Elections 2022: Julia Faulconbridge

Before retirement from the NHS, I ran an innovative community child psychology service for many years that I had developed from scratch. I was involved at a senior management level at the Trusts I worked in. I was also closely involved in the training of clinical psychologists, both in teaching and supervision.

Following that, I was a member of the National CAMHS Support Service, including a period of being the East Midlands Lead. This service was established jointly by the last Labour Government's Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department of Health to work with services and commissioners on improvement programmes for NHS CAMHS services.

I was a Specialist Advisor with Care Quality Commission for a number of years, taking part in many inspections.

Within the BPS I have held a number of leadership roles and have represented the BPS in external fora, e.g. the Coalition Government's Task Force on Child Mental Health which produced 'Future in Mind'. I have worked closely with BPS staff across the whole organisation. In my role as Deputy Chair of the Member Board, I have been involved in all the work of this relatively new Board which reports directly to the Board of Trustees. This includes work on the new membership grades and the member conduct rules.

Outside of psychology, I am Chair of our local Parish Council.

All these areas of work have given me wide experience of leadership in differing contexts and I have led organisational development and change in some of them. I have also advised on and supported organisational change in a number of other settings as part of my work. I have been responsible for ensuring high quality and effective governance in all elements of my work and have also been involved in the inspection of, and advice about, governance in other organisations. Whist I do not have specific expertise in being a Trustee, I feel I do have understanding of the role and the breadth of experience to enable me to fulfil it.

I have been working in the DCP and engaging with others, e.g. in our Minorities Subcommittee to address issues of inclusivity and diversity in the profession of clinical psychology and am drawing on that learning.

We must have a very strong focus on race and culture whilst also remembering that inclusivity and diversity needs to address other barriers; for example, for those with health issues and disabilities and for non-protected characteristics like socio-economic background. It is crucial that the BPS itself embraces the need for systemic, cultural change, including addressing institutional racism and becoming an organisation which truly promotes and values equality, diversity and inclusion. The new EDI Board is an important step. However, the work of change must not be confined in one place but be the work of every part of the organisation, guided by the Board.

Those of us in positions of leadership need to do the 'heavy lifting'. This must not be another task just for those who are marginalised. As leaders we need to listen to and validate the feelings and experiences of our marginalised colleagues and ally with them in creating effective change. Very importantly we need to find ways to spread this process as best we can throughout the membership.

Becoming a genuinely inclusive organisation requires work at both interpersonal and structural levels. Testimonies of psychologists from marginalised backgrounds highlight ongoing experiences of discrimination, micro-aggressions and failures to understand their perspectives or listen to their experiences in their working lives. We need to be working with, supporting and involving our whole membership to make progress and become truly non-discriminatory and inclusive as an organisation. Within the membership we have many people with very significant theoretical and practical expertise in this field who can support the BPS in this work.

Understanding the structural barriers hampering access for marginalised groups to the discipline of psychology and to the professions is essential. Many of those barriers are part of the UK's wider political and socio-economic context and so we need to argue for change in the long term and mitigate as best we can in the short term. But increasing access and therefore numbers of psychologists from minority backgrounds is not enough – the systems they are joining have to change to make inclusivity a reality rather than an aspiration. The BPS, as the home for psychological professions, is a key partner in achieving both goals through its accreditation and advocacy roles. We must also ensure the BPS itself is a place of welcome, support, and mentorship where diversity is positively valued and where all members feel 'at home'.

Making real progress on diversity and inclusion is difficult, challenging and emotionally demanding work but talking is the relatively easy part. We have been talking for a long time and this is the time for concrete actions.

As a member organisation, the BPS is its members. The members represent the major source of knowledge and expertise in the UK about the academic study of psychology; the teaching and dissemination of it, its practical applications and professional groups who apply it. The subject has grown enormously over the last 50 years, as has the number of psychologists.

This breadth and depth is both a strength and a challenge for the BPS in creating a membership identity and a sense of community. The challenge is the disparate and diffuse nature of the membership and, at times, their conflicting views and interests. The strength comes when these differing perspectives and knowledge bases are brought together.

One of the key steps in creating a meaningful membership identity is being able to harness the commonalities and knowledge. An example of this was the creation of the cross-society working group producing the Covid resources.
In addition to the very valuable resources, this led to improved links between previously separate networks in the BPS.

I would hope that one of the roles of the Elected Trustee, together with the rest of the Board, would be to use their knowledge and experience to aid in the creation of that membership identity by the combination of positive support and constructive challenge. Scrutiny of reports and the discussions of strategic matters needs to be done through several lenses. It is obvious that financial and governance matters are essential to that scrutiny. A membership lens is also needed – what does this achieve for the membership, how does it further their interests and how does it impact on recruitment and retention of members?

One element is what the society provides for members in terms of personal and professional benefits and that is very important, especially in these financially testing times. However, for many members, just as important is what the society does for the public as part of the fulfilment of its charitable aims. The BPS being a body of influence that promotes the discipline and the application of psychological knowledge in the public arena is crucial and is a means of creating a vibrant member-centred community in which members come together, are able to contribute and feel proud of what the BPS is achieving. It can make the BPS an organisation that people want to be part of, that feels an essential part of their identity as a psychologist. A key role for the Elected Trustee and the Board should be in helping the organisation to develop that public role further and to navigate the inevitable sensitivities and risks which it can entail.

How long have you known the candidate?

Over 10 years.

When have you worked with the candidate or come into contact with them?

I have worked most closely with Julia as a member of the DCP Executive Committee. We are also on a number of sub-committees some of which I chair and some of which she chairs. For example, Workforce and Training, Communications and Publications. This work also involves liaising outside the committees.

Why do you think the candidate would make a great trustee?

I think the candidate would make a very good trustee. She has shown a long term commitment to the society and has remained so throughout quite a difficult period for the DCP/BPS. She will remain analytic and critical where she see problems but will always do so in a constructive manner. She has been working closely with a number of BPS staff particularly on the communications agenda and always seems to find solutions to problems encountered.

She seems to understand well the trustee's role in terms of governance, strategy and the management of risk. She has good external contacts connected with the NHS and psychology services, in particular services for children. She has a strong sense of her values and has been committed to inclusivity for both people from diverse backgrounds and to the deep engagement of Experts by Experience.

Julia has a strong commitment to ensuring positive communications (Chairing the DCP sub-committee) about the work of the BPS and DCP. She has appeared on a number of media platforms and understands the processes involved. She has also pioneered the work on introducing a process to work with psychologists at an early stage of developing potential publications (also facilitating decisions about whether the publication should be for a wider group of practitioner psychologists) as well as monitoring their progress.

Overall I think Julia would make a very good contribution to the Board of Trustees and will provide the required critical eye but will do so in a way that is collaborative and constructive.

How long have you known the candidate?

Six years.

When have you worked with the candidate or come into contact with them?

I know Julia due to her various roles within the DCP/BPS including roles as Interim DCP Chair, DCP Vice Chair, DCP Communications and Publications Lead and BPS Member Board Vice Chair. Over the period of time that I have known Julia, we have had very regular contact in meetings (face-to-face and online) as well as telephone and video calls.

Why do you think the candidate would make a great trustee?

In my opinion, Julia would make an excellent trustee. She is a highly experienced and very well respected psychologist who has had many years of being a practising clinician as well as head of a service. She also has had many years of involvement in the BPS and the DCP in a range of roles including with the Children and Young People's Faculty, the DCP Executive and also as Vice Chair on the BPS Member Board.

Drawing on her extensive experience, Julia would bring an in-depth knowledge of psychology to the trustee role. In addition, Julia has a wide range of very relevant skills and personal qualities. Julia's personal qualities include honesty, integrity, and dependability with strong personal values. Her skills include excellent interpersonal skills, she is a great communicator and a really good listener. She demonstrates excellent attention to detail and has an analytic mind using objective evidence to make decisions. Whilst skilled at working independently, Julia is also proactive about contributing to team work and collaborating with colleagues.

Julia is especially passionate about the BPS and would be a highly valued asset to the Trustee Board as well as to members if she were to be elected. I believe that Julia would use her knowledge, skills and qualities to take on the role of trustee as an enthusiastic, committed participant working collaboratively with other Board members to ensure that the society is well led, well run and ensuring maximum benefit to members.