DoN Newsletter January 2024

Message from our chair

Happy new year to all of you! 2024 promises to be a very active year for the DoN. We have plans for a substantial conference in November, and we are working hard on developing the programme for this. Our continuing professional development offerings are also expanding to include medico-legal training and providing support for the wider community of practitioner psychologists involved in conducting cognitive assessments.

We are re-launching our very successful international fellowship scheme, and promoting attendance at conferences for those who would otherwise struggle to resource this. Our subsidies will include our own events and international conferences such as the forthcoming Global Neuropsychology Congress 2024 that we are proud to be associated with. If you plan to attend and are interested in hearing more about our scheme for support, please get in touch with me at the address below.

I will never tire of thanking our excellent volunteers in the DoN who keep the whole show on the road. From the chairs of our units to those who volunteer to support the development of policy, lobbying communications work and development of standards and training.

Our EDI group is particularly active and dedicated, assuming a more integrated relationship with DoN business.

This year will mark some rather subtle but important changes in the DoN structure which reflect wider BPS changes in the way member networks operate. This brings a great opportunity for us to build a more sustainable network that delivers greater value to members, our profession and wider community.

Please don't forget our recognition awards! We are refining the scheme to allow online nominations for 2023 recognition and beyond. I'm sure that we all have colleagues who deserve recognition for the hard work that they do.

Please take a look at the forms below and the categories for nominations. We want to make it quick and simple to nominate - the deadline is 1 April.

• Early Career Award 2024
• Practitioner of the Year Award 2024
• Lifetime Achievement Award 2024

- Ingram Wright ([email protected])

Opportunities for involvement - would you like to join a DoN committee?

Committee for Training in Clinical Neuropsychology (CTCN) vacancy

he CTCN is concerned with the setting, maintaining and reviewing of standards for training in clinical neuropsychology. The committee is made up of those with experience in providing education and training in clinical neuropsychology and is integrally linked to the Division of Neuropsychology, its Professional Standards Unit and the Qualification in Clinical Neuropsychology, which is run by the BPS.

The committee is passionate about innovating to continually develop training routes and programmes to ensure the greatest accessibility to the Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists. We are keen to ensure diversity and regional representation on CTCN and are seeking applications from those interested in becoming a member, which is on a voluntary basis

We are particularly interested in hearing from current trainees in clinical neuropsychology or those who have recently joined the specialist register. Meetings are up to four times a year and are conducted remotely.

The current Chair of CTCN is Dr Tracey Ryan-Morgan and she would welcome expressions of interest, formally or informally, via email.

Member Services Unit (MSU) secretary vacancy

We are looking for a volunteer to join the member services unit as our secretary. The role involves attending four meetings a year (mostly remote).

The MSU has some great plans for the coming year, including a return to the DoN Conference in November 2024. Being on the MSU is a great way to meet people, take part in events and network.

Please do get in touch if you are interested, contacting  Annmarie Burns, MSU chair, by email.

News

Report on legal aspects of memory

Members may be interested to read a recent report on legal aspects of memory issued by the Psychology and Law sections of the British Academy, which covers topics including eyewitness testimony and identification, suspects' testimony, and expert testimony in court.

The main writing group comprised eminent psychologists and Emeritus Professors Alan Baddeley, Chris Brewin, Graham Davies and Mike Kopelman, along with Hector MacQueen, Emeritus Professor of Private Law, and with a group of additional contributors including DoN committee member Professor Robin Morris. The report can be accessed in full via the British Academy website.

Job planning guidelines for practitioner psychologists

Towards the end of last year the BPS published updated guidance on job planning for practitioner psychologists. Though job planning is used widely in the NHS there has been no guidance specific to practitioner psychologists, and guidance for clinical psychologists needed updating, so this resource is likely to prove useful for members at many stages of their careers, and especially for those with substantial management responsibilities.

The lead author of the guidance is Emeritus Professor Tony Lavender, with the wider author group including representation from a wide range of senior practitioner psychologists, including Dr Rupert Noad representing the Division of Neuropsychology. The document can be accessed on BPS Explore.

2024 Continuing Professional Development schedule

We have an exciting range of CPD events planned for the year ahead, so please save the date/keep an eye out for more details as relevant:

• Expert Witness Training: Save 24-25 April if you are interested in attending our neuropsychology-specific expert witness training event, which will take place in London, and be provided by Bond Solon in association with the DoN. Bond Solon have an excellent reputation in providing training in this field. This first event is focused on civil law and procedure (England and Wales specific). Depending on the success of this event, we plan to run the subsequent training events on this topic in a similar format and will look at providing courses covering other jurisdictions. Places are limited to just 16 so please reserve your place with no obligation.

• Our next study day will take place on Friday 17 May and be focused on the topic innovations in applied memory research. Professor Jonathan Evans of the University of Glasgow will be a keynote speaker and details of the full programme are to follow.

• The DoN two-day conference is back and set to take place in Edinburgh on November 21 and 22 2024.  Further information will be provided soon, but this is always our most popular event, providing high-quality scientific and clinical talks relevant to all specialisms of neuropsychology, as well as key opportunities to connect with colleagues old and new.  

Stay tuned for more information about all of the above, and to make sure you don't miss out, please remember to ensure your BPS member account settings include permission to receive communications regarding relevant BPS events as well as from us at the DoN.

BNS/DoN International Fellowship Scheme: Please help us to reach potential applicants

We are pleased to announce that the 2024 Neuropsychology International Fellowship will soon be ready to receive applications. The scheme is run jointly by the DoN and our colleagues at the British Neuropsychological Society (BNS), and aims to encourage postgraduate from different cultures such as low and middle income countries to further their neuropsychology and research experience in the UK, or to encourage people from the UK wishing to develop neuropsychology as part of a field project in developing countries abroad.

Funds of up to £6,000 are available. For more information on the scheme, please consult the BNS website. We hope that details of the scheme will be advertised by as many international organisations as possible, but we would also greatly appreciate your assistance in spreading the word. If you have international neuropsychology contacts please do circulate this information to them in the hope that they or others in their networks may have suitable proposals.

Research participation request: Are you a healthcare professional with experience supporting adults with functional/dissociative seizures?

Researchers at the University of Sheffield invite you to take part in a research study, which aims to develop an outcome measure to assess functional/dissociative seizure severity. The study is a three-round anonymous 'Delphi' survey conducted online via Qualtrics. During each round, a questionnaire will be sent out for anonymous feedback.

Between each round, your responses and feedback will be reviewed, and the questionnaire amended based on this. The group will be made aware of the feedback from the previous round at each new round and asked to re-evaluate their original feedback. If you would like to hear more about taking part in this study and to sign up, please visit the website, and note that recruitment closes at the end of January.

The research is being conducted as part of a doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Sheffield, and has been approved by the University of Sheffield ethics committee. If you have any questions, please email the lead researcher Laura Whitaker.

British Neuropsychological Society celebrates 35th anniversary

Our friends at the BNS are celebrating their 35th anniversary this year! To mark this their Spring meeting, which will take place on 24 and 25 April, in person at Queen Square, London, as well as online. The programme will feature a special invited anniversary symposium, as well as a symposium on cognitive deficits after stroke, amongst a range of invited and free papers.

For full details please see the BNS website.

Please feel free to share this update with colleagues, and if you have any comments or contributions for future updates, please contact us by email.