Networks & communities
Member Networks

South West of England Branch

Our aim is to create a lively, informative and supportive network of Psychologists to bring Psychology to all our members (students, academics, practitioners) and the wider public.

About

How the South West Branch operates

The Branch covers a large area from Bristol in the north, Cornwall and the islands of Jersey and Guernsey in the south; and to the east we border on the Wessex Branch in Dorset.

Coordinating activities over such an area requires a structure that guides the strategy of what we do (by the co-ordinating working groups) and local activities (by the Hubs).

Mindful of wishing to support members during every stage of their journey in the study and application of psychology we have four co-ordinating working groups.

A note from the co-chairs, Liz Edwards-Smith and Anne-Marie Rowson

Hello and welcome to the South West of England Branch.

The branch represents over 3,600 psychologists and stretches from Bristol in the north to Cornwall and the islands of Jersey and Guernsey in the south.

We are delighted to say that our committee has Hubs representing all these areas so you will not be too far away from a local group.

We are keen on collaboration in the south-west working with the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP), the Special Group of Independent Practitioners and the Division of Coaching Psychology (DCoP) in the South West to name but a few. We are also in regular contact with our colleagues in other regional branches.

As a group all the branches communicate through a Branches Forum so that we can share ideas, leverage best practice and support each other to deliver for our members.

We are both business and coaching psychologists by profession, with Liz being actively engaged in research as well as coaching and Anne-Marie working independently as a consultant and executive coach.

We have enjoyed putting together a series of events for the second half of 2024 and resurrecting our eNewsletter and we are soon to start preparing our activity plan for 2025.

We will be recruiting new committee members to join the committee, as and when required. Please keep an eye out in our e-newsletter to find out more when available.

Our current activities are focused on:

helping undergraduates and postgraduates build their knowledge and practice
offer career coaching and mentoring enabling psychologists to make informed career decisions
enabling continuous professional development for all grades of psychologists
collaborating and supporting activities in our communities

Student Experience are working with schools, colleges, and universities to increase student membership and engagement, and to collaborate with psychology teachers and lecturers. Key aims are to: raise awareness of student and teacher benefits, including available bursaries; bring together BPS student representatives to make the role more meaningful; and encourage progression from A level/GCSE psychology to further study and career.
Career Development continues to support psychologists in their career journey after leaving higher education on to developing as senior members of their applied speciality. The group aims to foster and support expertise across a range of applied areas of speciality; supporting continuous professional development. This group is developing a career mentoring and coaching community.
Community Outreach has been established to work with local communities promoting the value and use of psychology. Its aim is to join with other community groups and organisations to sustain and develop initiatives aimed at public support and development.

Our Hubs operate in the following geographic areas:

Bath
Bristol
Exeter
Guernsey
Jersey
Plymouth
Truro

How can I contribute to the SW Branch?

We are keen to establish other local groups (Hubs) and maybe you would like to help us do this? Or perhaps you would like to join a co-ordinating working group and contribute to Branch activities? No matter what, we would encourage you all to get as actively involved as you can.

In particular, we are looking for:

Contributions for our newsletter - articles, photographs, or events, etc
Event updates - what's going on in your local area? Do you have any suggestions?
Website updates - let us know if you would like to share information with others

If you have any comments, queries, or would like to help us out please email us

The South West Branch Coaching and Mentoring Scheme

The branch has established a career coaching and mentoring community.

The scheme was initiated in April 2021, with experienced mentors offering one-to-one career coaching and mentoring sessions (up to three sessions of 60 minutes). So far we have put through 6 cohorts of mentees and there are more planned.

Mentoring takes place online, unless both mentee and mentor agree to a face to face meeting and has been carefully evaluated to ensure we tailor our approach to suit our members' needs. Previous cohorts found the sessions immensely useful and were involved in developing our next steps.

If you are interested, please contact [email protected].

New BPS mentoring service platform

Since January 2023, we have used the BPS mentoring service platform, which allows both mentors and mentees to create their own bespoke profile. Based on the information you provide, mentees are then matched with potential mentors.

Find out more about the mentoring service

What's in it for me as a mentor?

Support for mentors through regular coach mentor group supervision sessions, which adopt an action learning approach
The opportunity to discuss any questions that arise during your mentoring sessions, gain knowledge and receive feedback through networking with your scheme leader and peers
Ad hoc one-to-one coach mentor supervision in addition to the group sessions
Additional access when you need support and guidance with topics that cannot wait until the next group supervision meeting.

Read Laura's BPS mentee experience and Allison's journey to becoming a mentor to find out more.

Interested in becoming a mentor or mentee?

Develop a rapport, manage your goals, send messages and plan your meetings all in one place as you set out on your own mentoring journey.

Contact [email protected] to register your interest.

Awards & funding

Bursary Scheme for Members

The South West of England Branch committee are pleased to be able to offer a number of Bursaries for its membership to attend BPS conferences and CPD (continuing professional development) workshops.

Bursaries will cover fees; however, accommodation and travel costs will not be covered.

Applicants would be required to arrange cover for any accommodation and travel costs.

The South West of England Branch intends for the bursaries to offer colleagues support and the opportunity for attending conferences or workshops which may contribute to aspects of their professional and/or academic development.

It is not the Branch committee's intention to substitute any responsibility from an employer to support their continuing professional development, but to offer the bursary in cases where the member does not have the financial resources.

Deadline

The completed form should be returned at least three weeks before the event.

Criteria:

Bursary awards are limited to one per individual in any one calendar year
Following the event, the applicant must submit a reflective or evaluative piece for publication in the Branch newsletter. This should summarise your experience and the benefits (or otherwise) or attendance at the event. This will need to be between 400-500 words and completed within three weeks of attendance at the event. Further details relating to the publication will be made available to successful applicants.
The applicant must be a member of the South West of England Branch.
The applicant must identify a rationale of between 150 and 200 words as to how attending the conference/workshop will contribute to their development

How to apply

Applications are now open.

Submissions will be reviewed by a sub-panel of the South West of England Branch committee members

Submit an application

Please contact [email protected] if you have any further questions.

Please note that if you are successful in obtaining a bursary and then fail to attend the event without evidence of acceptable extenuating (non-work related) circumstances, then you will be charged the cost price for the place.

This is to avoid the Branch paying fees for colleagues who then choose simply not to attend. This incurs an unrecoverable cost to the Branch membership.

We look forward to receiving your applications.

Co-chairs

Anne-Marie co-chairs the BPS SW Branch Committee and sits on the BPS Members Board.

She is a Business and Coaching Psychologist, based in South Somerset and has 30 years experience of working with leaders and leadership teams, supporting them to be at their best in complex organizations.

Liz co-chairs the BPS SW Branch Committee. A recent Psychology Masters graduate she has over 25 years experience of working with organisations to deliver significant change and transformation programmes.

Her research interest lies in relational health and identity in the workplace and the impact on wellbeing. Based in Plymouth, she is a Master Strengthscope practitioner, a BPS accredited tool.

Appointed members

Katheryn is a Chartered Psychologist and academic based at Plymouth Marjon University.

She currently teaches on a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate psychology courses, covering areas such as cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, research methods, and study skills.

Katheryn's primary research interest lies in Theory of Mind, exploring the developmental and cognitive mechanisms behind belief reasoning.

Her work has investigated the interplay between traditional verbal and non-verbal tasks, with a focus on testing competing accounts of early psychological belief reasoning.

Kelly is a member of the BPS South West Committee, where she contributes to the Student Experience and Engagement Working Group and serves as the South West Student Ambassador Lead.

She is a final year PhD researcher with a background in experimental and biological psychology. Kelly has a passion for enhancing the student experience, fostering engagement, and promoting wellbeing.

Doaa is in her second year studying counselling psychology at UWE.

She is a new member of BPS SW Branch Committee, and is based in North Somerset.

She has experience providing therapy in a range of settings and is on a lifelong process of learning about mental health, meaning-making, and culture, to name a few.

She is currently working on her thesis using autoethnography to explore counselling psychology in medicalized and neoliberal discourses.

Shokraneh has a PhD in Psychology, and is a committee member on the BPS South West branch, and the Exeter hub lead.

She is a Postdoctoral Researcher and BPS Chartered Psychologist at the University of Exeter.

Her expertise is in health psychology and interests include designing, developing and evaluating behaviour change interventions.

She is currently working on the 'ImPROving GROUP treatment for people with severe obesity' (PROGROUP) project, which seeks to optimise and test a new group-based intervention for promoting healthy behaviours amongst people living with severe obesity.

James is a committee member in the South West Branch of the BPS.

He is a recent MSc Psychology graduate and an experienced secondary school teacher based in West Devon.

His research interests revolve around thinking skills, educational technology, and dialogue.

However, broadly, James is invested in helping young people meet their potential and enjoy lifelong learning.

Claire is a recent member of the committee.

She is a master's student studying Forensic Psychology with Mental Health remotely at Coventry University.

She works as an independent advocate specialising in the Mental Capacity Act, the Care Act and the Mental Health Act.

Claire has a particular interest in individuals with neurodiversity who are in the criminal justice system.

Terri is the BPS SW Committee Lead for the Student Experience Working Group

She is a BPS Chartered Psychologist and has split her time between working as an Educational Psychologist and as an academic, training psychologists and supervising and examining PhDs.

She is based near Exeter and travels between her Practice offices in Exeter, Oxford and London.

Steve Heigham is a retired lecturer in counselling and mental health psychology.

His research interests are in evolutionary, community and climate change psychology, and he is involved in developing psychological strategy in the British Psychological Society.

His other published work can be found on Academia.org.

Henk is a Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist and head of psychology at a Highly Specialist Level 1 and 2 neurorehabilitation unit dealing with adult males with severe acquired brain injuries.

His special interest includes Functional Neurological Disorder, Huntington's Disease and dealing with challenging behaviour post TBI.

He is a senior lecturer, primarily in the context of mental illness and neuropsychology

Daisy is currently leading the Coaching and Mentoring scheme for the branch.

She is a Positive Psychologist and focuses on helping parents and carers find and use their strengths to improve their wellbeing, as well as supporting small female lead businesses with mentoring and business support.

She lives by the sea in East Devon with her family and is particularly interested in nature and wellbeing.

Bio TBC.

Stella is a retired teacher of psychology in the Cornwall area.

Having taught in sixth form centres and privately via face to face and zoom, she has recently increased her skills by becoming an examiner for AQA.

She enjoys being a member of the BPS South West Branch and organising events as the hub lead for Truro. 

Towards psychology's role in social advocacy and action: the implications of climate and ecological harm

As part of our longstanding commitment to issues of social justice and wellbeing, the South West Branch and the DCP South West Branch Hosted a number of events during 2023.

Additional links and resources shared on the day

Poverty & Climate Change: Psychological Perspectives - Links

These events were inspired by the recent establishment of the society's Climate Environmental Action Co-ordinating Group.

Join

When you join the BPS you are automatically made a member of your local branch.

The South West of England Branch covers the following areas/postcodes:

Bath (BA)
Bristol (BS)
Exeter (EX)
Guernsey (GY)
Jersey (JE)
Plymouth (PL)
Torquay (TQ)
Truro (TR)
Taunton (TA)

Benefits of belonging

The South West of England Branch 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 Branch you are automatically added to the announcement list.

To receive these emails you will need to:

become a member of the South West of England Branch
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 'BPS South West of England Branch announcement email' in the subject line.

The South West of England Branch relies on a wide range of people getting involved, and the work of the Branch 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.

One key benefit of being a South West Branch member is receiving our e-newsletter, which provides regular updates from our members and our branch, and news of upcoming events in our region.

Click below to view previous editions: