Can we heal healthcare? Caring for doctors with evidence-based practice
Medical mindfulness conference
6 November at 09:00 to 17:00
A one‑day conference bringing doctors together to explore wellbeing, leadership, and evidence‑based mindfulness in healthcare in Brighton.
Keynote speaker: Professor Gwen Adshead (BBC Reith Lecturer)
Overview
The event will explore how evidence‑based mindfulness and compassion can support doctors working under increasing pressure in healthcare systems.
Hosted by the Sussex Mindfulness Centre, the programme brings together doctors, medical leaders, and educators to reflect on individual and systemic approaches to wellbeing.
Keynote speaker Dr Gwen Adshead, forensic psychiatrist and former BBC Reith Lecturer, will share reflections from over 30 years of clinical practice, including her experience of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. She is joined by national and international leaders in medical wellbeing, mindfulness, and system‑level change.
The day combines keynote talks, personal perspectives, and experiential workshops, offering space for reflection, learning, and connection with colleagues.
Held at the Friends Meeting House in Brighton, the conference offers a supportive environment to pause, think, and engage with others committed to caring for those who care for patients.
Who is this for?
This conference is for doctors and managers working in the NHS, whether you have an interest in improving wellbeing for your organisation, team or for yourself it promises to be an inspiring, informative and nourishing day.
Speakers
Keynote speakers include Dr Gwen Adshead who will discuss her experience of training as a therapist and what she has learned about changing minds after thirty years of working as a therapist. She will focus especially on her experience of training in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, and what she has learned and is still learning from patients and colleagues.
Gwen is a consultant forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist with over 30 years’ experience in offender rehabilitation and therapy with people who have committed serious violence. She has published widely on ethics, trauma, and personal change, co-authoring The Devil You Know and Unspeakable. Her work emphasises compassion, reflection, and lasting change.
Other speakers include international and national leaders in medical wellbeing, mindfulness and system level change: Dr Umakant Dave MBE, Consultant Gastroenterologist, Swansea; Dr Florian Ruths, Consultant Psychiatrist, Clinical Lead, Maudsley Medical Psychotherapy Service; Dr Manuel Villareal, GP, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire; Dr Carter Lebares, Associate Professor of Surgery University of California, San Francisco; Director, UCSF Center for Mindfulness in Surgery, Co-Founder/-Director UCSF UCLA Wellbeing In Surgery (WISe) Collaborative.
Programme
You can download the full programme with all the talks and workshops. It includes the names and biographies of all the national and international speakers. Download your programme here.
Tickets
Early Bird tickets are £80 and available for a limited time. Once these are sold out, the standard ticket price of £99 will apply. You can book your tickets by clicking on this link.