Further information about workshops run by PACE

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Dates of forthcoming PACE workshops
Meet the PACE facilitators
Frequently asked questions about PACE workshops

Meet the PACE facilitators

Anthony Johnson

Anthony is HIV prevention Services Manager for PACE. He manages the PACE group-work programme and OUTZONE, the gay/bi mens’ youth group.

Anthony has been involved with PACE for over 12 years, starting as a volunteer counsellor. Prior to his current role, he was the PACE Sexual Health Counsellor. He has also been Counselling Manager for London Friend.

Anthony holds a Diploma in Person Centred Counselling and is a graduate of the Metanoia Institute. He works widely in the fields of personal growth and runs his own private counselling practice. He is an Associate of Pink Therapy and has worked for a number of agencies specialising in addiction issues supporting lesbians and gay men.

Alfred Hurst

Alfred, with Tim Foskett, set up PACE’s gay men’s groupwork programme in 1995. He

focuses the groups, at PACE, for HIV positive men. With Tim & Dennis Carney he co-runs Loving Men events in Scotland & the West Country – www.lovingmen.org - & co-facilitates Brotherhood Retreats in the US – www.brotherhoodretreats.com .

Alfred is a qualified social worker, has an MSc in family/couples therapy from the Institute of Family Therapy & a Doctorate in Systemic Psychotherapy from the Tavistock Clinic, London. He has an MSc in Public Service Management. He holds a number of posts including Clinical Manager for looked after children & adoption at Hackney Social Services, Family Therapist at the Core Trust Substance Misuse Treatment Centre & Clinical Supervision at Westminster Drugs Project. He has a private practice, research interests & a number of publications. His work is very participatory, humanistic & particularly focuses on ‘change’ & self-acceptance.

Alfred enjoys growing his own food & flowers as well as cooking & having fun with his friends.

Dennis L Carney

Since 2001 Dennis has facilitated therapeutic workshops aimed at gay/bi men at PACE and leads the development of workshop programmes targeting BME gay/bi men

Dennis has completed 6 years post-graduate training in humanistic psychotherapy at Spectrum. He teaches part-time at the City Lit, within the Counseling and Psychotherapy department.

Dennis is committed to creating safe spaces for gay men to meet, share and explore issues around identity, sexuality, relationships and personal development.

Dennis also works as a freelance trainer and consultant o ffering training courses on Diversity, Sexual Orientation, Team Building and HIV/AIDS concerns in the workplace.

He recently appeared in the Channel Four documentary ‘Trainers, Reggae & The Olympics’ that explored, amongst other things, homophobic lyrics in dancehall music. Dennis is also the current vice-chair of the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group (BGMAG).

Tim Foskett

Tim is an accredited counsellor, psychotherapist and group psychotherapist with the Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners, and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy. He is a founder and director of Loving Men (www.lovingmen.org), which runs workshops and develops resources on intimacy between men.

He has written three interactive workbooks, published in association with the Good Sexual Health Team at Camden PCT. These are Getting Ready (Self-esteem and getting ready for relationships), Getting What You Want (Friendship and relationships skills), and Getting Sexy (Enjoying sex more). These can be viewed and downloaded on www.pacehealth.org.uk/publications.

Between 1995 and 2008 Tim was the Groupwork and Training manager at PACE. He led and co-devised the sexual health and relationships groupwork programme at PACE and is now the Clinical Groupwork Consultant for PACE.

Tim has trained in person-centred and existential counselling and groupwork at City University, counselling psychology at PHYSIS and humanistic integrative psychotherapy at Spectrum.

Tim currently runs workshops, teaches 5RhythmsTM dance and has a private practice in North London: for more information see www.timfosketttherapy.co.uk.

Mícheál Ó Ruaric

Mícheál was a founder member of the Irish Gay Helpline (1991-2000). He later worked at Terrence Higgins Trust as a HIV counsellor and then as a clinical supervisor. In 2004 he established a counselling service for people with coronary heart disease, within the NHS.

Mícheál is a transpersonal psychotherapist (Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy Education, London and De Montfort University, Leicester).

He currently works in a community-based group treatment programme for adults who have sexually offended against children. Mícheál has also facilitated rehabilitation groups for perpetrators of domestic violence as well as sexual addiction groups. He has been part of the PACE groupwork programme since 2001.

He now lives in Derry, Ireland, where he has a private psychotherapy practice. He has particular interest in the issues of identity and language.

Sanjay Kumar

Sanjay is the Asian Gay Men's Counsellor at the Naz Project London. He trained in Integrative Psychotherapy at Regents College London, and has been working as a therapist in health services and employee assistance schemes. He specialises in bereavement counselling and in offering culturally sensitive counselling, integrating psychoanalysis, exisitential and humanistic models of therapy. Sanjay has experience of working with individuals and with groups.

He comes from Bangalore, India, where his previous training and work was with the Church as a minister. In India, he was also involved in providing support to gay men through a group called Good As You. His main interest is in providing a safe space for South Asian gay men to explore their sexuality within their cultural and religious contexts.

Kamaldeep Dhillon

Kamaldeep is an Occupational and Research Psychologist (BPS) and an Accredited and Registered Counsellor/Psychotherapist (BACP; UKRC) and Supervisor of Therapy. He takes an integrative approach to psychotherapeutic work. His core therapy training model, humanistic-existential, has evolved since 1995 to include Cultural, Cognitive-Behavioural and Psychodynamic approaches, studied at the Universities of Manchester, Birmingham and Leicester.

He has worked psycho-therapeutically in Primary, Secondary and tertiary-care settings with various psychological distress, including race and cultural, bereavement and loss, sexuality, substance misuse and severe mental health issues with individuals, couples and groups. His PhD, conducted at the University of Manchester, investigated culturally marginalised South Asian men and mental health, taking an acculturation and psychotherapy perspective.

Kam is interested in how public and private identities are construed and maintained by ethnic and sexual minorities, along with studying discrimination and mental health. He is a founder and consultant at Culture Doctors (www.culturedoctors.com) and in private and hospital-based therapy practice. He enjoys yoga and being a Dad.

Frequently asked questions about PACE workshops

What happens in the workshop?

PACE workshops follow a structure, which is planned by the facilitators. There are usually between 8 and 14 participants. We use exercises and activities to help you explore issues and concerns, and make sense of them within your own life. These may include talking to others in pairs or small groups, talking together in the large group, playing games or doing structured exercises. Each of these activities will be carefully introduced and if it something doesn't feel right for you it's OK opt out of an exercise.

At the first meeting the group will make agreements about how to work together in a way that is constructive and supportive. Throughout the workshop you will have an opportunity to put things on the agenda for discussion and exploration, within the general topic or theme of the workshop.

Towards the end of the workshop there will be a chance to review what you have learned during the workshop, and time to think about how to apply this in your life.

Who comes on PACE workshops?

Gay and bisexual men of all ages, shapes, races, and interests. One of the things participants often say is that they value meeting such a wide range of men and hearing different perspectives. We have worked with men aged from 17 to 72, with HIV positive, untested and negative men; with men from all over the world; with deaf men, using sign language interpretation, and men who use wheelchairs; with scene queens and disco dollies; and non-scene, newly out, pensioners. All men who are attracted to other men are welcome.

We run some specific workshops for some groups of men, such as HIV positive gay men, negative and untested partners or positive men, Black & Asian gay men and gay men over 40, because we have found that people often value meeting with others who share similar experiences.

How do I know it's worth going to a workshop?

Some people are nervous or wary about going on a workshop, because it's a new experience or because they think it might be a waste of time. Nearly everyone who's come on our workshops finds them valuable and many are surprised at how much they get out of them.

This is what some participants have said about PACE workshops:

"It has increased my ability to communicate with my partner when problems arise."
"Spending time in a non-scene environment with other gay men was great."
"Excellent professionalism and participation from the facilitators."
"It introduced me to some useful concepts about relationships."
"Gave me back some self-confidence."
"It has been a great relief to compare my anxieties about HIV with those of other people."

What is expected of participants?

We ask you to get to the workshop on time, make a commitment to participate in all the sessions, and not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs before or while attending workshop sessions.

It helps to be as active as you can in getting what you want from the workshop. We use the idea of a comfort zone. Its good to be willing to stretch your comfort zone a bit on a workshop. For some people simply showing up is challenging enough, while others will gain more by volunteering to participate in exercises or talk more personally about something. Only you know whether you're engaging with the workshop at the right level, so it helps if you monitor yourself as we go along. As the old adage goes "you get out as much as you put in".

What do the facilitators do?

The facilitators for PACE groups are gay men who are experienced counsellors and groupworkers. They use their skills to structure the group, facilitate various exercises to trigger discussion and experimentation, input relevant theory and create a safe and constructive environment. They will encourage discussion and interaction between members of the group, and make sure that the group keeps to the agreements for working together.

How do I book a place?

If you would like to book onto a workshop, or want to talk to someone before deciding whether or not to book, ring us on 020 7700 1323 and we'll be happy to help.