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DCP Faculty of Leadership and Management

The Faculty was established in 2002 and currently has over 700 members working in the NHS and independent health and social care agencies.

About

Membership is open to any member who has an interest in management, leadership and service delivery issues.

The faculty hosts a successful and very active email discussion forum, holds conferences and meetings and prepares responses to consultations.

While we acknowledge that the faculty sits within the Division of Clinical Psychology, we welcome members from across the range of psychological professions, career spans and scopes of practice.

Our resources, discussions and focus extend across applied psychology and many sectors.

Aims

To create a national network allowing for fast and free access to shared information and views
To offer professional support, leadership guidance and information to members
To promote at a national, regional and local level leadership and management issues and requirements pertaining to the delivery of psychological services
To support psychologists (and psychological professionals where relevant?) as leaders across all sectors
To promote organisational and management issues regarding policy planning at a national level in line with the Society's and DCP's strategic aims
To support leadership and management development and training

Mission statement

Champion, support and develop psychologists and psychological leadership in all sectors, in all nations.

Vision

Cultivating high-quality diverse leadership across the career span in leadership and management roles by serving communities together and upholding the high standards of professionalism within leadership and management.

Committee

Chair: Amra Rao

Honorary Secretary: Vacant

Honorary Treasurer: Zenobia Nadirshaw

Committee Members:

Elaine Iljon Foreman
Jane Street
Lucy Grant
Meherzin Das
Sara-Jane Aris
Rebekah Eglinton
Olga Luzon

DCP England Representative: Benjamin Rodgers

Northern Ireland Representative: Mandy Irvine

Scotland Representative: Vacant

Wales Representative: Adrian Neal

Pre-Qualifications Group Representative: Melissa McRae

If you would like to apply for any vacant positions, please complete a Statement of Interest form.

If you would like to find out if there are any other positions available, please contact the Member Networks Team.

Contact us

The first point of contact for any queries regarding the work of the DCP Faculty for Leadership and Management should be the Member Network Services Team.

The Member Network Services team provides support to all our Member Networks.

Contact the Member Networks Team

Resources

Workforce and Commissioning Links

Workforce Wellbeing

The Charter

Collaborative Learning Network (CLaN)

Pathfinders (How to apply):

Survey results

Mentoring and development

The DCP Mentorship Programme

This faculty-run programme allows clinical psychologists to engage in a formal relationship over an agreed timescale with a colleague outside of their immediate management/supervisory structures.

The focus of the programme is on issues of professional development - with an emphasis on leadership skills - but also covers other areas of career, learning, and personal development.

Find out more about the DCP Mentorship Programme

Could you be a mentor?

We are in the process of restoring this scheme due to the attrition during the process of being transferred to the new system.

For the scheme to continue to flourish, our priority is to identify a pool of mentors. We have several mentees waiting to start.

We are keen to recruit mentors from a diverse range of backgrounds, experience and clinical practice.

Providing mentoring typically requires a minimum commitment of around an hour over four-to-six weeks spanning across six-to-eight months

We are looking for mentors in two areas:

1. Leadership training

This entails offering three mentoring sessions over an agreed period to individuals who have completed the DCP leadership training and are currently in a leadership role. Please contact Amra Rao if you are interested.

2. Mentoring scheme

This requires six mentoring sessions over an agreed timescale to discuss their professional development including leadership and service development issues, as well as career, personal development and learning.

This is open to all clinical psychologists (DCP members) post-qualification.

Feedback over the years has shown us that mentorship supports the development of leadership skills and organisational development skills, helping with career progression and having an impact on teams and services.

If you require any further information regarding this scheme or for any questions or comments, please contact scheme lead Tim Cate.

RISE: Leadership and organisational development skills

The NHS long term plan has allocated funds to deliver leadership coaching and mentoring opportunities for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic psychological professionals who aspire to leadership positions, as these are currently disadvantaged in progression to NHS leadership positions.

The RISE Mentoring Project is set up for diverse leadership is set up to deliver on the above ambition.

Find out more about the RISE Mentoring Project

Leadership and Management Developmental Programme

Improving Competence and Impact

Following a successful 2024 Leadership Development Programme, the faculty is setting up its 2025 programme exclusively for clinical psychologists.

Dates:

27 February 2025
28 February 2025
28 April 2025

Location:

BPS London offices

Given the profound impact of the pandemic on the psychological workforce, combined with other social and political events, and the new challenges facing our services, the work of clinical and professional leadership is changing.

The faculty remains committed to supporting the development of confident and competent leaders who can help steer the profession through these challenges.

We have noted the following key areas of leadership and management development in the current changing and complex environment:

Development around self-confidence and competence
Development to manage and influence systems
Ability to enhance quality service delivery, and a thriving and inclusive work culture

With this in mind, we are setting out our second Leadership Development Programme in 2025.

Programme Content

This programme will offer a blend of conceptual, experiential, and reflective learning, which will enable participants to explore and develop their leadership capability with lasting impact.

The curriculum includes a range of relevant leadership models, approaches and tools looking at how they can be utilised on the ground to address key challenges. The key aspects of the programme include:

Leadership, authority and power - professional and personal meaning
Development of self-awareness and use of self in leadership and followership
Models of organisations and change processes
Inclusive leadership and management
Working with conflicts and team dynamics
Maximising impact and influence
Sustaining self in leadership and management roles

The programme will consist of three full days across three months, with opportunities for action learning sets and a follow-up individual consultation as well as exposure to experienced and inspiring leaders.

Opportunities for mentoring will be explored, and there will also be a chance to meet and form a peer group, which will become an important resource.

The content across the three days will blend three elements covering key concepts and tools related to leadership, an experiential component, and opportunities throughout the sessions for participants to reflect on and apply their learning to their situation and context.

Cost

The programme is partly funded by the DCP Leadership and Management Faculty.

The total fee is £400, which includes all elements of the programme.

Who Can Apply

The programme is intended as a valuable developmental opportunity for those in AfC 8B and 8C roles with current leadership responsibilities across the public, private and third sectors.

If you are interested, please contact Dr Amra Rao for further information, or access our application form.

The deadline for applications is 10 November 2024.

Leadership resources

Further information on the programme and how to apply are out in DCP in Focus, and you can apply now.

Workforce wellbeing

Wellbeing and Mental Health is a joint initiative between The British Psychological Society, Division of Clinical Psychology, Leadership & Management Faculty and New Savoy conference.

Who is this for?

These resources are primarily targeted at and intended for use by:

psychological professionals
individuals working in health and social care settings
organisations concerned with workforce wellbeing

About the Wellbeing Project

Wellbeing and Mental Health is a joint initiative between The British Psychological Society, Division of Clinical Psychology, Leadership & Management Faculty and New Savoy conference.

This collaboration was set up in 2014 to address concerns about staff wellbeing and mental health, ranging across a broad spectrum (including, but not limited to, low morale, stress, burn out, lived experiences, bullying and harassment).

Since its inception, the project has set out a number of initiatives including development of a psychometrically validated wellbeing tool, annual Wellbeing Surveys, setting out of a collaborative Learning Network (CLaN), Pathfinder Sites, development of Individual and Organizational Impact Tools, Round Table Consultations and awareness raising material.

Its awareness raising activities have included many successful events and meetings with psychological professionals, senior leaders, policy makers and politicians.

A set of events have been run across the country including:

a showcase event as part of DCP 50th Birthday celebrations at the House of Commons
the Launch of the CLaN and Pathfinder sites
Psychological Safety in Preston
the New Savoy Conferences
Super Human or Simply Human - What we want from our leaders in York
Collaborative Learning Network, Promoting Partnership & Supporting learning at APPTs Forum, London.
No Health without Mental Health - European Clinical Psychology Takes Responsibility: Ensuring effective treatment with a whole system approach to psychological workforce wellbeing – lessons from the UK at European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT) Annual Conference, Dresdon, Germany.
Psychological Wellbeing of the NHS Workforce, Psychological Professional network conference

As part of its initiative to combat stigma a number of key leaders and professionals have joined the project events to speak about Lived Experiences and their experiences at work.

Whist the initiative reached a fast momentum in its initial years with a significant impact, it faced difficulties for voicing concerns and calling for action. However, the tide seems to be turning towards better awareness to tackle stigma and support workforce wellbeing.

Improved workforce wellbeing matters in its own right; it increases a number of highly valued clinical and organisational outcomes.

Unfortunately, despite the initiative's success, it was not longer possible to deliver on the expectations without resources to match the scale of the problem. Consequently, the project was put on hold in 2018 except for its annual wellbeing survey.

The initiative is now being refreshed following an award by the DCP.

A partnership project has been set out in 2020 with the London School of Economics and Social Sciences.

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2009	NCS Wellbeing Survey Partnership Initiative (BPS & NPS)
2014	Annual Measure of Wellbeing Survey Dissemination of results, canvassing of views, engaging with stakeholders
2015	Workforce Wellbeing Survey Roundtable Consultation Creation of our mission, vision, and values
2016	Charter for Wellbeing and Resilience A Case for the Charter Collaborative Learning Network Wellbeing Survey 2016 Influencing and Fostering Compassionate Workplaces Solidifying framework and developing a wellbeing tool
2017	Wellbeing Survey 2017 Wellbeing Tool Open Conversation Forum on Psychological Safety APPG Psyhcological Workplace Forum
2018	Wellbeing Survey 2018 Psychological Safety Workshops Translate learning into an offer from psychological therapies to the wider NHS Wellbeing Resource Kit & Wellbeing Dial
2019	Review of the project Conversations to re-align the project objectives with the BPS/DCP strategy
2020	Project Refresh including incorporating Covid-19 context DCP Virtual Wellbeing Meetings Impact Statement Consultation Round Initial Launch of Workforce Wellbeing Resources Development of research strategy Preparation for 2021 Spot Check Wellbeing Survey Re-convening stakeholders to understand the priorities and way of working for a collaborative network in the current Covid climate

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Charter for Psychological Staff Wellbeing and Resilience

Findings from the British Psychological Society and New Savoy staff wellbeing surveys in 2014 have shown that psychological professionals are working under stress.

They are reporting burnout, low morale, and worrying levels of depression.

We need to take action to improve the wellbeing and resilience of our psychological staff.

Read the full Charter for Psychological Staff Wellbeing and Resilience

The following Working Paper explores the case for a charter for staff wellbeing for psychological therapy services.

This paper describes a joint initiative by the Leadership and Management Faculty of BPS Division of Clinical Psychology and New Savoy Conference to undertake a review of workforce wellbeing in psychological services.

It reports the results of a snapshot survey of staff wellbeing in psychological therapies in 2014 and compares these with a similar survey undertaken at the start of the national programme for Improving Access for Psychological Therapies (IAPT) in 2009.

The themes from the focus group consultation at the 8th New Savoy Conference in 2015 are discussed. Findings of this project are then considered to see how we can start to improve our own staff wellbeing

A case for a charter for wellbeing at the workplace is put forward as a positive step to enable practitioners to take back the wellbeing agenda.

Read the full Case for a Charter for Psychological Wellbeing and Resilience in the NHS

The Charter for Workforce Wellbeing was launched at the 9th New Savoy conference (2016) supported by Public Health England and the NHS in Greater Manchester, as well as by leading providers.

A roundtable discussion was set to consult with the key stakeholders at the New Savoy conference.

40 people participated and represented various organizations.

Participants were asked to consider the findings of the survey and launch of the pledge in the wellbeing charter.

The two questions put for discussion were:

What kind of collaborative is needed to take the charter forward most successfully?
What are the key messages?

Read more about the Wellbeing Charter Collaborative Launch

Based on the consultation with the key stakeholders a Collaborative Learning Network (CLaN) was set out to promote a culture of openness, enabling environment and shared learning informed.

Such a leaning network is led by providers and those who are responsible for supporting the mental health and wellbeing of staff. A number of Pathfinder Site were recruited to initiate this process.

Workforce wellbeing is an intrinsic element of a robust and effective workforce strategy as without a resilient workforce, delivery on the organizational task is likely to be problematic.

The following paper argues that we need both a re-energised BPS workforce arm and the DCP Wellbeing Project.

Read about The Place of Wellbeing in the Psychological Professions Workforce Strategy

Wellbeing surveys

The British Psychological Society and the New Savoy have collaborated on a number of surveys of staff wellbeing.

We have collected both background information and the results from these surveys here along with the most recently published articles.

The 6th Psychological Professional Wellbeing Survey was conducted from May to July 2021, the survey received a total of 971 complete responses.

View the 2021 survey results

This study reports a survey of 1,678 psychological practitioners accessed through professional networks.

View the complete 2020 survey results

The 2019 wellbeing survey focussed on analysing trends, improving our measure, and taking the charter forwards.

View the complete 2019 survey results.

The 2018 wellbeing survey was promoted through professional networks and focussed on participants' feelings about work as well as collecting demographic information.

View the complete 2018 survey results.

The findings of the 4th Annual NSP/DCP Wellbeing Survey indicate that sustainability and transformation plans in mental health will be undeliverable unless psychological staff wellbeing, capacity and retention issues are urgently addressed.

View the summary of the 2018 survey results.

The well‐being of psychological practitioners is a key factor in the effective delivery of psychological therapies and the effectiveness of mental health services.

The 26‐item psychological practitioner workplace well‐being measure (PPWWM) measures psychological well‐being for psychological practitioners and was informed by a qualitative study.

View the full article about the development of the self-report psychometric measure.

Find out more about how the self-report psychometric measure was developed.

Wellbeing resources

These resources have been sourced and collected as part of a joint initiative between The British Psychological Society, the BPS Division of Clinical Psychology, the DCP Leadership & Management Faculty and the New Savoy conference.

These resources are primarily targeted at and intended for use by psychological professionals working in health and social care settings but should be of wider use to any individuals or organisations concerned with workforce wellbeing.

Building a caring work culture

Wellbeing is fundamental to everything we are and everything we do at work, as well as outside of work.

Wellbeing is key at the level of the individual (and their family), the team, the workplace, the organisation, and the system.

Building a caring work culture is a proactive approach that will reap enormous rewards.

Read the full document

Career advice & progression opportunities

Appreciative appraisals

360 Degree Feedback: Best Practice Guidelines

Fit for purpose & proactive HR & OH processes

Integrating wellbeing into performance management

Reflective Practice forums

Schwartz rounds

Take Care, Give Care rounds

Taking care, giving care: an intervention to support compassionate care amongst healthcare staff

Compassion circles

Closing the compassion Gap in health and social care (Andy Bradly)

Learning cycles

Compassionate leadership at organisational, professional, and governmental levels

Wellbeing guardians and leaders network

Robust workforce planning

Workforce Planning | Office of Human Resources

Effective incident briefing

Implement NICE, HSE & professional standards

HSE: Information about health and safety at work

Tackle stigma, discrimination & bullying

Organisational culture | The King's Fund

Cultivate psychological safety

Foster a culture of listening, reflection, and learning

Join

Apply to join the faculty (students, affiliates, e-subscribers)

Apply to join the faculty (graduate, chartered, and in-training members)

Membership of the Faculty of Leadership and Management is only open to members of the British Psychological Society.

There are three grades of faculty membership:

Full membership
For psychologists who are Full Members of the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP) and who work in or have an interest or expertise in the field of leadership and management.
Affiliate membership
For psychologists who are General (Pre-Training) and In-Training members of the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP). Affiliate members may take part in discussions but may not vote.
Associate membership
For General members of the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP) and non-Division members. Associate members may take part in discussions but may not vote.

If you are not already a member, you can join the faculty at the same time as applying for membership of the society.

Apply to join the society

Benefits of belonging

Benefits include an email discussion list that alerts members to new policy and guidance produced by the DoH, NIHCE and other bodies, enables the coordination of responses to consultations in addition to putting on free and low cost CPD events each year.

The Faculty for Leadership & Management uses its membership announcement email list to inform its members of activities and initiatives that are relevant to their interests and to make requests for engagement on topical issues.

By becoming a member of the Faculty you are automatically added to the announcement list.

To receive these emails you will need to:

become a member of the Faculty for Leadership & Management
opt into receiving email communication and provide a working email address

These preferences can be updated by logging into your member portal.

If you have any queries, please contact Member Network Services.

To assist us in responding to your query please make sure to include your membership number and quote 'Faculty for Leadership & Management announcement email' in the subject line.

To join the Member Discussion List please login to your member portal and click on the Preferences tile, where you'll be able to join the discussion list.

To receive discussion list emails you will need to be

a member of the DCP Leadership & Management Faculty
opted into receiving email communication from the Society (you can change your preference by logging onto your account via the member portal)

The Faculty for Leadership & Management relies on a wide range of people getting involved, and the work of the Faculty is largely achieved through the dedication of unpaid volunteers.

Our volunteers come from a wide range of different backgrounds, whether they be practitioners or academics, or full members or in-training members, and together form an open and inclusive community.