WOMEN WITH WOMEN! CONFERENCE
Navigating Our Sexuality Beyond The Blueprint
14th JUNE 2025
Also quiet breakout space, wheelchair access throughout and intention of sensitivity to diverse needs.
Speakers
Miriam Grace
Psychotherapist, writer and podcaster
Rosie Wilby
Writer, comedian and podcaster
Dr. Belinda Harris
Psychotherapist, trainer, consultant, coach and supervisor
Cari Hunter
Author.
Fiction and crime thrillers
Schedule
9:15 AM Registration Opens
10 – 11 AM Opening Plenary Session
11 – 11:30 AM Tea/Coffee Break
11:30 AM – 1 PM Without the blueprint: understanding of a psychological process
1 – 2 PM Lunch
2 – 3 PM Workshops (you will be invited to your choices in order of preference from May 14 onwards)
3 – 3:30 PM Tea/Coffee Break
3:30 – 5 PM Our stories, with authors discussion
5 PM Bar Opens, Meet the Authors and Book Signings
6:30 PM Buffet Dinner
7 PM Disco, bar, board games, quiet spaces inside and out
11 PM Evening festivities end
Independent Sheffield Booksellers
I popped into Juno Books in Sheffield and came away with a book of stories about later in lifers, but these women were accepting a later in life diagnosis of autism. I had a good chat with with the warm and welcoming Rosie who you can listen to on an upcoming podcast episode.
We have consulted about which of the many books to bring to the bookstall on the 14th June, and about Jessica Kingsley Publications (an imprint of Hachette) who publish many of the books we will be recommending about sexuality, gender, neurodiversity and therapy, including the two pictured below. After the conference we will be planning MY book launch for 2026 (also with JKP).
If you can’t pop along to Chapel Walk, Sheffield, you can buy your books online via Juno Books and
at the WOMEN WITH WOMEN CONFERENCE in June.
Miriam is celebrating her 35th anniversary this year, having been a psychotherapist for three and a half decades, training, speaking and writing about therapy alongside a thriving practice with individuals, couples and groups.
Miriam now specialises in working with women in midlife – peri-menopause; menopause and post menopause – supporting their flourishing and being with them in their despair at times.
She is particularly known for her work with later in life lesbians and for furthering the psychological understanding of women’s sexuality and autonomy and her book – a guide to coming out later in life – is due to be published early next year. She has appeared on Woman’s Hour (BBC Radio 4) as a psychotherapeutic expert in this area and contributes to academic literature and conferences on this topic,
Miriam hosts the Women of Steel with Miriam Grace podcast as a project designed to give voice to everyday remarkable women, recorded in Sheffield, UK, the City of Steel.
Contact Miriam
Psychotherapy: Blue Skies
In print: Queering Gestalt Therapy
Podcast: Women of Steel
I’ve recorded a video for you today about the latest conference news.
Psychotherapy & Resources.
Rosie Wilby is an award-winning comedian, author, speaker and broadcaster who has appeared many times on BBC Radio 4 programmes including Woman’s Hour, Saturday Live and Four Thought, TV programmes including Good Morning Britain and Sunday Morning Live and at major festivals around the world. Her latest book The Breakup Monologues combines humour, heartache and science to investigate how on earth to actively stay in a happy, healthy, compassionate relationship in the modern age of ghosting, breadcrumbing and Tinder. It has been described by Red Magazine as a ‘gem of a book’ and is inspired by Rosie’s podcast of the same name.
Relationship expectations, breakup and negotiations
Why don’t you listen to Rosie Wilby’s podcast ahead of the conference?
Writer, comedian and podcaster, Rosie is joining us as a headline speaker and researcher. She will talk about her books, life, influences and her work with those who have experienced breakup.
In her book THE BREAKUP MONOLOGUES, Rosie talks about her own breakups with women, as well as the break-ups of a variety of others, who have been guests on her podcast. Rosie is frequently on the radio, including Women’s Hour.
Having found The Breakup Monologues useful for my own research I’m now reading an earlier book, ‘Is Monogamy Dead?’ which is quite unexpectedly relevant and helpful in my own writing about relationship expectations. Rosie’s insights belong on the psychology panel as well as the authors panel! You can meet Rosie and buy your copies at the conference if you’re not tempted to beforehand.
Senior Psychotherapist and Trainer
Consultant, Coach, Psychotherapist, Supervisor
Belinda is a mental health professional ( psychotherapist, supervisor, coach) and educator. Ex chair of the UK Association for Gestalt Practitioners she now sits on the General Board of the European Association for Gestalt Psychotherapy. Belinda is particularly interested in the relational implications of diversity, inclusion and resistance to change, in practice. What do minority service users need at an embodied level to feel accepted, welcomed and prized just as they are?
Belinda supports a wide range of practitioners to develop awareness of their embodied presence and impact, and how they might initiate and hold brave, often difficult conversations that can make a profound difference to an individual’s health and wellbeing.
As an author, Belinda has published 3 books and numerous papers on the social and emotional work of leaders, educators and mental health professionals. She is delighted to participate in this conference, which she views as a much needed and welcome opportunity to nourish heart, mind and soul in and with a community of women.
No Good Reason, the first in the Dark Peak series, won a 2015 Rainbow Award for Best Mystery and was a finalist in the 2016 Lambda and Goldie Awards. Its sequel, Cold to the Touch, won a Goldie for Best Mystery. A Quiet Death, the final book in the series, was a finalist in the 2018 Lambda and Goldie Awards. She has since won Goldies for Alias, Breathe, and Unbreakable. In 2024, she won the Lambda Award for LGBTQ+ Mystery for A Calculated Risk, the first book in the DI Jo Shaw series.
You can listen to Cari on WOMEN OF STEEL: Preview release HERE: 8th April.
Pod release HERE and wherever you listen to podcasts: 17th April
Seriously, read A CALCULATED RISK now because the next book in the series is out in June and the plan is that Cari will be able to bring very first copies of THE STOLEN GIRL to our conference! I’m not exaggerating, I cannot wait. The lead character DI Jo Shaw (and her relationship with Dr Isla Munro) is compelling. The plot however, is what keeps you up reading past bedtime and the settings for all Cari’s books will have you keen to get out in to the Peak District the day after the conference.
Cari is an award winning crime writer and a paramedic. In her spare time she is up in the hills, between Sheffield and Manchester. She likes sheep, walking, and a wide variety of biscuits. Meet Cari on June 14th and if you’ve not read her books before, you will be gripped before midsummer.
Workshops
Workshop 1
Plotting Your Path: A Timeline Approach to Understanding Attraction With Prof Abi Millings and Prof Maddy Arden
Come to this workshop ready to reflect on what attraction feels like, delve into your past, and work out whether sapphic attractions are new for you, or have in fact always been there, hiding in plain sight. Workshop participants will be invited to consider the similarity, difference, and tension between their internal world, external behaviours, and presentation to others, at different phases of their lives – past, recent, present, and future.
Through small-group discussion and personal diagramming, we will explore our respective journeys to discovering who we really are, what barriers there might have been for us, and what facilitators can help us to recognise and become our authentic selves. By the end of the workshop, attendees will have produced a timeline of their personal sexuality journey to use as a reflective prompt for journalling.
This is the first time we will have used these workshop materials and we will invite participants to feedback on the resources and process to enable us to further develop them. Attendees will also be invited to share an anonymous copy of their diagram with the workshop organisers, as part of a larger research project although this will be entirely optional.*
*Note we will obtain ethical approval for this prior to the workshop and participants will be provided with an information sheet about how the information will be used before being asked to provide informed consent.
Workshop 2
Are you Dancin’?: Experiential Embodied Non-Verbal Communication For Couples With Miriam Grace
Come with an open mind and an open heart to experience a series of experiential exercises, you’ll be guided to explore boundaries, connection, merger, separation and the movement between these states in a non-judgemental, curious, and playful way.
It is hoped that you will emerge from the session feeling closer to each other, more clearly defined in your separateness, and with plenty to journal about and discuss together regarding your differences.
This workshop is for a maximum of six couples who can have been together any length of time. You do not need to be living together. It is not intended for couples who need conflict resolution strategies or who are closed to each other.
You will not be required to share any personal relationship information with others.
*Mobility awareness: you can let me know on the day or preferably ahead of time of any physical limitations. All exercises are appropriate for all levels of physical ability.
Workshop 3
Authenticity & Confidence Building With Sara Kay
Through the many challenges of navigating a “new” life, we often feel low and lack confidence in ourselves and in our ability to make friends. What if there were a different way to create authenticity and confidence?
This workshop playfully touches on confidence-building skills and uses simulated laughter to create genuine laughter in a safe space, to connect with others and feel empowered to be our authentic selves.
With a small amount of breath-work and using the 4 elements of joy (with no skill, special clothing, or equipment), we will create the magic of endorphins and release stress to feel empowered. A tiny nudge of the comfort zone is required for this session, and be prepared to feel incredible!
*This workshop includes cardio exercise, and you will be asked to sign a liability form. Exercises can be adapted for most levels of fitness and ability though those with heart problems and recent surgery are contraindicated for now.
Workshop 4
Storytelling with Myth: Writing for release With Cara Silversmith and Morven Gow
Stories are deep in our unconscious and often our early conditioning lacks the tales that make sense of our same sex attraction. Find the metaphor, the myth, or the parallel with nature, that can help you find the words, sounds, pattern or rhythm for your story.
Master storyteller Cara Silversmith and poet Morven Gow, head down from Scotland to work with your inner dreamer, storyteller and writer. Write, develop (or even move towards performing) your oral, written or performance stories or poems.
Workshop Leaders
Prof Maddy Arden & Prof Abi Millings
Maddy Arden is a Health Psychologist registered with the HCPC
Abi Millings is a Social Psychologist and Relationship Scientist.
Maddy and Abi are late-in-life lesbians, having left marriages to men to be together. They live in Sheffield as a blended family with 5 children.
Miriam Grace
Miriam is a psychotherapist with 35 years experience. She draws on Gestalt Psychotherapy, Zero Balancing, Laughter Yoga, Sentics and Non Violent Communication for her workshop. 15 years ago she was married to a man with two teenage children. Today she lives in Derbyshire with her wife, 3 dogs and two cats.
Sara Kay
Sara Kay is a Laughter Ambassador, Coach, Accredited Laughter Teacher and Museum of Happiness Facilitator.
After struggling with depression and coming out as queer in her mid-40s, Laughter Yoga reignited her passion, setting her on a heart-led journey.
Since 2017, Sara has featured on several radio programmes, including BBC Radio Leeds, podcasts and the prestigious Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place Festival in Cheshire. She has delivered Laughter Yoga sessions to over 13,000 participants across corporate organisations, community groups, school staff and universities. Sara has presented at the International Social Prescribing Conference at the University of Westminster, as well as at the University of Oxford.
Sara is passionate about education and delights in witnessing the transformations that occur (especially among the sceptics!) She is dedicated to sharing knowledge about the numerous mental and physical health benefits that laughter exercises provide.
This year, Sara will share joyful Laughter sessions at Joe Wicks’ Festival in Kew Gardens and Happy Place Festival in Tatton Park, Cheshire, as well as hosting her own online and in-person Laughter workshops in Manchester. A special ADHD well-being event is taking place on 27 June in Manchester.
2025 marks the 30th Anniversary of Laughter Yoga, which was founded by Dr Madan Kataria in 1995. The worldwide community has expanded rapidly to over 120 countries.
In her leisure time, Sara enjoys concerts (Lucy Spraggan is a particular favourite!), theatre and dancing, and volunteers for Mencap. She creates positive energy and spreads kindness as generously as Nutella wherever she goes!
Events can be found on Eventbrite
Follow Sara on IG/FB at @seriouslaughuk
Watch Sara on YouTube
Cara Silversmith , Storyteller
Cara Silversmith is a storyteller, educator, and writer. She specialises in exploring stories for our environment, identity, and well-being. Cara became a professional storyteller as she became convinced it was the best way to communicate, engage, and educate about environmental and identity issues and the challenges we face in our increasingly complex and often disconnected world.
Cara originally worked in nature conservation, however her MSc thesis led her down a path of studying values and personal narratives in relation to our culture and environment. Cara runs regular storytelling workshops and has performed at Pride events and festivals. She hosts a podcast ‘What of the Ground We Are Standing On?’ with German storyteller Catriona Blanke, and is currently writing her second book.
Scottish Book Trust
Cara’s website
One Nature Stories on Facebook
Traditional Arts Culture Scotland
Morven Gow, Poet
Morven began writing poetry in her mid 50s, a dangerous age some say. After a successful career in advertising, she threw it all up in the air to set herself up as a marketing consultant, completed an MLitt in Publishing Studies, and is now in the final throes of a PhD at the University of Stirling.
While studying her topic of authenticity, she began writing and performing poetry. Through this creativity and new life, Morven found a new voice and confidence through writing and performing. Morven has been featured on the radio by BBC Upload three times. BBC Scotland couldn’t broadcast one poem as they considered it too racy for their afternoon audience.
Her first live performance was on the BBC Scotland Stage at the Edinburgh Festival. She now enjoys new collaborations with visual artists in poetry and art exhibitions.
Instagram: @morv60
It’s all about the atmosphere, the energy and vibe, when you’re in a setting without men or straight people.
It is healing in itself and you will be warmly welcomed.
If you are coming on your own, just let me know as we will have link people who you can chat to before the event, organise to sit with, according to interests, age, geography – you choose. The women coming are lovely, warm, supportive people and no one needs to walk into a room alone unless they want to.
Listen to therapists and researchers answer YOUR presubmitted questions and explore the unique culture and experience of coming out later. We will hear from women who have successfully and happily transitioned from straight life into relationships with women and explore some of the complexities of the process together. Have tea and biscuits and later a delicious lunch.
In the afternoon there will be smaller sessions on specialised subjects such as relationship attachment, lesbian history, sharing stories, then listening to incredibly talented authors read from their books, closing with a surprise guest appearance!
The bookstall opens mid afternoon, run by Juno Books, authors will sign their books, the bar opens at 5pm, and supper will arrive at 6.30ish. The lesbian DJ will fit around our requirements and the quiet room will have board games and knitting circle areas.
Hopefully it will be a warm summer evening which is ideal for sitting in the beautiful grounds with a glass of wine and your new friends (or your new books, or for plotting the revolution undisturbed).
There is a hotel on site and cheaper rooms in the attached student accommodation as the venue is attached to the University of Sheffield.
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Thank you to the people who’ve volunteered to help delegates in through the door, through registration and into the conference room for the opening speakers. It will be an exciting moment for everyone and your help to keep the arrival smooth and friendly is gratefully received.
There is space for up to 90 of us, 60 sold tickets will mean we break even. Sales beyond that will subsidise speakers’ expenses.
We are currently accepting proposals for workshops, papers, breakout groups.
Proposals for discussion topics include:
- Intense emotions, altered attachment styles and developmental windows
- Where two worlds collide: What do we need to understand about the life long lesbian and what do they need to understand about us?
- Menopausal mayhem and madness – is it just my hormones?
- Are people on the spectrum more likely to be rainbow too?
- 60+ how will we spend our autumn years?
- Fluidity or self indulgence? Defining ‘legitimate’
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Be there for the first conference of its kind.
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We want to ensure that in future the resources are there for those coming out and this is the event to launch a coherent, connected and intelligent community to work together. The public side of our work.
This is a non-profit making gift to the community
from the Women of Steel with Miriam Grace Podcast.
Sponsored by the Podcast
