In Our Hands: Radical Approaches to Health and Collective Care

Each week we will look at particular aspects of health, share ideas and conversation. And each week we’ll explore some simple embodied practices (e.g. massage, stretching, breathing etc.) and learn about herbal medicine together, getting to know some plants by doing group herb tastings (with herbs and practices to take away from each session).

The programme will build week by week and we ask for continuity of attendance and participation. Session seven will be a Black and Global Majority people only space (see outline below) and session eight a trans and non-binary only space (see outline below). These sessions (seven & eight) can be attended as stand-alone sessions (space allowing). Sessions One to Six, Nine & the closing session Ten are open to all.

Programme Outline

Week One: Tue Jan 11

In this session we will look at the basics of using plant medicine, contraindications, preparations, dosage, kitchen pharmacy for common ailments and how to do a group herb study. (Facilitated by Lisa Fannen).

Week Two: Tue Jan 18

We’ll be looking at personal constitutions and plant energetics, and exploring the use of herbs to support psycho-emotional health, considering ‘nervines’; herbs that support rest, relaxation, that soothe, ground, vitalise and nourish. There’ll be brief reference to entheogens as medicine. As in all the sessions questions and conversation will be welcome and clear introductions/explanations will be given to ideas and language that might be less familiar. (Facilitated by Lisa Fannen).

Week Three: Tue Jan 25

In this session we’ll be exploring psycho-emotional health, the language of what gets called 'mental health’ and deconstructing psych/iatry. (Facilitated by Lisa Fannen).

Week Four: Tue Feb 1

We’ll be looking at decolonising 'global mental health'. We’ll look at the concepts of decoloniality, of things being 'culture bound', and at hermeneutical injustice as ways to examine dominator knowledge systems, and the institution of psych/iatry. As in all the sessions questions and conversation will be welcome and clear introductions/explanations will be given to ideas and language that might be less familiar. (Facilitated by Lisa Fannen)

Week Five: Tue Feb 8

We’ll be looking at reframing trauma, how we might understand trauma in the bodymindsoul, taking a look at the physiology of trauma, forms of trauma, and at ways to mitigate and heal trauma. (Facilitated by Lisa Fannen).

Week Six: Tue Feb 15

We’ll look more at psycho-emotional health - exploring experiences as opposed to diagnoses. And exploring collective care and collective healing. (Facilitated by Lisa Fannen).

Week Seven: Tue Feb 22

This session (open to all genders) will look at feminist health in relation to people assigned female at birth; we’ll be looking at the experience and politics of the menstrual cycle, cyclicity generally as alived experience, exploring so-called ‘PMS’ (premenstrual syndrome), and holistic approaches to what gets called gynecological health. We’ll also take a brief look at what gets called the menopause. (Facilitated by Lisa Fannen).

Week Eight: Tue March 1

In this session (open to transgender, intersex, non-binary and two spirit people) we'll be sharing experiences and tools to gently understand the nebulous thing that gets called gender dysphoria. Moving away from the medical diagnosis that gatekeeps towards an understanding in the body, the session would like to question if it's possible to untangle the social phenomena and individual felt sense to ideally move towards moments of healing and a greater sense of freedom. In the session we will be working with somatic practices, group conversation and connecting to trans ancestors and lineages. (Facilitated by Clay AD)

Week Nine: Tue March 8

Please note: Workshop One has been postponed due to personal circumstances of the workshop facilitator. Workshop Two will go ahead.

Arika will be in contact with new dates when this workshop is rescheduled for later in 2022.

Workshop one: The workshop is open to Black and Global Majority people, such as those who are Asian, Dual Heritage, Indigenous to the global South or racialised as 'ethnic minorities' This workshop will engage gentle body-based activities and discussion to explore anger and its transformative power. It's an emotion many of us find difficult to experience and express. It's often perceived as counterproductive, negative or destructive. As Black or global majority person communicating anger can feel particularly tricky and unsafe in white dominant spaces. This can often lead us to suppress or dismiss our experience. Yet anger, like other emotions, offers vital information about what is important to us and can be a potent force for the changes we want to create. The session aims to leave participants with ways of working with anger and a clear sense of its uses. (Facilitated by Omikemi)

Workshop two: This workshop will run at the same time but in a different venue of Civic House. The session - aimed specifically at white people - will be run by Tripod https://tripodtraining.org/ and Lisa Fannen and aim to explore and address whiteness, white fragility, and the somatic dimension of racialised trauma in white bodies and behaviour. It will be a space to learn and transform together and look at further anti-racist resources and work. Prebooking required via email - cloudberry@arika.org.uk

Week Ten: Tue March 15

This closing session will be shaped by all the facilitators in a way that speaks to the content and experience of the whole 2022 In Our Hands programme. It will consolidate the programme and be a space for reflection and feedback. We can discuss how we might share widely what we have explored and learned in our communities of living, working and organising. It will be where we can also consider which other/future sessions might be useful. (Co-facilitated by Lisa Fannen, Omikemi and Clay AD).

About the facilitators

Lisa Fannen

Omikemi

Clay

Access Information

Live translation (of non English languages) can be pre booked if required.

يمكن حجز الترجمة الحية (للغات غير الإنجليزية) مسبقًا إذا لزم الأمر
如果需要，可以提前预订现场翻译（非英语语言）
ਜੇ ਲੋੜ ਹੋਵੇ ਤਾਂ ਲਾਈਵ ਅਨੁਵਾਦ (ਗੈਰ ਅੰਗਰੇਜ਼ੀ ਭਾਸ਼ਾਵਾਂ ਦਾ) ਪਹਿਲਾਂ ਤੋਂ ਬੁੱਕ ਕੀਤਾ ਜਾ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ
Shanduro yekurarama (yemitauro isiri yeChirungu) inogona kudhindwa kana zvichidikanwa
Fassara kai tsaye (na yarukan da ba Ingilishi ba) za a iya yin riga kafin lokacin da ake buƙata
La traduction en direct (de langues autres que l'anglais) peut être pré-réservée si necessaire
สามารถจองการแปลสด (ที่ไม่ใช่ภาษาอังกฤษ) ล่วงหน้าได้หากต้องการ
La traducción en vivo (de idiomas distintos del inglés) se puede reservar con anticipación si es necesario

cloudberry@arika.org.uk will contact you to specify which sessions you wish to attend (i.e. the whole programme, all sessions apart from 7 and/or 8, or only sessions 7 and/or 8) and find out about any access needs you may have.

If you’d like to come but something makes that difficult for you, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with Cloudberry via cloudberry@arika.org.uk (e.g. BSL, live translation or childcare could be pre-booked)

Travel Costs
Bus pass money/travel costs will be available for people who wouldn't be able to attend otherwise.

Child Care
On-site childcare with PVG registered childminders will be available, if required. Please Prebook.

Venue Access
The CCA is a fully wheelchair accessible venue.

Bathrooms
All CCA toilets are gender neutral.

We will aim to make the spaces as covid safe as possible and ask participants to do a lateral flow test before each weekly session if possible.