UN House Scotland and Soroptomist International will be hosting an afternoon of talks and expert-led discussion on Women’s Mental Health on the 9th of October, at The Albany Learning and Conference Centre in Glasgow. It is preceded by a short blog series on the UN House Scotland Website, which explores issues from mental health and single-parenthood to the effects of oral contraceptives on mental health in women.
With good health and wellbeing playing a major role as one of the UN’s sustainable development goals, the event will bring together a number of experts from charities and industry to share their knowledge on the issue of mental health. Teresa Midhurst , Deputy Director for Adult Mental Health, Mental Health Directorate, will speak on the Scottish Government’s Mental Health Strategy and its implementation. Lynn Pilkington, who is the social movement support officer for See Me, a Scottish charity which aims to tackle mental health stigmatisation and discrimination, will present an exploration of the conditions that enable people to talk about mental health. Finally HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Clare Thomson will provide a perspective on mental health and women in prison.
Not only do the talks cover a broad range of issues and groups, but conversations will explore mental health experiences of a range of women in society. Three expert-led conversations will take place. Project facilitator for ‘Let’s Talk’ a project by Scotland’s mental health charity, SAMH, will lead one of these. Clare Thomson from Change Agents Scotland will hold a discussion on maternal mental health. Marion Ulas, representing United Nations Associations Edinburgh will lead a discussion on young people and mental health.
Taking place a day before World Mental Health Day, the conference will explore women’s mental health in a number of different contexts. The conference will explore how we define mental health, as well as what constitutes good mental health. Not only will it look at the UN’s global mental health approaches through the sustainable development goals, but it will also focus on Scottish Mental Health policy, examining existing measures and potential courses of action to achieve better mental health in Scotland.
The conference will be free of charge and welcome to all. Tickets can be found at the following page: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mental-health-awareness-conference-on-womens-mental-health-tickets-72097735267
