Overview
The 2023 Congress session on the Menopause was very well received and feedback suggested that attendees wanted more information about the menopause and how to improve practice to better support patients and colleagues who may be perimenopausal. We seek to respond to this feedback at this session by providing an introduction to the interplay between menopause and psychiatric presentations. The session will be an opportunity to showcase the new Menopause Working Group at the College and discuss the importance of educating mental health care professionals about the menopause, as mandated by the HSIB report earlier this year.
Finally, we will hear from more experts by experience who discuss the interplay between their personal experiences of menopause and mental health care, in particular considering the intersection of neurodiversity, mental health and perimenopause. Delegates will leave the session inspired to work with the college to improve the mental well-being of people affected by the perimenopause.
Delegates will understand both individual and societal challenges which arise with regards to mental health care in the perimenopause and have a solid grounding in the presentation, physiology and management of the perimenopause, which they may apply to their own practice.
Objectives
• Understand the physical and psychological changes associated with the menopause.
• Increase awareness of the interplay between psychiatric presentations and the menopause.
• Understand how psychiatrists may become ""hormonally aware"" to better support their patients and carers, themselves, their colleagues, and their friends and family.
Speakers
Chair: Dr Sophie Behrman, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford
Dr Trudi Seneviratne, Registrar, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
Dr Rachel Jones, East London NHS Foundation Trust
Diane Danzebrink, Expert by experience, Founder Director of Menopause Support
