UK Disability History Month
The College has prioritised the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion and celebrates key events relating to its four key focus areas of race, sex, sexuality and disability.
In previous years, the College has focused on observing the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD); as of 2025, we are celebrating the wider UK Disability History Month, which runs from 20 November to 20 December. We hope that this will allow us to spend more time talking about the various work that the College does regarding disability.
You can see some content from previous IDPWDs below but come back to this page to see new content throughout Disability History Month.
2025 activities
Blog post: Why web accessibility matters
Senior Digital Content Officer Mark Turner reflected on the history of digital accessibility, the efforts that can be made to make websites more accessible to everyone, and the improvements that we're making at the College.
Blog post: Superpower, disability or disorder?
To mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2025 – and as the first of our celebrations of UK Disability History Month - we shared this brilliant blog post by Dr Shevonne Matheiken.
Shevonne, who has ADHD, posed this question: ADHD may manifest as a superpower for some, a disability for others and a disorder for many - so what is the best roadmap towards equity and inclusion in the workplace?
Webinar
We also organised a webinar for our members that took place on 18 December. In this webinar, Dr Amrit Sachar, Joint Presidential Lead for Equity and Equality were joined by the College's ADHD Champion, Dr Ulrich Müller-Sedgwick and Dr Su Sukumaran, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, who shared personal and professional insights, and offered practical strategies as set out in the recently published Providing Reasonable Adjustments guidance, to build psychologically safe, flexible, and equitable work environments.
IDPWD in 2024
Blurred: Disability inclusion in medicine
In keeping with the IDPWD theme of "Amplifying the leadership of persons with disabilities for an inclusive and sustainable future", RCPsych hosted a dynamic and thought-provoking ‘in-conversation’ online session with Dr Sharad Philip, Associate Professor in Psychiatry at AIIMS Guwahati, India and Dr Shevonne Matheiken, Specialty Registrar (ST6) in the East of 萝莉视频.
This session was not your typical webinar. Combining professional insights as psychiatrists with their lived experiences of disability, Dr Matheiken and Dr Philip explored how these transcultural perspectives can shape disability inclusion, patient care and mental health of health care professionals.
IDPWD in 2023
In 2023, we were pleased to share inspirational stories of those living with a disability, overcoming adversity and breaking down barriers – with their insights helping us all to think about what more we can do be more inclusive in our workplaces and our lives.
Free webinar
Improving inclusion and workforce wellbeing
Speakers: Dr Onikepe Ijete, Dr Mhairi Hepburn and Emeritus Professor Tom Sensky
This webinar considered disability within the workplace and the impact that discrimination and support – or lack of – can have on individuals personally and professionally, both to thrive in their workplace and to provide the best patient care. Our speakers shared their experiences and what would have helped them have a more positive workplace experience.
Among members who made a prominent contribution was Dr Onike Ijete, who tragically died unexpectedly, shortly after she was a speaker in the webinar.
Blog posts
For IDPWD 2023, we are sharing two blog posts that reveal what working in psychiatry is like for a neurodivergent person.
- Dr Anna Rebowska is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, she has written a thoughtful post on Life as a neurodivergent psychiatrist.
- Our second post for IDPWD is by trainee psychiatrist Dr Wamique Gajdhar. He has written about Embracing Neurodiversity: My journey from diagnosis to psychiatry trainee.
We also published a blog post from our President, Dr Lade Smith CBE - Supporting to thrive - that argues for a benefits system that supports people with severe mental illness.
Our commitment to accessibility
The College is committed to taking action to ensure it creates an environment for members, staff and the public that is accessible as possible.
The refurbishment of the London headquarters includes enhanced accessibility and recognising of diversity. This includes hearing loops for hearing impaired who may be attending on-site events and full wheelchair access.