Community Paediatric Psychologists Special Interest Group

The Community Paediatric Psychologists Special Interest Group (SIG) connects a network of psychologists working in child development or community paediatric settings across the UK. In community paediatrics, multi-disciplinary teams (MDT) collaborate to support neurodivergent children and young people (CYP) and their families. Professionals in this setting work within a vast range of areas, ranging from child development, genetics, physical conditions and learning disabilities; through to attachment, mental health, trauma and the care system.

The composition of MDTs may differ but usually consists of community paediatricians collaborating with other professionals such as nurses, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and systems such as education and mental health services. As a group, we meet four times a year to share research, resources, and reflections on issues in this field.

The SIG offers the opportunity to come together as a professional group with shared passion and enthusiasm for this work, with an understanding of the challenges we face in these settings. The psychological need across this population is high, yet psychological resources are, more often than not, scarce. CYP accessing community paediatrics who are neurodivergent have a mild-moderate learning disability, complex medical needs, and distress-related behaviours tend to miss out on support from mental health and social care services.

Many of these services rely on standardised treatment pathways and are often under-resourced to provide adaptations for neurodivergent CYP and families (see Glew, S. & Atkinson, R. (2022). The Role and Value of Clinical Psychology in Community Paediatrics. BACCHNEWS, March 22). The high level of need and lack of psychological resources in community paediatrics can feel overwhelming. The SIG has offered a relaxed, validating space to feel heard, reflect on the joys and challenges of the work, and problem-solve with professionals experiencing the same bumps in the road.

Our discussions follow the interests and needs of the psychologists who attend. The meetings tend to open with a service update from each psychologist, which often sparks reflections on the similarities and differences in our roles. These discussions have shed light on the lack of consistency in psychological provision across our services; there is no national guidance on the number of psychologists needed to support this population (and some settings don't have access to psychology).

There is also minimal research informing what the role of a psychologist should be in these settings, although it tends to be to provide clinical, cognitive, and neurodevelopmental assessments, which inform formulation-driven approaches to support the needs of children and families. While the absence of research and guidance poses challenges, it also presents the opportunity to address the needs of our communities and services in a unique, flexible, and creative way.

The SIG offers an opportunity to explore current issues and debates in the field. A recurring issue surrounds the national surge in demand for diagnostic services and the systemic issues influencing this need (please see Naomi Fisher's article in this edition). We have spoken about the impact of this, from closing waiting lists to challenges recruiting and retaining staff and the variety of responses, including attempts at joining up neurodevelopmental diagnostic pathways or even looking at alternatives (or precursors) to diagnostic practice (please see Hayden Ginns' article in this edition ).

One topic of discussion surrounds outcome measures, due to the dearth of standardised, accessible evaluative measures for neurodivergent CYP. Additionally, we explore the difficulties that follow working in a medical setting and our sense of identity as psychologists in this field. Many of us are leading the effort to develop psychologically informed and neuro-affirming spaces for people who work in and access community paediatrics; connecting with others in the same position has felt helpful and validating.

As a group, we are keen to continue to work collaboratively as a network of psychologists across the UK and to grow our membership. In the future, we hope to use the SIGs to explore whether we need to create consistency across services or embrace our individuality. We also want to think about how we can advocate for this population nationally, for example, developing guidance on working as psychologists in these settings. We also hope to coordinate a national conference to bring us together, share cutting-edge practices and begin to shape the research agenda.

The SIG welcomes newcomers with open arms. Ways to contact us: [email protected]

Catrin McAdams (she/her), Assistant Psychologist, Community Paediatrics, Neurodiversity and Learning Disabilities

Dr Judith Storey (she/her), Principal Clinical Psychologist, Community Paediatrics, Neurodiversity and Learning Disabilities

Dr Anita Marsden (she/her), Lead Clinical Psychologist, Community Paediatrics, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust

Dr Georgina Davis, Clinical Psychologist, University Hospital's Plymouth NHS Trust, with an interest in attachment and caregiver relationships, neurodiversity, staff wellbeing