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DCP projects

Learn more about the various projects we are supporting.

In March 2018, the DCP invited members to submit proposals for projects that we could support with funding from our reserves.

We were pleasantly surprised by the large number of proposals we received, and prioritised those that would bring specific benefit to clinical psychology and DCP members.

We were ultimately able to fund just under half of the projects that applied, 15 in total, with a combined funding amount of £337,484.

Current projects and outputs

Re-setting the balance: supporting the new charter network and staff wellbeing

We carried out a joint staff wellbeing survey with the New Savoy Conference in 2014, 1015 and 2016, which showed increasing levels of low mood, sense of failure and stress in psychological professionals.

Supporting Students at Risk (SStar): developing a person-centred care pathway for students who self-harm and are at risk of suicide

The SStar project aims to formalise the findings of the Pathways Clinic evaluation and to use the unique expertise which clinical psychology offers to develop a care pathway for high-risk students.

Completed projects and outputs

Gathering feedback and measuring outcomes and change from children and young people with learning disabilities and their families

Currently, there is no clear consensus about the best ways to measure outcomes and change, and gain meaningful feedback from children and young people with learning disabilities and their families.

Research shows children and young people with learning disabilities experience higher rates of emotional and behavioural challenges, have less access to services and are underrepresented in research.  

This emphasises the importance of this British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP) funded project, in collaboration with the Child Outcomes Research Consortium (CORC).  

As practitioners and citizens, the Equality Act gives us all responsibility to not discriminate and to make reasonable adjustments for children and young people with learning disabilities.  

This project reports on what works and what gets in the way in measuring outcomes and gaining feedback (described in this project as ‘Hearing the Voice’) for, with and from children and young people with learning disabilities, their families and networks.  

The project recognises that we need to measure outcomes and hear the voices across different levels, from individual support, service-level and communities, and across different kinds of activities. Hence, the project’s learning is contextual and developmental rather than focusing narrowly on specialist services.   

The project aims to advance and grow ‘best practice’ in gathering feedback and using outcome measures with children and young people with learning disabilities (CYP-LD), their families and networks. 

CORC hosted and participated across all project activities.  Jeni McElwee, Neil Phillips and Ro Rossiter, from the DCP’s Children, Young People and their Families Faculty LD Network, and Professor Eric Emerson, led project streams.  

We gathered, analysed and integrated information from surveys, databases, literature, networking, consultations and workshops across practitioners and organisations (voluntary sector and professional), and directly from children and young people with learning disabilities, and some broader neuro-diversities, their parents and carers on measuring outcomes and change, and gathering feedback/hearing their voice.  

The project also needed to consider and include pandemic-related issues, as well as the need for more focus and action on equalities, diversity and inclusivity, particularly racism and more consideration of intersectionalities.   

The project materials, learning and revised guidance are now live on the CORC website.

They include a project summary and revised guidance, reports on survey findings on measures in use, the Hearing the Voice/gathering feedback good practice examples, thematic analysis and guidelines, tables signposting organisations and resources for ‘Hearing the Voice’ and for measures particularly for PMLD and service-level evaluation. 

Access the project materials and revised guidance here

Primary Care

About the DCP project on Clinical Psychologists working in Primary Care

Lucy Marks MBE, Independent Consultant Clinical Psychologist

I have had over 30 years’ experience developing primary care psychology services in East London and I am delighted to have started a piece of work for the DCP to:

  1. Develop a position paper on best practice in clinical psychology in primary care, which can be used by commissioners, provider trusts and psychologists to develop high quality work in this area
  2. Develop a new network for Clinical Psychologists with an interest in working in primary care.

The work will cover the lifespan and is not just limited to adults. There has been considerable interest from a variety of Clinical Psychologists who have started to get involved.

This is a good time for this work because GPs are particularly interested in developing their capacity to manage mental health issues given the impact of Covid-19 and there are opportunities for innovation with the development of Primary Care Networks.

If you would like to:

  • Find out more about best practice in primary care clinical psychology
  • Contribute to or comment on the position paper on primary care clinical psychology
  • Join the network of Psychologists in Primary Care

Please contact [email protected]

Setting up the Core Advisory Group for the Clinical Psychology in Primary Care Project

We have had our first meeting of the Core Advisory Group, which was well attended.

Annette Schlosser and Lawrence Moulin are jointly chairing and the work is supported by Andrew Baldwin from the BPS.

Key clinical psychologists whose work was evaluated in the Centre for Mental health report are attending, as well as clinical psychologists from the Primary Care Mental Health team in Islington.

The Nation chairs, Branch chairs and Faculty chairs have been contacted about this work and I am keen to hear from more Clinical Psychologists who might be interested in being involved in this project.

I will be having conversations with some of the psychologists from the 12 new community mental health pilot sites. It would be helpful to have a range of clinical psychologists across the UK and experts by experience involved.

Webinars promoting Primary Care Clinical Psychology

I am working with the DCP, the NHS Confederation and the Centre for Mental Health to jointly put on a series of 1 hour webinars for GPs, Psychologists and Commissioners to promote clinical psychologists working in primary care, based on the evaluation carried out by the Centre for Mental Health.

I have been working with Andrew Baldwin from the BPS, Lawrence Moulin, Annette Schlosser, Suzanne Heywood-Everett and Laura Fisk on this work.

We are delighted that the Chair of the NHS confederation’s clinical commissioning committee, Dr. Phil Moore, who is a GP is now involved.

New ways of working with physical and mental health in primary care

This webinar looked at new ways to support people with physical and mental health needs in primary care, leading to improved patient outcomes, creation of savings and reduced stress for clinicians.

You can view a recording of the webinar, an animation that was shown at the event and get a patient's perspective by visiting the NHS Confederation website.

Outputs

New roles in Clinical Psychology

The last 20 years has seen the role of clinical psychologists in the NHS diversify from expert therapist to consultancy and service development, linked to the ‘new ways of working’ initiative led by the DCP.

In many ways, it feels as if we are entering a similar phase of development in which clinical psychologists review and expand on our roles, and again there is a need for the DCP to take a lead on this.

At the 2018 DCP conference a nominal group exercise generated a number of ideas about expanding the roles that clinical psychologists occupy, working in different settings (e.g. primary care, community bases), with new responsibilities (e.g. non-medical responsible clinician) and new aims (e.g. preventing hospital admissions, influencing local and national policy).

What also became apparent is that many psychologists are already in such roles.

Currently, however, there has been no systematic investigation of these roles and the services they have developed, or how effective they are in helping the public.

This project aims to fill this gap by scoping out new developments in the roles played by clinical psychologists, and assessing their impact.

Understanding Depression

Understanding Depression follows on from Understanding Psychosis in increasing the public’s awareness of psychological approaches to mental health difficulties.

It highlights the social factors that can cause and maintain depression and looks at social conditions likely to reduce or prevent it.

Read the full Understanding Depression document

All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence: Guidance for Therapists

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence (APPG for PDD) is a cross-party parliamentary group dedicated to persuading government, government departments and relevant public and medical bodies to reduce the individual and social harms associated with the injudicious and overuse of prescribed psychoactive medications (e.g. antidepressants. benzodiazepines, antipsychotics, stimulants and painkillers).

There is growing evidence that long-term use of psychiatric and other medications has worse outcomes. Individual and social harms range from mild to moderate distress, to cognitive impairment, loss of functioning, suicidal ideation and suicide.

Clinical psychologists as leaders: (CPL) – A lifespan developmental model and mentoring scheme

The CPL programme is a four nations rollout of our existing leadership development and mentoring programmes, becoming an overall model for clinical psychologists’ career development.

Valued Voices BME mentoring scheme (London)

The Valued Voices mentoring scheme is aimed at psychology undergraduates and aspiring clinical psychologists from Black, Asian, Mixed and MENA backgrounds in the London region.

Download the Valued Voices Final Project Report

Producing guidance on psychological approaches to the understanding and treatment of psychological difficulties in people with motor neurodegenerative conditions

This project aims to bring together best practice from both an academic and practitioner perspective to promote a psychological, non-medical and socially informed approach to the description of these difficulties.

Development and efficacy of a self-help guide to support clinical psychologists who experience mental health problems in reaching disclosure decisions

This project will develop and test a self-help intervention for (clinical) psychologists and trainees who are among the sizeable proportion of the profession who have experienced mental health problems themselves but are afraid to talk openly about their difficulties

Understanding Psychosis “youngER”

An Easy-Read Version for Children and Young People, People with Learning Difficulties, with English as a Second Language or in Acute Crisis.

A shorter, simplified, consolidated and summarised, illustrated and larger-print version of Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia to ensure a widened accessibility for its vital core messages.

Developing competencies for digital clinical practice - an e-learning package for applied psychologists and trainees

This project aims to increase the competencies of applied psychologists to enable safe and effective digital clinical practice.