DCP Faculty of Psychosis and Complex Mental Health
The Faculty of Psychosis and Complex Mental Health (PCMH) exists to promote the principles of recovery and social inclusion for people who experience hallucinations or altered states of mind, hold unusual beliefs, or have difficulty thinking clearly.
About
The Psychosis and Complex Mental Health Faculty supports psychologists working with people with complex presentations (including psychosis) and people who experience severe changes in mood and difficulties in regulating their emotions or have problems managing interpersonal relationships because of aspects of their personality.
A great many of the people we work with have experienced severe trauma in child and early adulthood. As clinical psychologists we have a duty to acknowledge and hear this, and to support people to find ways to live with the impact of psychosis and trauma.
As a Faculty, we aim to support our members to deliver best practice through CPD events, best practice guidance, and having a place to connect with like-minded colleagues.
We also aim to harness the collective power of our members to benefit the profession and society – to educate, influence, and raise our voices to shape public discourse.
We seek to work closely with experts by experience and carers in planning events, developing guidance, and consulting on policy documentation. We seek to attend to our assumptions, biases, and language to be most effective in pursuing our aims.
We are an active Faculty with around 700 members nationally and internationally. We are working on our communication and developing ways of gaining feedback and involvement. Engagement with members is key to the success of the Faculty – we warmly welcome you to join us and make your voice heard!
Current priorities
We are currently focusing on supporting our membership and increasing engagement in the network through CPD events and engagement opportunities, and also working on developing EBE opportunities and supporting diversity of practice.
We are also currently involved in developing guidance on trauma informed care as well as supporting psychologically informed practice guidance.
In addition, we are representing the BPS in the Royal College of Psychiatry's National Audit of Psychosis.
On top of representing and supporting our members and responding to consultations, our current priorities are:
- Building EBE in the faculty
- Developing our EDI strategy and supporting a diverse and inclusive faculty
- Showcasing good work in complex mental health
- Addressing workforce issues
- Supporting staff wellbeing
- Ensuring that the documents we produce are distributed and used nationally and internationally
- Joining with individuals and organisations to campaign for psychological wellbeing for all
Networks and Branches
A number of networks or special interest groups and branches of the Faculty have been established to reflect the service settings and interests of our members.
Currently there are various vacancies in the networks so we have decided to combine forces and offer joint CPD events through the year covering various networks, and hold our annual conference in November.
If you have an interest in an area of complex mental health and want to get involved in re-establishing a network please get in touch.
We are particularly looking for people interested in Rehabilitation and Recovery, Family interventions and Early Interventions in Psychosis.
News
Events
Guidelines
Resources
Family Interventions in Psychosis
These guidelines provide an overview of the current state of practice and knowledge regarding family interventions in psychosis and provide a guide for psychologists and other family work practitioners, regarding how to support and deliver these family interventions in services.
Download the Family Interventions in Psychosis document.
Commissioning and Delivering Clinical Psychology in Acute Adult Mental Health Care
The aims of this document are two-fold:
- First, to inform Commissioners and managers about the contribution of clinical psychology to the acute care pathway.
- Second, to provide a toolkit for service managers, psychology managers and clinical psychology practitioners to demonstrate how psychological expertise support key areas.
Request for evidence- In Patients
- A census day audit of mental health independent sector placements in the West Midlands
- Hatfield et al (OATS paper) 2007
- In Sight and In Mind-A toolkit to reduce the use of out of area mental health services
- JMH independent sector paper 2007
- OATS article - Killaspy et al 2009
- OATs article, The Guardian
- Priebe and Turnere, 2003 - Reinstitutionalisation
Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia
The power point and pdf versions of the 2014 inaugural launch of the Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia document is free for PCMH members to use in service of disseminating and supporting the use of the document's content.
PCMH Members may wish to adapt the presentation to suit local needs. We expect the original author Anne Cooke and the Faculty to be referenced. We trust that the principles of keeping service users, carers and friends at the heart of your work, promoting a psychological framework as well the values of recovery, social inclusion and appropriate interdependence is adhered to in any amended presentations.
- Find out Why we wrote the Report - Anne Cooke PDF version
- Find out Why we wrote the Report - Anne Cooke Powerpoint version
- Read more about What we are saying - Anne Cooke PDF version
- Read more about What we are saying - Anne Cooke Powerpoint version
- Watch the editor Anne Cooke and contributor Peter Kinderman present at the New York, USA Launch
Committee
Co-Chairs:
- Jo Allen
- Katherine Newman-Taylor
Honorary Secretary: Vacant
Honorary Treasurer: Vacant
Committee Members:
- Claire Stark
Co-Personality and Complex Trauma Network Lead: Matthew Stainsby
Communications Lead: Nicola Tweedie
Representatives
Northern Ireland Representative: Benjamin Brew
Scotland Representative: Vacant
Wales Representative: Vacant
External Pre-Qualification Representative: Funmi Oshatogbe
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.
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 Psychosis and Complex Mental Health 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 psychosis and complex mental health.
-
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.
Benefits of belonging
Benefits of Faculty for Psychosis & Complex Mental Health membership
Membership of the Faculty for Psychosis & Complex Mental Health includes access to:
- Briefing papers and policy documents
- Conferences and events
- Facilities for liaising with other agencies and professional groups.
The Faculty also have a number of networks relating to specialist areas with the field of Psychosis and Complex Mental Health and each networks have a discussion list to share information. Membership of the networks is free once becoming a member of the Faculty.
- Acute & Crisis Network
- Assertive Outreach Network
- Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) Network
- Family Intervention Network
- North East Branch
- Northern Ireland Branch
- Personality and Complex Trauma Network (PACT)
- Rehabilitation & Recovery Services Network
- Wales Branch
- Scotland Branch
To join a network please contact Member Network Services stating which network you wish to be part of.
Member Announcement Email List
The Faculty for Psychosis & Complex Mental Health 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 Psychosis & Complex Mental Health
- 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 Psychosis & Complex Mental Health announcement email' in the subject line.
Member Discussion Email List
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 Faculty of Psychosis and Complex Mental Health
- opted into receiving email communication from the Society (you can change your preference by logging onto your account via the member portal)
Getting involved with the Faculty for Psychosis & Complex Mental Health
The Faculty for Psychosis & Complex Mental Health 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.
The first point of contact for any queries regarding the work of the DCP Faculty of Psychosis and Complex Mental Health should be the Member Network Services Team.
The Member Network Services team provides support to all our Member Networks.