few years. And that feels good; especially as I head towards the end of my PhD.
It also got me thinking about just how many conferences and events I've presented at. I used to be absolutely terrified of public speaking, and yet now, I gladly put myself forward for it. I still feel some nerves, but I'm sure that's normal. My research and what I'm learning from it, excites me so much, that I want to share it with others ... at conferences, and hopefully, eventually, in print.
This is the list of conferences I've attended & titles I've presented over the duration of my PhD to date ...
2010 BACP Research Conference, London
Poster Presentation: “The impact of working with eating disordered clients on the counsellor’s sense of self: a pilot study”
2010 VITAE Public Engagement Event, Newcastle Poster Presentation: “Working with eating disordered clients: Might it eat away at the counsellor?”
2010 York St John University; Research Methodologies Conference
Paper: “The evolution of a methodology: An exploration of counsellors’ embodied subjectivities when working with clients presenting with eating disorder symptomatology”
2010 Newcastle Counselling Association
Workshop Presentation: “Dispelling fears: The importance of research in counselling”
2011 BACP Research Conference, Liverpool
Poster Presentation: “Changing the researcher, changing the research: The impact of exploring the embodied subjectivities of counsellors working with clients with eating disorders”
2011 VITAE Public Engagement Event, Durham
Petcha Kucha Presentation: “The effects on counsellors of working with clients who have eating disorders”
2011 York St John University; Research Methodologies Conference
Paper: “Giving the researcher a voice: Autoethnography as a vehicle for reflexivity”
2011 NCCCTC Conference, Newcastle
Paper Presentation: “Embodying change work and eating disorders”
2012 BACP Research Conference, Edinburgh
Paper: “The embodied counsellor: Exploring the counsellor’s embodied subjectivity when working with clients presenting with eating distress”
2012 VITAE Public Engagement Event, York
Poster Presentation: “How amazing is your body?! From the counselling room to you … “
2012 Newcastle Counselling Association
Workshop Presentation: “The embodied counsellor: Reflections on the therapist’s body and relationship with food”
2013 York St John University Faculty of Life & Health Sciences; Faculty Research Seminar
Presentation: “An exploration of the counsellor’s embodied subjectivity when working with clients presenting with eating disorder symptomatology: Methodological progression and key findings to date”
2013 Mental Health and Young People; Promoting a Positive and Healthy Body Image; A Public Policy Exchange Symposium, London
Paper Presentation: “Embodying change: An embodied approach to working with body image”
