International Women’s Day

#Accelerate Action

Saturday 8 March is International Women’s Day (IWD), an annual event which marks the ongoing gender inequalities worldwide and encourages action towards positive change. As a White Ribbon supporter, the BABCP has made a commitment to recognise and challenge inequalities, including sexism, misogyny, and gender-based violence, whilst recognising the impact of these inequalities on the mental health and wellbeing of women, men, and non-binary people.

As this year’s IWD theme is Accelerate Action, we are taking this opportunity to suggest a few actions that BABCP members can take to promote gender equality in their practice and workspaces:

As individual practitioners:

• Look for specific CPD events on gender-related topics: men’s health, the impact of menopause on wellbeing, specific inequalities faced by people from LGBTQ+ communities, gender-based violence (see below).
• Consider joining the WOMGEND SIG (all genders are welcome!).
• Share your thoughts or amplify the words of others on social media, especially those commenting on the intersectionality of gender inequality and social change. Use #IWD and #AccelerateAction hashtags.

In teams and departments:

• Lobby for team-wide CPD and resources which acknowledge the impact of gender inequalities within your service and community.
• Consider the intersectional needs of the client groups you support: do your polices, practices, and training topics adequately address these?
• Are your practices, policies, spaces, and messaging as trauma informed as they could be?

At wider service levels:

• Does your service have policies for gender-specific health issues such as menopause, maternity- or paternity-leave?
• Enquire if there is an organisation-wide commitment to address gender inequality. This could include signing up to White Ribbon or the Athena Swan Charter in HE institutions.

For more ideas and information, visit the International Women’s Day website: https://www.internationalwomensday.com

The Women’s Equality and Gender Diversity (WOMGEND) SIG

WOMGEND is a Special Interest Group focusing on different aspects of women’s health, including menopause, chronic pain and fatigue conditions, and the impact of gender-based violence. We are also collaborating on a men’s mental health positive practice guide and hope to link in with other SIGs to address these issues from intersectional perspectives. Our aim is to promote equality for women and gender minorities whilst raising awareness around gender-related issues which can affect the health and wellbeing of all our clients, our colleagues, and ourselves.

To this end, we have arranged several CPD events which focus on some of these issues:

• A CPD event on ‘CBT with Survivors of Coercive Control’ on Friday 7 March, to mark IWD
• A pre-recorded session on ‘Victim Blame and Trauma-Informed CBT’ by Dr Amy Beddows (in Members webinar area)
• A pre-recorded session on ‘the Gendered Brain’ by Prof. Gina Rippon (in Members webinar area)

In the spirit of #AccelerateAction, we decided to spotlight a common issue that we may encounter in our practice: menopause. Our Co-Menopause Lead, Jo Gray, has some practical steps we can take to improve our understanding and response to clients.

What’s Menopause got to do with it?

Roughly a third of the population is currently in peri or post menopause. That equates to about 13 million women (source https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/safety-and-innovation/menopause-in-the-workplace/). The effects of menopause can be far-reaching and research suggests that work, relationships and friendships can all be affected: for example, 45% of women say menopause symptoms have had a significant effect on their work. And this does not just affect women, as 38% of partners say they feel helpless when it comes to supporting their partner through menopause (https://www.womens-health-concern.org/). Menopause also affects those who are assigned female at birth, transmen, and non-binary people, yet those from LGBTQ+ groups often face additional challenges accessing support and treatment options.

Taking a truly biopsychosocial approach in our work means normalising asking questions about hormonal aspects of mental and physical health. Yet there can be barriers to being upfront in our client work, including:

• Practitioners feeling uncomfortable asking about a woman’s cycle/hormones.
• Not feeling sure how to word questions.
• Therapist cognitions: ‘they will be offended/annoyed/think I’m being rude/disrespectful/too personal, if I ask about this’.
• We may simply not be aware of the possible impact of menopause/hormonal changes on mood and anxiety.

Comfort zones
To accelerate action, we have a responsibility to step outside of our comfort zones and align with our values as a therapist. Here are three things you can do:

• Deepen your understandingas to how sex hormones play a role in mood, what menopause is, common symptoms, and the overlaps with mental health: https://www.menopausematters.co.uk/.

The more aware we are, the better-able we are to build it into our formulations and develop a shared understanding with our clients.

• Deliberate practice: try asking questions about hormones, cycle, and menopause. Practice until you find your style e.g., ‘do you find that hormones play a role in how you’re feeling?’, ‘do things change around the time of your period/during your monthly cycle?’, ‘how/was menopause talked about when you were growing up/in your culture/family etc’ (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a question like this and it has led to an a-ha moment!).

If you’re feeling unsure, you could ask a question like, ‘would it be OK if I asked you a couple of questions about your cycle/monthly cycle/hormones/menopause experience?’

• Share information with clients, colleagues, friends, family. The more we are talking about this, the more we can understand and learn and the faster we can reduce the stigma that can surround this common experience. Raise awareness with good quality information and resources, such as Women’s Health Concern website.

To learn more about the WOMGEND SIG or join our group, please visit the Members Area or contact us at womgend-sig@babcp.com.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Amy Beddows & Jo Gray