Such a Gorgeous Paradox Ryan Campinho Valadas

I asked my first guest, Kairo Maynard, to return to the podcast and interview me. We talk about my journey into Dramatherapy, my queer identity, my health, and radical rest. 

I am a queer-identifying and queer-affirming therapist. I initially qualified as a dramatherapist, and I'm currently doing an additional diploma in Psychosexual Therapy,  as I believe that sexuality and relationships are key aspects of a whole and joyful life. My approach to therapy practice can be described as fluid, personable, curious, and compassionate. I have worked in the fields of substance misuse, sexual health, trauma, general adult mental health, parenting, and children’s mental health, which has given me a well-rounded understanding of an individual’s lifespan. I am passionate about supporting others in finding clarity from anxiety and overwhelm, by better understanding and connecting to their identities, their relationships, their needs and wants, their histories, and their passions.

Be in touch: suchagorgeousparadox@gmail.com

Instagram: @ryan.therapyspace

Dr. Bruce Howard Bayley was born in Mumbai, India and is an Anglo-Indian Dramatherapist in Central London working specifically with bereavement, sexuality, gender, trauma and recoverers from addictions, self-harm and abuses (physical, sexual and spiritual). He has presented papers and workshops, including his own Tribuvan Threefold Psycho-Spiritual Dramatherapy, in the UK, Germany (Nürtingen), Milan, Poland (Warsaw), Beijing, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune. Additionally, he has been associated with a number of UK universities as trainer, supervisor and external examiner with a special interest in the development of multi-cultural clinical practice and marginalized populations.



Be in touch: suchagorgeousparadox@gmail.com

Instagram: @ryan.therapyspace

Sam trained at the University of Roehampton where she now also teaches the Therapeutic Stories Unit, having been a performer and storyteller for over two decades. She is an Executive member of BADth and is currently organising the 2021 conference themed to issues spotlighted by pandemic and Black Lives Matter. Sam works as a Dramatherapist in a primary school with children excluded from mainstream education, and with women at risk of the criminal justice system. Her research interests include: generational trauma connected to colonialism, structural racism, ritual performance as restoration and activism, and heritage object work with her mother’s original Windrush suitcase.

Written work includes:


Adams, Samantha E. “Being with Black: Windrush Suitcase Performance and Dramatherapy to Meet with Trauma, and Dialogues about Racism and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.” Dramatherapy, Oct. 2020, doi:10.1177/0263067220964432.

Be in touch: suchagorgeousparadox@gmail.com

Instagram: @ryan.therapyspace

Eshmit Kaur is an Initiated Sikh. She is a Dramatherapist, trained actor, spoken word artist and freelance creative practitioner. Her spiritual path is the foundation of all of her work, which is a constant reminder to always Serve others.

Eshmit has worked extensively in the Sikh Community by delivering performances and creating projects to capture Sikh Heritage and History in an accessible format. Her creative projects have been funded by Arts Council England twice, and has performed nationally and internationally as a performance artist. Eshmit has created radio pieces for the BBC on several occasions and collaborated with various community organisations over the past six years.

Eshmit currently works in a CAMHS Service, offering therapeutic interventions to diverse, and primarily South Asian Communities. She values trauma, attachment and intersectionality within her practice. Moreover, Eshmit is part of BADth's Inclusivity and Visibility Subcommittee, co-founder of 'DiversArty' - a supportive space for ethnically diverse Arts Psychotherapists at the University of Derby and has presented twice at BADth's Annual Conference. She is currently involved in various projects about identity and spirituality in therapeutic practice. 

You can find out more about Eshmit here https://www.eshmitkaur.com



Be in touch: suchagorgeousparadox@gmail.com

Instagram: @ryan.therapyspace

Mandy is a dramatherapist, trainer and clinical supervisor. A former senior lecturer in dramatherapy at Anglia Ruskin University, she is interested in the connections between politics, religion and therapy. Her background as a Progressive Jew from Liverpool is a key factor driving her passion for widening inclusion in society. In her first career as a teacher, Mandy headed several departments of 'English as an Additional Language' in inner-city secondary schools. Her interest in intercultural work, has led to a range of roles which have included convening the BADth (British Association of Dramatherapists) Equality and Diversity (now Inclusion and Visibility) Sub-Committee from 2007-2018. 

A range of publications includes 'Dramatherapy and Religion: (Un) comfortable Bedfellows? In Honour of Dr Roger Grainger' (with Ditty Dokter) Dramatherapy 39, No.1, pp.16-28, Routledge. 2018 Further details: https://www.woolf.cam.ac.uk/people/amanda-mandy-carr 



Be in touch: suchagorgeousparadox@gmail.com

Instagram: @ryan.therapyspace

Content warning: explicit language is used in this episode, including an example of racist language.

Lucy is a passionate Creative Arts Psychotherapist who offers a different unique way to support children to find creative ways to communicate and express themselves. Lucy is also a Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapist (DDP informed) and has a special focus on adoption and foster care issues derived from her own personal experiences.

Lucy specialises in working with children who are impacted by developmental trauma and uses DDP to support children to make sense of things that have happened in their past to allow them to move forward into the next chapter of their lives. She works together with a child and their parent/carer to support them to have the best possible relationship with each other.

References:


Dr Nadine Burke Harris - Adverse Childhood Experiences
Drs Kenneth and Mamie Clark - "The Doll Test"
Dr Mary Ainsworth - The Strange Situation
Andrew Curry - "The Negro Worker and the White Client: A Commentary on the Treatment Relationship", Social Casework (1964)



Be in touch: suchagorgeousparadox@gmail.com

Instagram: @ryan.therapyspace