Event information
We are conscious that most events to date have been based in the South of England, although our members are spread around the country. Please contact Jonathan Naess on jonathan@standtoreason.org.uk if you would be interested in helping to organise an event in your local area.
Mental Health and EmotionalWellbeing:
A Call to London Employers
Work-related stress and mental illness have a huge impact on business, and mental
ill-health affects one in four of the total population at some point in their life. This
conference offers the opportunity to learn how to bettermanagemental health at
work and to hear how other organisations have found practical solutions and
accessed support.
Stand to Reason’s workplace products were launched at this event. Employers please email info@standtoreason.org.uk for further information. A video of the conference will be available shortly on this website.
9:00am– 2:00pm Thursday 10 July 2008
Chair: Sathnam Sanghera, The Times
Speakers:
Lord Dennis Stevenson of Coddenham, Chair, HBOS plc
Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work
Bob Grove, Director of Employment, Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health
Jemima Jefferson, European Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Credit Suisse
Catherine Kilfedder, Group Health Adviser, BT
Richard King, Head of Legal Knowledge, Herbert Smith LLP
BrendanMcLoughlin, Programme Director,
CSIP London Development Centre
Jonathan Naess, Director, Stand to Reason
Ben Summerskill, Chief Executive, Stonewall
Venue: Herbert Smith LLP, Exchange House,
Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2HS
With grateful thanks to our sponsors:
Herbert Smith LLP, JP Morgan Cazenove and the London Development Centre and
our media partner the Times Newspaper
Stand to Reason was delighted to host
A Reception with Stephen Fry on 10 June 2008
to promote
‘A-Z Guide to Good Mental Health-
You don’t have to be Famous to have Manic Depression’*
Written by Jeremy Thomas and Dr Tony Hughes
St Stephen’s Club, 34 Queen Anne’s Gate,
London SW1H 9AB
6.30- 8.30pm Tuesday 10th June
Wine and Canapés
‘I have searched for a book for my long-suffering partner to read that tells how it is, without the tedious, dry clinical stuff….she laughed and cried in turn through the whole thing…..’ Patient
With grateful thanks for support from
The Independent Doctors Forum
The Princess Grace Hospital
The Causeway Retreat
Michael Joseph/Penguin
Stephen spoke to an audience of over 300 people about ways of opening up mental health issues to the public such as the book and his BBC 2 Emmy award–winning programme. Jeremy and Tony were associate producers of the programme and have been supporters of Stand to Reason since its inception.
We sincerely believe Stephen will have changed many people’s lives in a quiet and important way. The impact of someone so talented and charming coming to speak to a group that has felt such a great deal of self-stigma is incredible. Stephen was so kind with his time before and after the speeches, so we do hope he was not exhausted by all the people who wanted to meet him.
The room was buzzing and we cannot know at this stage all the other benefits that will flow from the evening – many of those who attended the evening were also influential people who will have been inspired to take on our message of “Standing up for ourselves”.
Last night with Stephen’s help I think we removed much of the fear that the mental health establishment has felt abnout engaging with service-user lobby groups. Previously, service-user involvement has effectively been restricted to areas where we have least influence. Many
medical, business and journalist contacts too have ben forged through the event and we will assiduously follow up on these during the following weeks and months.
Stephen’s speech could not have been more inspiring or perfectly crafted, and conveyed such generous support for our proposition of a “Stonewall for mental health” and the impact this could have on society.All of us at Stand to Reason wish to thank him for what was quite simply one of the best nights we have ever had in mental health.
A video of the event will be available shortly on this website.
Parliamentary Reception – Westminster the workplace: What happens if leaders experience mental illness? 4.00- 6.00pm Monday 21 January 2008, Strangers' Dining Room, House of Commons.
Stand to Reason is hosting a Parliamentary Reception to explore the particular stresses and strains that public life puts on those who participate in it, politicians in particular. It will also examine whether it is possible for elected representatives to disclose an episode of mental illness. We are delighted that our keynote speaker will be Mr Kjell Magne Bondevik, the former Prime Minister of Norway. Mr Bondevik will talk openly of his experience of having to take several weeks' sickness absence from leading the country in 1998, while suffering a reactive depression from over-work. We are grateful to Anne Milton MP, the Conservative Mental Health Minister, Norman Lamb the Liberal Democrat spokesman for health and Lynne Jones the Labour co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group fpr Mental Health for sponsoring the event on a cross-party basis.
Sadly because of the limited number of spaces already accepted, the event is now only open to Members.
Spring Breakfast Briefing – a breakfast briefing with a similar format to last year's event "Mental Illness on the board", is being planned for Spring 2008.
Stand to Reason Christmas Party –
Please join us from 6.30pm on Wednesday 12 December 2007 for a taste of the season's glad tidings and a chance to celebrate our first Christmas together. Tickets will cost £5 each (£10 to non-members) and will include the first glass of wine and and some bar snacks. Venue in London to be confirmed, depending on the numbers who wish to attend, so book now to avoid disappointment by contacting info@standtoreason.org.uk.
Breakfast preview of Shaw Trust web resource for employers. Credit Suisse First Boston, One Cabot Square, Canary Wharf 8.30 – 9.30am on 6th December 2007. Stand to Reason is collaborating with Shaw Trust to promote a web resource they have developed to help line managers better manage mental health in the workplace. A senior spokesperson from Credit Suisse will host the event and talk about the business benefits of addressing mental health positively at work to an audience of 30 plus representatives from various City and Canary Wharf companies. Tim Cooper the Director of the Shaw Trust, the HR director of BUPA and Jonathan Naess the Director of Stand to Reason will be talking about the social justice and the reasons for supporting people with mental ill health, followed by a Q&A sesson for people to ask questions of the panel. Pleasee contact info@standtoreason.org.uk if you would like to attend.
5th National Bipolar Conference – an all day event at the Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London W1B 1NT on 5 December 2007. Liz Miller and Jonathan Naess from Stand to Reason will both be speaking. Although the event is aimed at medical professionals that specialise in bipolar disorder including psychiatrists, GP's, CPN's and nurses, we are very keen to make sure that service-users' perspectives are heard in the conference. Delegate rates are therefore unfortunately very expensive ranging from £300 to £500, but please contact jonathan@standtoreason.org.uk if you are interested in attending and we will do our best to lobby for some discounted or free places.
Join Stand to Reason at Mental Health Today – all day 4 December 2007. We will be exhibiting together with other service user groups at the Mental Health Today magazine hosted trade exhibition which comprises a full and comprehensive seminar programme and a large exhibition. There is an opportunity for service users to meet and debate the big issues, share best practice and network with other organisations and professionals within the broader mental health sector. Tickets are normally £20 inc VAT or £25 plus VAT on the day. Please contact jonathan@standtoreason.org.uk if you are a member who would like to volunteer we may be able to subsidise your ticket cost.
Employing Disabled People: The business case with Dame Tanni Grey Thompson – Invitation to the London Workforce Future Partnership (LWFP) on the 29 November 2007 to discuss the importance of SMEs employing and retaining disabled people and people with long-term health conditions. The first hour will include for several brief speeches from speakers include Dame Tanni Grey Thompson DBE and Peter Pledger, Chief Executive South London Business. The second hour will be a drinks reception. An evening event for 6-8pm and the venue is the London Marriott County Hall in Westminster.
Mental illness on the board – Stand to Reason breakfast briefing Thursday 14th June 2007
8am to 10am on Thursday 14th June at the St Stephen’s Club, 34 Queen Anne’s Gate, London SW1
A breakfast meeting on stigma and discrimination affecting people with mental illness, organised by Stand to Reason a charity promoting social justice in mental health.
Jonathan Naess, founder and director of Stand to Reason, talked about his personal experience and his thinking behind establishing the charity, and we are delighted that our medical patron Professor Graham Thornicroft will provide a keynote speech. Professor Thornicroft is Professor of Community Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, and is expert in stigma and discrimination – his full biography is below.
Discussing how mental illness affects people from all walks of life is key to creating a more open and inclusive society. The breakfast meeting focussed on the often under-reported issue of mental illness as it affects people who are in senior positions within their respective fields. This issue will be one of the key themes for our charity in its first year.
Professor Graham Thornicroft
Graham Thornicroft is Professor of Community Psychiatry, and Head of the multi-disciplinary Health Service and Population Research Department at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London. He is a Consultant Psychiatrist and is Director of Research and Development at the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust. He chaired the External Reference Group for the National Service Framework for Mental Health in England. His areas of research expertise include: stigma and discrimination, mental health needs assessment, the development of outcome scales, cost-effectiveness evaluation of mental health treatments, and mental health services in less economically developed countries. He has authored and co-authored 20 books and over 160 papers in peer reviewed journals.