DCP In Focus: May 2024

The newsletter contains, as usual, news and updates and opportunities for you to get involved.

Two very important roles on the DCP executive, DCP England lead and membership and CPD lead, have become vacant and we are hoping to co-opt people into them as soon as possible.

If you are interested then please get in touch with our chair, Kalpita Kunde, for an informal discussion. 

We are also delighted that we have three new publications out this month from our Faculty for the Psychology of Older People, Faculty for People with Intellectual Disabilities, and Digital Health Sub-committee.

I would like to thank  them for putting a great deal of time into writing these and sharing the expertise with us all. 

All current DCP publications are available on our website. We are always interested to hear of ideas for publications that members would value, so please get in touch with me if you have any suggestions.

- Julia Faulconbridge, DCP communications and publications lead

News

Update on recompense

The DCP has offered some recompense for the work of key DCP leaders to enable them to take on their work on behalf of members and the profession since 2005. At that time, members voted for this to be put in place and for an increase in fees to pay for it. There have been modifications over the years and the latest system was agreed with the BPS in 2019.

This system operates across all divisions, although some smaller ones do not use it. The DCP is the largest user of the system due to being the largest and most complex division. The recompensed roles include all the lead roles on the executive, and the chairs of faculties, nations and England branches. Recompense for some of their time is needed in addition to their voluntary work because of the amount of work which needs to be undertaken during normal working hours and reflects the complexity of their roles, including representing clinical psychology with external stakeholders, policy makers and decision-makers. 

Where someone is employed, recompense for their time is paid to their employer. If the person is in private practice, it is paid to them individually. A number of people do not take the recompense they are entitled to as their personal circumstances mean they do not need it.

The DCP undertakes considerable amounts of work on behalf of members, the profession and the public - more details on this can be seen in the reviews of 2022 and 2023. In March, the BPS Board of Trustees in March took the decision to review the use of recompense, and this has caused uncertainty for the DCP in its future planning.

The executive and the representative assembly (chairs of our faculties, branches and nations) have agreed to work with our BPS senior leadership/management colleagues on a co-production project on recompense, so that there is a proper consultation on what that would look like.

BPS supports urgent call for First Minister of Wales to prioritise children's health

The BPS is among 20 organisations which are calling on the First Minister of Wales to prioritise the health of babies, children and young people.

The Welsh Royal Colleges Child Health Collaborative (WRCCHC), of which the society is a member, is urging the Welsh government to safeguard the wellbeing of generations of children and young people.

You can read full reflections from DCP Wales co-chair Dr Bethan Phillips on the BPS website.

BPS backs calls for the removal of the two-child benefits cap

The BPS is supporting calls to bring an end to the two-child benefits cap.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has urged the Chancellor to scrap the current two-child benefits cap. It is estimated 750,000 families will miss out on benefits by 2028 due to this rule.

You can read comments from Julia Faulconbridge on the BPS website.

DCP Leadership Training

The Leadership and Management Faculty has rolled out its first phase of leadership training. The evaluation of the project is underway. The initial feedback is very positive. The programme has generated good interest with a waitlist and ongoing enquiries about the next iteration of the programme.  

We hope to finish the evaluation before setting the dates for the next training. The announcement will be made via the DCP networks. We want to thank the DCP members for their support of the programme.

A call to previous and potential mentors – your scheme needs you!

The DCP Leadership and Management Faculty mentorship scheme has been running successfully now for a number of years. This is a very important offer from the faculty and has proved to be very popular with high levels of satisfaction reported by both mentors and mentees. 

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 would like 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.

The scheme offers six mentoring sessions over an agreed timescale with a colleague outside of their immediate management/supervisory structures to discuss their professional development including leadership and service development issues, as well as career, personal development and learning.

The independence of the mentor, outside of the mentee's organisation, specifically addresses the need for a space to discuss management of work politics and career aspirations with colleagues not directly involved in managing and appraising them. 

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 the scheme or for any questions or comments, please do contact Tim Cate or Amra Rao.

New documents

First line psychosocial alternatives to psychotropic medication for behaviours that challenge in dementia care: A toolkit for health and social care practitioners

This toolkit marks a significant milestone in the field of behaviours that challenge in dementia care.

It brings together the combined knowledge of a group of psychologists and an Expert Advisory Group who are absolute authorities in this area, who share this expertise through the auspices of the British Psychological Society.

This document gives guidance on preventative methods, and strategies aimed to de-escalate both minor and severe levels of distress and agitation.

While much of the work discussed in these guidelines is relevant to all caregivers, professionals and environments, some adaptations are suggested when delivering care across different settings.

A huge thank you to all of the authors and everyone involved in developing this resource.

Equity and inclusion proposal for digital practice

It is well documented that digital interventions have the potential to increase accessibility to mental health support for some individuals.

With a wide range of mental health apps are available to the public reported to provide cost effective, usable services that can be accessed from home, negating the need to travel to a clinic, which can act as a bridge to accessing care.

DCP members can now access our new paper covering equity and inclusion in digital practice.

Psychologists promoting and supporting the physical health of people with learning disabilities

These guidelines were developed to ensure that psychologists play an active part in bringing an end to the health inequalities faced by people with a learning disability (intellectual disability).

It has long been evident that many people with a learning disability die younger than is taken for granted in the general population, with conditions that could have been prevented or treated.

Despite this being widely known and vocally abhorred amongst learning disability professionals for many years, there has been a longstanding and seemingly insurmountable impasse in bringing about change.

Perinatal Psychology Blogs

Our Faculty of Perinatal Psychology has recently produced two blogs for the BPS website.

In the first, to mark Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week, one woman reflected on her own experiences of childbirth and the care she received from midwives and psychologists.

Faculty chair Dr Camilla Rosan then looked back on the recently published Birth Trauma Inquiry report after attending the launch event in Westminster.

If you would be interested in writing about your area of practice or research, please contact Jacob Daniel in the BPS communications team.

Get involved

Two key roles on the DCP executive are currently open for co-option, and we're looking for members who might be interested in getting involved.

If you have an interest in taking on one of the roles, then this gives you a chance to try it out before standing for election next year. If this is you, please drop us an email for further details.

The roles are fantastic opportunities to join us in making a difference to the profession and to the public.

Becoming an active member of the DCP is also hugely beneficial to those who do it in terms of personal and professional development.

The DCP Executive is a welcoming group and we will support and mentor any new person getting involved.

The roles are leading on our membership and professional development offering for members, and leading on our work in England.

ME/CFS good practice guidelines

The BPS is now ready to go ahead and develop a good practice guideline for psychologists working with people with ME/CFS.

We are recruiting psychologists and EBEs at about the same time so we can co-produce the guidance.

We hope to have a first meeting with the larger group in a couple of months time and to write it over the next year to 18 months.

The advert for more psychologists to join us is now on the BPS website.

North East Branch to relaunch

The DCP North East Branch is relaunching, with Esther Cohen-Tovee as the interim/co-opted branch chair for the first 12 months.

We are planning a launch event for later this year, and we look forward to welcoming more people onto our new committee - anyone interested please contact Esther with DCP NE branch in the subject line.

Members encouraged to contribute to Cass Review project

BPS is encouraging members to contribute to its project identifying the implications of the Cass Review for psychology.

The society committed in its initial response to the Cass Review to analysing the report in full and consulting with members before publishing a full document outlining the implications for psychology.

With the input of members, the BPS will identify any implications for the profession and outline any lessons that need to be learned.

Members are encouraged to respond to the recommendations in the report via the online form. Members are reminded that contributions should be evidence based.

The survey will remain open for contributions until 15 July. It is hoped the document will then be published in the autumn.

Contribute to the project via this online form.

Upcoming events

The second part of the webinar series on transitions in health is taking place on 5 June.

Our Faculty of Psychosis and Complex Mental Health is holding a webinar on family interventions in psychosis on 10 June.

Our Faculty for Children, Young People, and their Families is holding an engagement and networking event for clinical psychologists working in CAMHS on 10 June.

Our Faculty of Addictions is running a webinar on gambling and gaming addiction on 13 June.

The DCP East Midlands Branch is hosting an in-person event on working well with gender diversity in clinical psychology on 19 June.

Our Faculty of Psychosis and Complex Mental Health is holding an online workshop on working alongside peer support workers on 2 July