Black Women Therapists UK 2025: Respecting Our Bodies

Back by popular demand!

Last year’s 1st ever Black Women Therapists UK Live One-Day Online Conference was a resounding success. So, we’re returning in 2025!

If you’re a Black woman therapist or trainee, supervisor, trainer or coach based in the UK you won’t wan to miss the Black Women Therapists Live One-Day Online Conference UK 2025. This is a must for your diary.

For 2025, you’re invited to consider what ‘Respecting Our Bodies’ means for Black woman in the therapy profession.

Join Host Mary Pascall and Co-Host Tonia Mihill, plus an array of dynamic presenters for this essential event in support of Black women therapists in the UK.

BWTOC UK 25 will offer you, your peers and colleagues, unique and dedicated spaces for:

• Discussion
• Self-care
• Showcasing
• Networking

Who should attend?

The conference is in support of Black women practitioners and trainees. All who are in support are welcome.

Tickets: £25.00/£37.50/£50.00 (includes recording)

Students: £15.00 with discount code

Early bird tickets: £20.00/£32.00/£45.00 (includes recording; offer ends 20th April

2025)

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SPEAKERS AND HOSTS

More to be announced,

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Embodied Legacies: Reconnecting Black Caribbean Women with Ancestral Wisdom - Rayann Bryan

Once again, we welcome Rayann Bryan, Founder and CEO of the Matilda Alves Foundation. For BWTUK25, Rayann invites you to consider the intergenerational wisdom and resilience of Black Caribbean women of the Windrush era. Through storytelling, reflection and shared insights, utilising approaches that are rooted in cultural heritage whilst addressing contemporary self-care needs.

What you can gain from the session:

You will leave with a deeper understanding of how ancestral resilience shapes our wellbeing. Practical insights and reflective approaches will be shared, so that you can learn to honour your body, through a culturally-rooted approach to self-care.

What to expect:

• Introduction – an overview of research on Black Caribbean mothers and daughters from the Windrush era, highlighting resilience and cultural strength relevant to body respect.

• Discussion – ‘Ancestral Narratives and Body Memory: how trauma, resilience, and strength are passed through generations’.

• Reflection – you will be invited to draw on your memories of a significant woman in your lineage, to reflect on your inherited resilience, self-care and community bonds.

• Sharing Circle – a voluntary sharing of your personal insights, fostering community connection and collective strength.

• Close – Rayann will close with a grounding affirmation, celebrating body respect and resilience, and rooted in culture and heritage.

Duration: 90 minutes.

This session will be recorded (facilitator only).

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Survivors or Thrivers? Success and the Black Woman Therapist - Joy Langley

For too long, Black women therapists have struggled with owning their full power – as healers, businesswomen and industry leaders. We downplay our achievements, shrink our success with phrases like ‘I’m just working’ or ‘I only have a few clients’, and shy away from the title of CEO. Well, Black Women Therapists, it’s time for us claim our iconic status, as Black Businesswomen.

For BWTOCuk25, Joy Langley brings us a 45- minute session that promises to challenge the traditional self-care narrative. As Joy says: ‘self-care isn’t just about bubble baths and yoga. It’s about radical self-ownership; standing in your full authority as a therapist and a businesswoman; merging your professional identity with your personal power, without guilt, hesitation or self-doubt.’ This session will shake you up, challenge your thinking, and push you into a new era of confidence and power. Because you are not ‘just’ a therapist – you are a Black Therapist Businesswoman. Are you ready?

This session will show you how to:

• let go of ‘not being enough’.
• gain respect for your skills and expertise.
• Step into conversations about money.
• embody the iconic status of the Black Woman Therapist as Businesswoman.

What to expect:

• a brand new perspective on self-care, success and identity.
• a challenge to the ‘Hustle; mindset.
• thinking beyond the therapy room.
• owning all of who you are.

This session will be recorded (facilitator only).

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Shape Your Success: From Placement to Practice - Ngozi Cadmus

As Black women in the UK, working in therapy and other related helping professions, we navigate training systems that often prioritise Eurocentric perspectives. During this process, our cultural and professional identities may be devalued and dismissed. Many of us experience discrimination during training, supervision and placements. We may be advised to ‘tone down’ our styles of communication or to reconsider our areas of expertise and research. These racialized experiences have profound effects on our confidence, career progression, and sustaining private practice.

For BWTOCuk25, Ngozi Cadmus, Psychotherapist, Co-creator of The Black Women’s Rest Revolution and CEO of Happiworkers, invites us to unpack the systemic barriers Black women face during training. Ngozi will introduce clear strategies for reclaiming agency, decolonizing therapeutic practice, and building a thriving career in the helping professions.

What to expect:

• an outline of factors leading to over-extension for Black women in the UK and the impact on our health and well-being.
• guidance on setting boundaries for self-care and self-respect during training and placement.
• discussion and small-group work.

By the end of this workshop, you will have:

• an understanding of racialized training experiences and how systemic bias and racial microaggressions can shape Black female therapists’ professional journey.
• practical strategies to integrate culturally aligned therapeutic approaches, whilst navigating Eurocentric training models.
• tools to empower your transition from training to a financially viable, fulfilling practice.

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The Skin We’re In: A Mindful Approach to Health, Beauty and Environment - Gloria Boadi

Plus an additional takeaway session: Body mapping – ‘What we love about our bodies’

Gloria welcomes you to BWTOCuk25 with a thought-provoking workshop that puts our bodies on the map.

In this session, we will engage in mindfulness exercises to tune into our bodies and reflect on essential questions, such as: ‘When was the last time you felt truly happy or connected?’ We will look at health research and statistics, and discuss how work, stress and income influence health outcomes. Above all, we will examine ways to reclaim autonomy. Prepare to be informed, motivated and inspired.

The workshop will close with a deep breathing exercise and a collective oath to honour our bodies.

What to expect:

• stats on health, stress, trauma and our environment.
• health quiz.
• body mapping exercise.
• group discussion.
• mindful breath work.
• a collective oath to honour our bodies.

Through discussion and activities, we will:

• discover how work, stress, trauma and finance influence health outcomes.
• reflect on differing perceptions of our bodies.
• learn the importance of prioritising our health and well-being.

By the end of this workshop, we will have:

• a greater appreciation for our bodies.
• increased knowledge of disparities affecting our health.
• mindful tools for prioritising our health and well-being.

This session will be recorded (facilitator only).

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Saying 'No' as an Act of Self-Care: How to Maintain Boundaries with Compassion and Grace - Rita Edah

For BWTUK25, Rita Edah MA, MBACP (Accred). Counsellor, Psychotherapist, Coach, Supervisor and Associate Clinical Tutor for University of East London, offers a valuable opportunity to explore the impact of over-extension within our professional and personal lives, including the impact on our mental health and emotional well-being. In addition, Rita will champion the setting of boundaries for self-respect and self-care, with a generous serving of compassion and grace.

What to expect:

• an outline of factors leading to over-extension for Black women in the UK.
• an exploration of the impact of over-extension on our health and well-being.
• guidance on setting boundaries for self-care and self-respect.
• discussion and small-group work.

Through discussion and small group work. We will discover:

• what we mean by boundaries and how we can maintain them.
• the interconnectedness between thoughts, emotions, and behaviours,
• the role of guilt and shame.
• the importance of compassion and grace – towards ourselves and others.

By the end of this workshop, you will have:

• an increased awareness of your own relationship with the subject matter.
• Been provided opportunities to reflect on how you can navigate any challenges to boundaries for self-care/self-respect.
• learned what it is to set boundaries with compassion and grace.

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Mary Pascall – BWTOC UK 25 Host

Mary is a psychotherapeutic counsellor, group facilitator and mentor in private practice, and host for BWTOC UK. Mary is also an associate tutor for the post-graduate diploma in person-centred counselling at The Norwich Centre, Norfolk, UK. She is registered with the British Association For Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and with the Black African and Asian Therapy Network (BAATN, https://www.baatn.org.uk/). Specialising in working with transcultural issues through a person-centred lens, her approach is relational, racial justice allied and social justice allied. Within her practice, Mary offers counselling for adults, mentoring for counselling trainees and, as a group facilitator, a tailored programme of online and in-person experiential workshops offering an enabling space, in which participants can explore the impact of race and culture on well-being within the current climate, the context of their work, training or supervision.

Website | https://www.marypascallcounselling.com/

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Tonia Mihill – BWTOC UK 25 Co-Host

Tonia is Co-Host for BWTOC UK. She works as Head of Therapeutic Services at MAP (https://www.map.uk.net/), a Youth Charity, based in Norfolk, UK. Tonia also delivers Form and Freedom Supervision training colleague, Cat Burton, to deliver (https://therapynorwich.com/). Tonia qualified as a person-centred counsellor in 2007 and has devised, and delivered, anti-racist training since the mid-nineties. She is a member of the Black, African and Asian Therapy Network (BAATN, https://www.baatn.org.uk/) and has participated in their mentoring programme since 2016. Her counselling practice is situated in the context of a lifelong active commitment to personal and community development, global justice, and equality. She is author of the chapter ‘Effective Anti-Racist Practice in Counselling and Therapy Training’ in 'Therapy in Colour: Intersectional, Anti-Racist and Intercultural Approaches by Therapists of Colour’ (2023, Jessica Kingsley Publishers). For BWTUK 24 one-day online conference, Tonia offered a radical workshop entitled Rest as Resistance: Rest Now! Accessible at: https://onlinevents.co.uk/courses/ (search 2024 Black Women Therapists Online Conference: ‘Challenging the Strong Black Woman Archetype’).

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Rayann Bryan - Founder and CEO Thelma Matilda Alves Foundation

Rayann is Founder and CEO of the Thelma Matilda Alves Foundation, a UK mental health charity providing a vital platform for the support and empowerment of Black women in the UK. Another key area of focus for Rayann is as a PhD student investigating the experiences of Black Caribbean mothers and daughters who migrated to the UK during the Windrush era (1950s to 1960s). For BWTUK24 Rayann introduced the work of the Thelma Matilda Alves Foundation and offered practical insights into establishing and supporting similar initiatives.

Website | www.thelmamatildaalvesfoundation.com

Instagram | thelmamatildaalvesfoundation

X | @ThelmaMatila

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Joy Langley - Emotional Intelligence Coach, Speaker, Psychotherapist, Author

Joy Langley is a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) accredited psychotherapist, emotional intelligence coach and speaker, based in Buckinghamshire, UK. She is author of the mental health handbook ‘Navigating Stress: How to Find Calm During Stressful Times’ (2021, Welbeck Balance). Joy believes life is about learning to navigate the positive and the negative challenges, and growing from the experience. She claims that her therapeutic background literally saved her life – helping her to rebuild confidence, self-worth and determination. Managing her own business has been a key to her journey. Joy says: ‘Being an entrepreneur isn't easy, but I wouldn't give up the independence it affords me, to work for anyone else’. For BWTOCuk24, Joy offered a 45-minute Salon, entitled: ‘Are You Minding Your Own Therapy Business?’ Accessible at: https://onlinevents.co.uk/courses/2024-black-women-therapists- online-conference-challenging-the-strong-black-woman-archetype/

Website | https://www.joylangley.com/

LinkedIn | JOY Langley

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Ngozi Cadmus - Psychotherapist and Social Worker, Co-creator of The Black Women’s Rest Revolution, CEO of Happiworkers

Ngozi is a Transactional Analyst psychotherapist and social worker. She focuses on helping Black women heal from workplace abuse and racial trauma. She is the CEO of the anti-racist workplace mental health platform Happiworkers and the Founder of The Black Woman's Rest Revolution, which aims to transform our approaches to anti-racist practice and mental health. Ngozi champions rest as radical resistance against systemic oppression. She channels her expertise into creating culturally sensitive workplaces and holding leadership accountable, empowering Black women to prioritise rest as essential to their liberation and renewal. Ngozi is currently completing her doctoral research at the Tavistock on Black women's leadership strategies. You can find her TEDx talk: The Shocking Reality of Black Women in Leadership | Ngozi Cadmus | TEDxKingsCollegeLondon

Website | https://happiworkers.health/ | https://theblackwomansrestrevolution.com/

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Gloria Boadi - MA, MBACP (Accred.), NCS (Accred.) Counsellor, Psychotherapist, Supervisor, Systemic Practitioner

Gloria is a Psychotherapist, Counsellor and Supervisor with over 13 years of experience helping individuals, couples, and groups thrive. She holds an MA in Counselling from Goldsmiths College, London and is qualified as a Systemic Practitioner from The Prudence Skinner Clinic, St. George’s Hospital. Gloria is an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), and the National Counselling Society (NCS). Gloria is also a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS), the Black, African and Asian Therapy Network (BAATN) and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Union (PCU).

Within her practice, Gloria creates a safe and motivating space for clients to face challenges head-on. She is also certified to support individuals with sight loss and works with RNIB, championing inclusivity and growth. In addition to this work, Gloria is one of the master facilitators trained by Dr Isha McKenzie-Mavinga in a ‘Black Empathetic approach to therapy and the challenge of racism’.

Gloria’s expertise spans workplace stress, anxiety, complex presentations, and transcultural issues. She has experience across diverse settings, including schools, prisons, GP surgeries and EAP’s. She currently works in private practice in Greenwich, London.

Website | https://www.boaditherapyservices.com/about-m

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Rita Edah - MA, MBACP (Accred.) Counsellor, Psychotherapist, Coach Supervisor, UEL Associate Clinical Tutor

Rita is an accredited member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy), a registered member of BAATN (The Black, African and Asian Therapy Network), a trained Counselling Supervisor, Coach and an Associate Clinical Tutor for the Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of East London (UEL).

In her practice, Rita works with individuals, couples, families and groups experiencing distress and frustration, and/or feeling lost, and unable to gain clarity. Rita helps her clients to overcome barriers by working collaboratively to create pathways towards freedom of choice for empowered living.

Rita is also author of Beauty’s Story – Some Cuts Are Deeper Than The Eye Can See (2014), a work of fiction that shows the insidious nature of domestic abuse. She can be heard in interview with academic, psychotherapist and social worker Dr Peter Blundell in Breaking the Boundaries ollective: Grenfell - Hestia's Overnight Hotel Counselling Service https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2fDDsQC-g0

Website | ritaedah.com