Plenary 5: Panel Discussion with Satinder Panesar

Plenary Description

A description of this plenary session will be added soon...

Biographies

Satinder Panesar 

Satinder Panesar is an Integrative Psychotherapist with over 25 years of experience working across the third sector, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, education, and private practice, both nationally and internationally. She holds an MA in Integrative Counselling from the University of Derby and is an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) and the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society (NCPS).
Satinder is also an Individual and Group Clinical Supervisor (University of Strathclyde), Clinical Consultant, and Executive Coach. Her clinical work spans face-to-face and remote practice with young people and adults across the UK, Europe, and internationally.

Her particular areas of interest include trauma informed practice, tradition and culture, and intersectionality. She has extensive experience supporting professionals and organisations through clinical supervision, reflective practice, coaching, and consultancy, including work with NHS professionals across multiple departments, educational settings, emergency services, Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs), homelessness and refuge services, addiction services, and migrant mothers. She also works closely with senior leaders, including CEOs and directors, supporting leadership wellbeing and organisational resilience.

Satinder provides organisational consultancy, offering clinical insight to strengthen psychologically informed cultures, reflective practice, and safety within teams.

Dr Ged Smith 

Dr Ged Smith is a Family & Systemic Psychotherapist with 30 years’ experience; He works as Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist now in private practice, Supervisor and Trainer roles. He is a visiting Lecturer at The Tavistock Clinic in London, as well as to Universities of Liverpool, Hull, Manchester, Lancaster and other educational institutes abroad including staff member at Malta Institute of Family Therapy. He publishes and presents his work all over the world, and has been Editor of Context, the UK magazine for Family Therapy and Systemic practice for several years, and AFSP rep with the European Family Therapy Association. Ged is based in his hometown of Liverpool.

Shakira Nkanang

Shakira Nkanang is a Systemic Psychotherapist, tutor, and Foundation Lead for the Birmingham Systemic Programme. For over 20 years, Shakira has worked closely with different families, including those fostering and edge-of-care clients within NHS and social care settings, navigating complex and challenging relational dynamics. Currently, she manages a diverse private practice and delivers relational training to schools. She also serves as an AFSP representative for the UKCP College of Family, Couple and Systemic Psychotherapy (CFCSP). Shakira is deeply passionate about culturally informed practices and has been inspired by her experiences in fostering work where she then developed the SENSES Paradigm. This framework supports the integration of dialogical reflexivity and practice, bringing embodied, compassionate curiosity into systemic spaces.  SENSES is a model recently published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 47(1).