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Let's Talk Intimacy

Wednesday 14th May 2025

9:30 am to 12:00 pm

Online

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Who should attend:

Suitable for anyone in a patient facing role.

Let’s explore together intimacy beyond sex in the context of communication, relationships and connections, for the benefit of wellbeing.

This session is a great opportunity to challenge your thoughts on intimacy and break down some barriers, ask questions and learn about ways in supporting people living with a long-term condition with their wellbeing and intimacy.

Course Aims:

By the end of this session you will have explored the word intimacy, challenged its place in wellbeing and be able to look beyond physical intimacy to support the wellbeing of others and yourself

Objectives:

To feel more confident to have discussions with service users on intimacy
To explore the non-verbalised issues surrounding intimacy and discover ways to create opportunity for openness
To have knowledge on relevant resources that you can use for signposting your service users

Presented by

Amber Cave

Patient Psychological Support Lead

Amber is our Creative Therapies Lead, joining the Hospice in 2022, her previous experience includes supporting people with Drug and Alcohol Addiction and Children & Young People with Additional Needs.

Amber is a qualified dance and movement psychotherapist and works closely with people to manage their intimacy challenges

Manisha Cook

Lecturer Practitioner and Specialist Physiotherapist

The Hospice of St Francis

Manisha is a qualified physiotherapist with over 20 years’ experience working in primary and secondary healthcare settings and has been working in palliative care since 2014.

Manisha completed her Level 4 Certificate in Teaching and Education in 2021 and currently practises as a Lecturer Practitioner at The Hospice of St Francis and within Universities.
Manisha is passionate about providing holistic, patient-centred care with a special interest in long term conditions and Pulmonary Fibrosis. She is equally committed to education and professional development, sharing her clinical expertise to support and inspire multidisciplinary teams, students, and colleagues working within palliative and end-of-life care.

Amy Smissen

Lecturer Practitioner/ Community Occupational Therapist

Amy is a qualified Occupational Therapist with 25 years experience working in both clinical and leadership roles. With a passion for the palliative rehab approach to empower patients to self-manage Amy enjoys sharing her knowledge and skills within the team and wider audiences.

Throughout her career she has worked in a range of settings including a community learning disability team, an inpatient neurological rehab unit and a local charity providing support to people living with long-term neurological conditions.

Amy joined the Hospice of St Francis in 2023 and works 3 days a week in the Community Team, bringing her unique OT perspective to enable community patients to optimise their function and ultimately, their overall quality of life. Amy has always enjoyed facilitating therapeutic groupwork sessions, running workshops and training sessions both for patients and carers and with fellow clinicians. These skills lend themselves well to her Lecturer Practitioner role, which she took on in early 2024.