In the beginning was relationship: remembering, repeating, and working through the trauma and challenges of returning from COVID-19 complexes.
Thursday 11th May @ 7pm
The Royal College of Physicians, 11 Queen St, Edinburgh
Tickets £10, £5 concession. Book through Eventbrite. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/thesutherland-trust-spring-lecture-2023-by-professor-divine-charura-tickets-622517365197
At present, in our diverse communities we are dealing with many challenges in relation to returning and re-engaging with each other, following a few years’ impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges for example relate to the unprecedented demand for hybrid encounters in different contexts, the need for psychological support, realities of many people experiencing austerity, trauma, and social disintegration. Additional challenges we are facing include increasing inequality, working with complex trauma narratives and ecological collapse. What are our reflections and experiences of these challenges? What is the impact and benefit of authentic in-person relational encounters? How can we personally and collectively thrive in these challenging times?
This lecture will offer reflections on these complex matters and furthermore draw on psychoanalytic/psychodynamic theoretical perspectives. The provocation that is offered to stimulate dialogue is that: Currently there are enactments of collective defences throughout diverse societies which are contributing to some of the manifesting resistance to engaging in authentic encounter. Professor Divine Charura argues that these manifestations could be hypothesised as an exemplification of a compulsion to repeat some of the trauma and social disintegration that emerged through the COVID-19 Pandemic. Citing some specific examples from his own experiences, of being hospitalised with COVID-19, and some evidence from his research and other works, Professor Divine Charura’s keynote presentation will offer perspectives on how through psychotherapy, or other authentic relationships we can work through trauma, challenges and continue to adapt, (re)build as well as transform personally and collectively. This keynote aims to stimulate dialogue on how psychotherapy and other diverse social relationships can enable us to be more outward looking, and to maintain hope in these times of crises and for whatever the future holds.
About the Speaker
Dr. Divine Charura is a full Professor of Counselling Psychology and the Director for the Doctor of Counselling Psychology Programme at York St John University (England). He is a Chartered Psychologist, and Counselling Psychologist with the British Psychological Society. He is registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council in England. Divine is an Honorary Fellow of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy and an Adult Psychotherapist.
Divine’s research interests are in psychological traumatology and wellbeing across the lifespan. As a practitioner psychologist his psychotherapeutic interests are on the tansformatory power of the therapeutic relationship when working with, loss, diversity, psychological distress, trauma, love, and relationships. Divine has a passion for promoting the use and value of psychoanalytic/psychodynamic theoretical perspectives and psychotherapy concepts in all walks of life, coaching, education, business, social care and beyond.
Divine has co-authored and edited numerous books in counselling, psychology, and psychotherapy. He has co-edited Love and Therapy with Stephen Paul, and with Colin Lago he has co-edited The Person-Centred Counselling and Psychotherapy Handbook: Origins, Developments and Current Applications and Black Identities + White therapies: Race respect and diversity. His forthcoming co-edited book with Dr Laura Winter is entitled The Handbook of Social Justice Theory and Practice in the Psychological Therapies: Power, Politics and Change.