Meaningful Conversations: Structural Exclusion, Class Bias & Accessibility

Who really carries the burden of accessibility – and what would it mean to rethink psychotherapy’s assumptions?

Psychotherapy is a space of openness and healing – but for many, it remains inaccessible.

Barriers arise through cost, culture, language, and unconscious biases. Accent, class, and perceived ‘polish’ still shape who enters the profession, who progresses, and how clients experience therapy.

We'd like to invite you to the next session of our Meaningful Conversations series, when we will confront these uncomfortable truths head-on.

We want to reframe the idea of ‘hard-to-reach communities’ by asking instead: how might psychotherapy itself be hard to access? How do professional structures, language, and culture unintentionally exclude people? And more importantly – what can be done about it?

This session will examine how psychotherapy can move beyond labels and interrogate its own practices. Wider issues include regional inequality, migration, disability, austerity, and stigma – all factors that intersect with how people encounter therapy. The focus is on constructive alternatives: how language, outreach, and recruitment can be changed to make psychotherapy genuinely inclusive.

*Attendance at this event will provide 3 CPD hours.

Book your ticket to join the conversation

What are Meaningful Conversations?

Metanoia Institute’s ‘Meaningful conversations’ series builds on the success of our 40th anniversary lecture series, which brought together thought leaders and practitioners to explore psychotherapy and counselling in dialogue with society’s most pressing issues. What began as a celebration has grown into an ongoing commitment: to create space for conversations that matter – where therapeutic practice meets questions of justice, equity, and social change.

These conversations recognise that psychotherapy cannot be separated from the cultural and systemic forces shaping people’s lives. By bringing together diverse voices, we seek not only to reflect but to challenge – to question how training and practice may unintentionally reproduce exclusion, and to explore how the profession can contribute to a fairer, more inclusive society.

The series offers panels, interviews, and interactive discussions designed to be respectful, searching, and solution-focused. Each event invites participants to listen deeply, speak courageously, and leave with commitments that extend beyond the room – advancing both therapeutic practice and the values of equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of Metanoia’s mission.

📆 Event Schedule – Friday, 2nd May

Presentations and Discussions (3 CPD hours)

• Time: 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
• Location: DoubleTree by Hilton, 2-8 Hanger Ln, London W5 3HN

Networking Reception

• Time: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
• Location: Metanoia Institute, 13 North Common Road, London W5 2QB

Accessibility Information

Step-free access and accessible toilets with RADAR locks are available at both buildings. Doors at the hotel are at least 32 inches wide (812 mm) and 31 inches (787 mm) at Metanoia.

Ticket Information

• Current Metanoia Students – £10
• Metanoia Alumni/Members – £25
• Lower Income Delegate – £15
• External Delegate – £30

Pay It Forward Contributions
Help us make the event more accessible by adding a contribution to support another attendee:

• £10
• £15
• £25

Included in your booking:

• 3 hours of CPD presentations
• A CPD certificate download (sent via email after the event)
• Refreshments
• Networking opportunities

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

DoubleTree by Hilton London - Ealing, 2-8 Hanger Lane, London, United Kingdom