From the powerful personal story that inspired one therapist鈥檚 campaign to raise awareness of the impact of the menopause, to thought-provoking talks on body modifications, cosmetic surgery and social media.

Our Private Practice conference captivated the audience with a variety of informative and inspiring presentations on the theme of 鈥榤ind or body: what鈥檚 in charge?鈥

Around 300 people attended the annual conference in London, with another 900 watching on the webcast and on-demand service.

Positive feedback

Lesley Ludlow, chair of our Private Practice division, said: 鈥淭here鈥檚 always a buzz about the Private Practice conference. It鈥檚 been great to hear so much positive feedback about the event this year.

鈥淥ur two keynote speakers were very different and were both brilliant for very different reasons. Looking around the room, it was fantastic to see people captivated by both of them.鈥

The main speakers were therapist and menopause awareness campaigner Diane Danzebrink and Alessandra Lemma whose presentation 鈥楿nder the skin: body modification and its psychic functions鈥 kicked off the day.

Members could also attend workshops during the day on a variety of topics including: eating disorders; neuroscience; the influence of social media on body image; sleep; the cosmetic industry and therapy and body dysmorphic disorder.

There was also a presentation by Para Dressage athlete Mari Durward-Akhur, who gave a first-hand account of living with a degenerative condition.

Lesley added: 鈥淚 had a member come up to me after Mari鈥檚 talk to say how important it was that he had heard her story about living with her condition. That was great to hear.

Interesting talks

鈥淲e are very conscious that we need the conference to appeal to students who are training as well as people who have been working in the profession for years. I really believe we achieved that with the range of interesting talks this year.鈥

Our members shared their thoughts on the conference and speakers via Twitter throughout the day, using the hashtag #PPConf2019.