Women’s Mental Health Conference
CPD Credits
6
Event Type
Live In-Person Event
Location
Kings House, London, N1 9JY
Time (UK)
10:30 am - 4:15 pm
Standard
£120.00
Trainee/NHS
£102.00
Book Tickets
Women’s Mental Health Conference
Saturday, April 25, 2026

Women’s Mental Health Conference

The impact of physiology, hormones, cycles on mood and states of mind

With Dr Letticia Banton, Martha Doniach, Dr Sheetal Rajashanker, Dr Sue Mann & Dr Jo O'Reilly (Chair)

A cartesian split in the profession has led psychotherapists to overlook the role of the hormones, the menstrual cycle and menopause in the female psychological experience. Conversely, medical professionals report women seeking solely medical solutions for their menstrual or menopausal symptoms, without exploration of psychological avenues.

This event seeks to bridge this gap in mind and body through adopting more holistic lens on the menstrual cycle and menopause as biopsychosocial phenomena, which require joined up thinking across the medical and psychological professions, to enhance outcomes for clients. We are delighted to have Dr Sue Mann, the National Clinical Director in Women’s Health for NHS England  with us to offer a keynote as well as speakers from the disciplines of Psychiatry, Counselling Psychology and Psychoanalytic Couple Psychotherapy.

Thinking about the menstrual cycle and menopause raises important questions for psychotherapists. How can we support clients struggling with menstrual or menopausal symptoms, and how might these difficulties be understood within a broader psychodynamic formulation? The cycle is highly stress-responsive, and trauma can disrupt hormonal rhythms, intensify symptoms, and create cyclical patterns of emotional or bodily distress. For therapists, the cycle can therefore hold valuable clinical information, highlighting points of vulnerability or trauma reactivation. This also raises questions about the limits of psychological support before medical assessment is needed. Our speakers will explore these issues, alongside the impact of misogyny, marginalisation and stigma.

The conference is hybrid with tickets available in person and online, for those joining in person lunch and a drinks reception are included. The event will be recorded and you will receive a copy. The conference is aimed at psychotherapists however colleagues from all disciplines are welcome.

Click here for online tickets.

 

Programme

10.00 Registration and Coffee
10.30 Dr Jo O'Reilly, Consultant Psychiatrist in Medical Psychotherapy 
Welcome and introductions
10.45 Dr Sue Mann, National Clinical Director in Women’s Health for NHS England
Referrals to a Specialist Women’s Health Service

Dr Mann will discuss two cases referred through General Practice to a specialist women’s health service.  One, a young patient in her twenties with pre-existing history of depression with symptoms exacerbated in the second half of the menstrual cycle and the other in her early forties with new onset symptoms of depression and anxiety. Both patients attribute symptoms to hormonal fluctuations.  There will be a discussion of the biomedical theories that underpin the relationship between hormones and mood, the challenges within a medical gynaecological setting of broadening a consultation beyond hormones and how to help patients to consider the wider context and maximise the impact of what is usually a single interaction. 

11.25 Q&A
11.40 Martha Doniach, Psychoanalytic Couple Psychotherapist
Hormonal Shifts and Couple Dynamics, a Psychotherapeutic Perspective

This presentation discusses a composite psychotherapy case involving a couple whose relationship is adversely affected by the cyclical influence of hormonal fluctuations. Changes in mood, desire, and conflict are examined as they relate to unconscious dynamics between the partners, illustrating how menstrual and menopausal experiences can influence relational life. Part of the presentation considers how ignoring hormonal factors can perpetuate a mind–body divide, and how interdisciplinary approaches may support clinicians in addressing the psychological and relational impacts of hormonal change within a broader biopsychosocial framework.

12.20 Q&A
12.35 Lunch (included for in person attendees)
13.30 Dr Letticia Banton, Chartered Counselling Psychologist & Integrative Psychotherapist
Hormonal Shifts and Self States in a Psychotherapy Case

This case study will consider a 42-year-old female client who came into therapy at a crossroads in her life where she felt intense loneliness and existential uncertainty about her work, marriage and experience of daily living. She reported symptoms of anxiety, sleeplessness and being unable to focus and questioned if she had ADHD or bipolar disorder. Introducing the concept of ‘menstrual cycle awareness’ helped to track the embodied lived experience in relationship to her hormonal cycles. This included a growing awareness of a regression to young, vulnerable self-states during the pre-menstrual phase of her cycle combined with a pulling away from her partner. Through psychotherapy the client was able to process early experiences which were felt to be more present in the premenstrual phase of the cycle, developing a capacity for self-compassion and a buffering and developing resilience and containment through the ovulatory phase of the cycle. Letticia will also discuss how a turning point came when she sought out a female hormone medical assessment and began HRT.

14.10 Q&A
14.25 Afternoon Break
14.45 Sheetal Rajashanker, Consultant Psychiatrist 
Hormone Sensitivity and Psychiatric Perspectives

From a psychiatric standpoint, hormone sensitivity plays a significant role in women’s experiences of mood and behavioural instability. Increasing evidence indicates that individuals with sensitive temperaments, histories of trauma, or underlying neurodevelopmental conditions—such as ADHD or autism spectrum disorder—may be particularly vulnerable to emotional dysregulation during periods of hormonal fluctuation. Hormonal changes across the menstrual cycle, postpartum period, and perimenopause can interact with neurobiological and psychological vulnerabilities, amplifying symptoms associated with conditions such as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), and other affective or personality disorders. This complex interplay underscores the importance of an integrative, biopsychosocial approach—combining endocrine evaluation, psychiatric formulation, and tailored psychotherapeutic or pharmacological interventions. A psychiatrist’s perspective can also help to clarify patterns of misdiagnosis, challenge stigma surrounding women’s emotional experiences, and inform more nuanced and effective treatment strategies that recognise the hormonal and neurodevelopmental interfaces in women’s mental health.

15.25 Q&A
15.40 Final Panel Session
16.15 Drinks Reception
17.00 End

Dr Letticia Banton

Letticia is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist (BPS and HCPC) and an integrative psychotherapist (UKCP). She holds a doctorate in Counselling Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Metanoia Institute, London. Her doctoral research is an interpretative phenomenological analysis on cisgendered female clients’ experience of their menstrual cycle in therapy with a male therapist. She is an advocate for integrating overlooked issues, such as the menstruality and menopause, into contemporary psychotherapeutic theory, research and practice. Her broader clinical and research interests include a focus on gender and sexuality, and she has considerable therapeutic experience working with transgender and non-binary people.

Martha Doniach

Martha Doniach, MA, UKCP, BPC, is an adult and couple psychoanalytic psychotherapist. She previously served as Principal Psychotherapist at East London NHS Foundation Trust, where she led the psychodynamic team and developed a highly regarded honorary training scheme for psychotherapists. Martha teaches, supervises, and consults widely, including for Tavistock Relationships, the British Psychotherapy Foundation, and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. Her clinical and research interests include women’s hormonal and reproductive health, solo motherhood by choice, infertility, and the integration of medical and psychological approaches in assisted conception and hormonal care. She has recently written a journal article on solo motherhood (in press) and contributed to the book "Couples as Parents," edited by Kate Thompson and Damian McCann. Martha maintains a full-time private practice in London and serves on the editorial board of "Couple and Family Psychoanalysis."

Dr Sue Mann

Dr Sue Mann FFPHM MRCOG MFSRH is the National Clinical Director in Women’s Health for NHS England. She has previously held national roles at Public Health England and Department of Health and Social Care and in all these roles she has consistently driven a population, integrated and outcome-based approach to delivery of women’s healthcare across the system. She currently leads a programme of work at NHS England to tackle Gynaecology elective waiting lists through both improving efficiencies but also challenging current models of care to drive transformation. She is passionate about improving experience for women in healthcare and committed, following her appearance at the Women and Equalities Select Committee, to making this a priority for NHS England. She has also led the development of a Women’s Health Equity Framework to drive a reduction of inequalities in care received for menopause and heavy menstrual bleeding.She is a clinical Consultant in Women’s Health and Clinical Lead for Women’s Health in City and Hackney where she leads a specialist neighbourhood service for delivery of women’s healthcare. As part of this service she has pioneered the delivery of group consultations for delivering women’s healthcare particularly in menopause and seen more than 3000 women in this way over the last 5 years.Working national to local, secondary to primary and integrating across specialties has enabled an integrated vision of how women’s healthcare in the future can be delivered.

Dr Sheethal Rajashanker

Dr. Sheethal Rajashanker is a Consultant Psychiatrist with over a decade of experience in both the NHS and the independent sector. She has extensive expertise in the assessment and management of a broad spectrum of mental health conditions, with a particular passion for the mental health of women. Dr. Rajashanker’s clinical practice encompasses both outpatient and inpatient settings, allowing her to provide comprehensive and individualized care across the continuum of psychiatric services. Her areas of special interest include neurodevelopmental disorders in women, hormone-related mental health disorders, and the psychiatric impact of trauma in women. Dr. Rajashanker is committed to advancing the understanding and treatment of these complex conditions, and she is recognized for her compassionate, evidence-based approach to care. Her dedication to improving mental health outcomes for women is reflected in her ongoing clinical work, multidisciplinary collaboration, and advocacy for gender-sensitive mental health services.

Dr Jo O'Reilly

Dr Jo O'Reilly is a consultant psychiatrist in medical psychotherapy in central London , and a member of the British Psychoanalytic Society. She currently holds the role of Chair of the Medical Psychotherapy Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists and contributed to the Position Statement on the Menopause and Mental Health published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in March 2026. She is passionate about the importance of thinking psychologically and seeking individual meaning  in  psychiatric presentations  and at key transitions in life. Jo has  written and lectured on a wide range of topics and is the co-editor and chapter author of the Royal College of Psychiatrists text book Seminars in the Psychotherapies. 

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