President-Elect 2023 - Meet the Candidates: Roman Raczka

My current NHS role is as Consultant Lead Clinical Psychologist, and I am the Head of Psychological Services for Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH) NHS Trust. In this role we have psychological services in a number of different areas including services for Adults with Learning Disabilities, Adult Autism services, Community and Inpatient neuropsychology services, and Child Development teams.

I have held a number of leadership roles representing Psychological services at a senior management level reporting to divisional management as well as trust board level. I supervise and manage senior psychologists and I also hold a clinical caseload in both the learning disability and the autism services. I also work at a strategic level within the North London Integrated Care Board (ICB )and am currently involved in developing a provider collaborative.

I am an active member of the London Heads of service strategic clinical network. In my clinical teams I not only employ clinical psychologists but also counselling, health, forensic and neuropsychologists recognising the different and complementary contributions that different applied psychologists may offer.

Throughout my career I have been involved in clinical training of psychologists and I still supervise trainee clinical psychologists. I have been a visiting lecturer on all of the London Clinical training courses and for a number of years was also a Clinical Tutor. My areas of clinical specialism are Adults with learning disabilities, Autism and Forensic work.

In addition to working in the NHS throughout my career I have also worked for local authorities, charities, and the independent sector – providing direct clinical work, organisational consultancy, court assessment work and staff training. I am experienced in public speaking and have presented at a wide range of settings to different audiences in person as well as to camera. I am also comfortable in communicating in written language as well.

I write a monthly column for the Clinical Psychology Forum to keep members of the Division up to date with important news and developments.

Since my first degree in Social Psychology, I have developed my passion for the discipline of psychology. I am always curious about the human mind and the behaviour of the individual, group, community and society. Whilst my work has been primarily in mental health and community clinical services, I am committed to the promotion of excellence of psychological practice in all situations.

My interests in psychology go beyond the clinical to all areas of the discipline. I believe in the objectives of the BPS to be the voice of psychology as a learned organisation and the professional body of psychology – championing psychology and all psychologists and I believe that I have the experience and qualities needed to be the

Throughout my life I have been aware of the impact of differentness, the need for equality, inclusivity and the importance of the recognition and value for diversity. I was born into a working-class family who had been displaced from Poland in WW2. I grew up in a community where I was seen as 'different' by virtue of my name, and the language spoken by my family. I have always been acutely aware of the negative impacts of marginalisation and the struggles needed to combat this.

As a clinical psychologist I have always advocated the need for equality and inclusion by my words and actions. I have valued diversity in our profession. In recent years we have been particularly aware of the systemic racism in our profession and the need to adopt anti-racist positions from individual, system and organisation wide perspectives in order to counter and redress the damage that has been done.

As DCPUK Chair I have championed the work of the DCP EDI and Antiracism group. I have ensured that the DCP Executive create a new committee role of EDI lead supported by a EDI sub-committee that I will also sit on as a member. This sub-committee will work alongside existing DCP structures to embed non-discriminatory and inclusive practices in all we do. I strongly believe in the importance of allyship. The challenges of combating exclusion and marginalisation should not be left to those who have been marginalised.

Those of us in leadership positions must become allies to support our colleagues to effect change. I see the work of the BPS is to promote allyship to ensure inclusion. To achieve this, the whole of the organisation must work at interpersonal and structural levels. Psychologists from marginalised backgrounds repeatedly highlight experiences of discrimination, and the failure to understand their perspectives or listen to their experiences.

We need to involve our whole membership to make progress and become truly inclusive We must have a significant focus on race and culture but we must also ensure that inclusivity and diversity addresses other barriers, including disabilities and health as well as characteristics including socioeconomic background.

It is positive that the BPS has set out its strategic vision but is it essential that the BPS embraces the need for systemic, cultural change, including addressing institutional racism. The BPS also needs to review and improve ways of working with Experts by Experience/Lived-experience practitioners.

The establishment of the EDI Board is a vital step. The EDI Board has a key role to play in ensuring BPS leads the way in equality, diversity and inclusion. However, the work of change must not be restricted in one place and should be the work of every part of the organisation.

As a leader in the BPS, the President should model the behaviours they wish to see in others. The President should have a clear vision of the Society's aspirations for inclusivity and diversity and implement strategy of understanding, actively embracing, valuing and championing difference at every possible opportunity.

The subject matter of psychology has grown significantly over the past century, and so has the number and diversity of psychologists. This diversity is both a strength but also a challenge for the BPS when attempting to create a membership identity and a sense of community.

The biggest challenges are the different and varied nature of our members and their potentially different opinions, interests and needs. However the strength comes when these differing perspectives and are brought together and united in our shared passion for psychology and the impact psychology has on individuals and society.

When Covid-19 struck in March 2020, the President at the time set up a Presidential task force – the Covid Coordinating group – drawn from leaders across Divisions, Sections and Branches to work together to use combined knowledge and expertise to rapidly develop resources to address the impact of Covid.

I sat on the group as the DCP representative and was greatly impressed by the sense of identity and community that was quickly developed working together on a vitally important shared task. The President demonstrated leadership, encouraging strategic thinking, innovation and purposeful action to support the group to develop the resources.

However it was the drawing together of psychologists from different parts of the BPS with a shared sense of purpose and community that was essential to the success of the work. Building on the successes of the cross-society Covid work, it is clear that the President working alongside the Board of Trustees would be able to use their knowledge and expertise to help create a meaningful membership identity by virtue of a shared purpose – our passion for psychology.

The President has a really important part to play in supporting the BPS to fulfil its public role and engage in activities that will have positive benefits for wider society as well as for our members. As a professional body, the BPS promotes the application of psychological knowledge in the public domain across society.

Part of the BPS mission is to generate greater public awareness of psychology, increasing the knowledge and passion for psychology across a wide range of public settings. Engagement across society offers opportunities for members to come together, to contribute and feel part of what the BPS is achieving and is a vital way of creating a vibrant member-centred community. Operating in this way the BPS will be seen as a body that psychologists want to join and become an active members in the BPS community.

The President has a crucial part to play as a role model for our members. As a role model the President must have a passion for psychology and the ability to inspire others based on a clear set of values and a commitment to developing a member-centred community that is inclusive of all members. Working across all BPS networks the President needs to demonstrate that we are not in competition with one another and clearly we work best when we all work together.

In my NHS work as Consultant Clinical Psychologist, I have held a number of leadership roles representing Psychological services at a senior management level reporting to divisional management as well as trust board level. I supervise and manage senior level psychologists, not only within my Trust but also within other London services. I also liaise at a strategic level within the North London Integrated Care Board (ICB) and am currently involved in developing a provider collaborative for Adult Autism Services.

I am an active member of the London Heads of Service Strategic Clinical Network. Since the Winterbourne View scandal, I have been a specialist advisor with the Care Quality Commission. I have been involved in a number of service inspections which has involved not only on-site inspections but also developing strategic feedback and presenting to the service leadership teams to effect change. #

Within the BPS and DCP, I have held a number of leadership roles. In the DCP I have been Chair of a number of networks including the London DCP Branch, DCP England and for the past two years DCP UK. I have also been involved in national BPS work including being a member of the Covid Coordinating group, as well as chairing the BPS Covid Adaptations to Provision of Psychological Services working group.

I was a core member of the Member Network Review Reference Group. More recently I was appointed as Division representative on the Member Network Review Futures Steering group. I am the BPS representative on the NHS England Mental Health Independent Advisory and Oversight Group (IAOG). The group provides oversight of the delivery of the NHSE commitments in the mental health strategy document, the 'Five Year Forward View for Mental Health'.

The group works alongside NHSE's Five Year Forward View programme board and provides input into specific workstreams, to help to deliver ambitions for improving mental health services. All of my varied areas of work have given me wide extensive experience of leadership in differing settings, contexts and at all organisational levels. I have advised on and supported organisational change in a number of settings and I have led on organisational development and change in much of my work.

I have been responsible for ensuring high quality and effective governance in all of my work. I believe that I have a good understanding of the role of the President-Elect and I have the breadth and depth of experience necessary to fulfil that role as member of the Board of Trustees delivering on leadership and governance matters and representing all psychologists, supporting the BPS membership.

How long have you known the candidate?

More than six years.

When have you worked with the candidate or come into contact with them?

I have worked closely with Dr Raczka in my previous role as Chair of the Division on Neuropsychology (since there are synergies in the membership of our respective networks, with the majority of practitioner neuropsychologists being clinical psychologists). I have had contact with him on multiple other occasions, at Division fora, Senate meetings, PPN meetings and various BPS focus groups.

More recently, in my role as President, I have worked with him closely on the Korn Ferry Reference Group and on the Member Network Futures Steering Group, and in various ad hoc meetings and calls relating to DCP issues.

Why do you think the candidate would make a great President-Elect and President?

Dr Raczka is a highly experienced practitioner clinical psychologist who has lead a significant London service giving him first hand grass roots experience of the key issues currently facing clinical psychology. He has been closely involved with the DCP Executive Committee, currently DCP Chair, and is actively involved with the ongoing Member Network Review. Clinical psychology represents one of the society's largest networks and a real understanding of current issues and challenges for this area within the Board and Presidential team is critical for retaining and growing membership.

Dr Raczka balances this with good interdivisional relations and a grasp of challenges not only for sections but for the whole of the society. I have first hand experience of his personal leadership style which is authentic, inclusive and collegial. In summary, I believe he has the necessary mix of experience, gravitas and credibility to serve as our next President-Elect and subsequent President and I have absolutely no hesitation in proposing him for the role.

How long have you known the candidate?

Two or three years.

When have you worked with the candidate or come into contact with them?

I worked with Roman as chair and past chair of the division of Counselling Psychology. Under his leadership, both divisions (DCoP and DCP) have collaborated on some projects with further projects intended in the future.

Why do you think the candidate would make a great President-Elect and President?

Roman is aware of the issues the psychology profession faces within the current UK economic, socio-political landscape and is well placed to represent the voice of psychology as a whole. Furthermore and within the context of the BPS, he is also fully aware of the issues and the possible solutions that are needed for development. As chair of DCP, he has experienced those issues firsthand alongside his colleagues in other disciplines. I have experienced Roman as capable of holding his position whilst being open to other people's views.

I have observed him to be a collaborative professional who seeks to support the applied disciplines within psychology. He demonstrates his leadership skills through his ability to highlight pertinent issues away from the distractions of the subject area. Roman can hold the role of the President- Elect and eventually president because of the empathy he brings to his work, his leadership knowledge and skills, his knowledge of the society as a system, his ability to negotiate and navigate through the system, as well as his tenacity in speaking up on behalf of psychology.

There are tensions to be managed and resolved, Roman can utilise his expertise to alleviate some of that tension in the hope of bringing reform to the society in the areas where it is urgently needed.