DCP In Focus: February 2023

Welcome

Welcome to the first standard edition of 2023. In January we produced a special edition which summarised all the work that DCP undertook across 2022 and we hope that you have had a chance to read this. This is a somewhat shorter edition to usual but it contains some very important items.

We really encourage you to have a look at BPS Explore and create an account. You will be able to access all editions of Clinical Psychology Forum from its inception so there is a wealth of information in there for those interested in historical records and there are many previous articles across the years which are still very relevant today.

We are also working to have all DCP documents on the platform in full form for both reading and downloading, many are there already. Using the search function, you will also be able to search across the complete range of publications and journals on your topics of interest.

We really want to encourage to use your democratic vote in the important President-Elect election. You will know Roman Racka as he is DCP Chair, and he is running alongside Alison Clarke, Natalie Lancer and Jimmy Petruzzi. There are videos and statements from all candidates in the links below and we hope that you will use these in coming to your decision

- Julia Faulconbridge

News

BPS Explore has launched

The BPS has launched a new digital publication platform BPS Explore. The platform, which replaces the BPS Shop, enables BPS members and the public to read and download BPS content from periodicals, reports and guidelines to monographs and test reviews. 

The platform has been developed to improve user experience and make content more easily discoverable and accessible. The main improvements have been to:

• host periodicals at the article level, enabling topic-based searching across different periodical titles
• changing the file format to HTML, which makes our content more accessible
• add DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers), which means articles can appear on Google Scholar, improving discoverability
• improve accessibility, for example making the platform responsive to screen size and more compatible with screen readers
• integrating with the main BPS website, which means that searches on the main website will also return results from periodicals, and article abstracts will draw through into the member network web pages

Voting now open for new BPS President-Elect

Voting has now opened for the new BPS President-Elect and you have until 31 March to cast your vote. Voting in BPS elections is via an online system, and you should have received an email from our elections partner, Mi-Voice with instructions on how to vote. If you don't have an email address registered with the BPS, or if you have opted out of online voting, you will receive a postal ballot instead.

Following a nomination period, the four candidates are:

• Alison Clarke
• Natalie Lancer
• Jimmy Petruzzi
• Roman Raczka

You can meet the nominees and watch their candidate videos on the BPS website.

Voting is open to student, graduate, associate, full, chartered and honorary members.

Workforce and training updates

Wellbeing hubs

There has/is a significant piece of work with the media team around 'wellbeing Hubs' that have been set up in England. There have been 40 NHS staff wellbeing hubs (led by practitioner psychologists) set up by NHSE as pilots and the independent evaluations of their work has proved very positive. However, the future funding is uncertain from April.

There is real concern that if passed to ICB/ICS they are simply not ready to take on the responsibility. The concern is that they may end up being shut down. There is a short video on Twitter explaining the current situation. The DCP and BPS has taken a lead and put a letter to the Health Minister to not withdraw this effective support system for staff. The media in the form of the Independent have reported about the issue and further contacts with the media are underway.

IAPT (England) rebranding

Following consultation as you may already be aware, it was recently announced that a new name for IAPT services has been chosen and approved - 'NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression'.  

This name will be rolled out in all services across England in 2023, following NHS branding guidelines. This rebranding exercise will be critical in raising the profile of the services and removing barriers to access.

Retendering in Wales and Scotland

Following the successful retendering of clinical programmes in England there will be a retendering of the clinical psychology programmes is underway in Scotland and is about to start in the first half of the year. We will be supporting colleagues in training during these processes.

Survey of psychologists in physical healthcare settings

The survey of psychologists working in physical healthcare settings has been completed. The results are currently being written up and are proving very interesting. There has been a 50 per cent increase in numbers since 2016 and more are being directly employed by acute care NHS trusts in England rather than under sub-contract arrangements with mental health trusts. It is hoped to complete the document by Easter.

Guidance on the employment of psychologists in physical healthcare settings

This guidance document is in its final stage of drafting and will provide advice about the major governance issues to consider when employing psychologists in these settings. Some evidence came to light from the workforce survey above of junior lone practitioners in healthcare settings. It is very important that we find a way to ensure appropriate governance structures, particularly supervision, are in place to prevent these arrangements arising.

Heads of service forum

Amra Rao and Tony Lavender have been running a forum for heads of psychology services in trusts and health boards across all four nations. It is a chance to discuss issues that are proving challenges and to share solutions. The meetings are once a month for an hour and people who are signed up attend do so when they can. It has proved a useful source of a network where heads can share intelligence and experiences across the whole of the UK.

If you are a head of service and interested in joining, please contact Tony Lavender.

Co-Space Report

The latest Co-space Report, looking at changes in children's mental health and parental financial stress since the start of the pandemic, has been released.

Events

The DCP Faculty for Oncology and Palliative care is hosting a webinar on psychological prehab for cancer patients on 8 March.

A virtual CPD event on 17 April will look at developing a paper for Clinical Psychology Forum.

An event with Margo Ononaiye, hosted by our Faculty of Psychosis and Complex Mental Health, looking at tackling systemic racism in the psychological professions, takes place on 17 May.

Our Faculty for People with Intellectual Disabilities is holding its annual conference in London on 22 and 23 May.

Early bird registration is available for the European Congress of Psychology 2023, which the BPS is hosting in Brighton in July.

The Faculty for the Psychology of Older People annual conference will be hosted by the Welsh geographic groups on 19 and 20 September.

Recent and upcoming releases

If you haven't read it yet, the DCP's review of our activity during 2022 was recently emailed to members and is available to read through a link on our website.

Members should also have received notification of the latest issue of Clinical Psychology Forum, which you can access through the new BPS Explore platform.

The Child and Family Clinical Psychology Review is seeking submissions for an upcoming edition titled 'Trauma-informed, non-blaming and innovative approaches to working with children, young people and their families'. The theme aims to encompass some of the challenges faced by children, young people and families, and the professionals working with them, particularly at this difficult time, and to offer some ideas about ways of overcoming these challenges.

If you're interested in submitting an article of around 2,500-3,500 words, get in touch with Rachel Bradley to discuss.

News from around the BPS

The renewal window for HCPC-registered practitioner psychologists is almost open - find out more details on how to renew on the BPS website. The BPS has also responded to the HCPC's decision to raise its fees by almost 20 per cent.

The BPS welcomed the roll-out of family hubs, and urged the government to invest further in early intervention and prevention services.

The BPS responded to a new report from the National Audit Office, assessing the government's progress against improvement targets.

Opportunities - get involved

Treasurer

Following seven years as DCP treasurer, Simon Gelsthorpe has informed the executive that he won't be seeking a further term of office, so we will be seeking a new treasurer during the early part of this year.

The treasurer has three key tasks within the DCP - reporting to the executive on our financial position, chairing the finance sub-committee, and chairing the reimbursement panel.

Simon has kindly offered to speak to anyone who might be interested in the role ahead of us seeking statements of interest next year - if this could be you, please drop him an email.

Workforce and training sub-committee

The workforce and training sub-committee is the DCP group that works on all issues relating to the workforce and training matters relating to clinical psychology. Experts by experience have played a key role since it was established in 2016. A vacancy has arisen, and we are very keen to recruit a new person to work with the main group and there are other opportunities for this person or others to work on key areas.

BPS boards

The BPS is seeking new chairs for its Education and Training and Practice boards, as well as a member to join its Member Board. Details on these and other positions across the society are available on the BPS website.