National Leadership and Transformation Event

I have been working in the NHS as a clinical psychologist since the early eighties within a wide range of mental health services including inpatient and community services in the South West and the Midlands. More recently I have been working in NHS England as a National Adviser on behalf of people with complex emotional needs and more latterly in a regional role to help develop the delivery of psychological interventions in mental health services. Over the last 14 years many efforts have been made to enhance access to mental health services particularly in community provision which has been linked to the Community Mental Health Framework (NHSE 2019) and my work has been closely linked to this. 

As community services have developed over the last 3 years in particular, I have been working with Plymouth University conducting Realist Evaluations of a number of ICS areas across the country to understand the challenges of implementing large scale cultural changes in the mental health community. My interest is focussed upon what are the key mechanisms which are important to facilitate this, with leadership offering a unique contribution to make change more effective. 

Understanding the barriers which get in the way of facilitating these changes is also an important consideration and my evaluation work at Plymouth gives us all the opportunity to understand more about what enables services to offer clinical and cost effective offers in a stretched system. 

Carl Harris (he/him) is a white, British, middle-class, male from Coventry. He has worked in Birmingham as a psychologist since 1990 and describes himself as a community and clinical psychologist. He has worked across a range of NHS, local authority and community development settings since then.

He is a long-standing member of Psychologists Against Austerity (also Psychologists for Social Change) and has written about the impact of austerity from a community psychology perspective. During the pandemic he co-chaired the Covid 19 Community Action and Resilience workstream for the BPS (British Psychological Society). In Birmingham he works on the Make My City Fair initiative, a community wealth-building approach. He is also working with colleagues across the UK on the impact of inequality on mental health, producing BPS guidance on its reduction using community psychology approaches.

Recent Publications

Fernandes-Jesus, M., Graber, R., Harris, C. & Wilson., S. (2023). Community Psychology. In G. Davey (Eds.), The Wiley Handbook of Applied Psychology (2nd ed.), John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Hagan, T, Harris, C, Bostock, J, Young, J and Stirzaker, A (2022) Inequalities and mental
health: Overview of evidence. BPS 16.05.2022. BRE526

Harris, C, Bostock, J, Young, J, Hagan, T, Stirzaker, A, Sinclair, H, Fatimilehin, I, Cameron,
A, Elguenuni, F, Cobner, R, Burman, H and Zlotowitz, S. BPS, Community Psychology
Section (2022). Using Community Psychology approaches to reduce the impact of inequality through the Community Mental Health Framework. BPS 16.05.2022. BRE52a

Hagan, T, Bostock, J, Harris, C and Zlotowitz, S (2022) How can we address the negative
impact of inequalities on our mental health? New BPS guidance to inform prevention,
inequality and mental health, Clinical Psychology Forum 356-August 2022.

Dr Juliet Young is a clinical psychologist working in the NHS in Bristol with children in foster care and those seeking sanctuary in the UK. She has worked in children's mental health services and schools for 15 years, often facilitating training and driving service development alongside clinical work. Through this experience, she has developed an interest in finding ways to influence the systems around people to improve their lives. This includes considering the role of leadership in teams and leading innovative work in the NHS.

Juliet is also a keen illustrator and combines her skills, knowledge and experience as a psychologist, with drawing. Many of her images can be found on her instagram page @creative.clinical.psychologist. Juliet is passionate about social justice work and community psychology, and themes of this can be found in her illustrations. She recently co-authored and illustrated An Illustrated Guide to Clinical Psychology which offers an accessible overview of clinical psychology. 

I worked as a Clinical and Community Psychologist in Nottingham and then North East NHS mental health services from 1989 and retired recently as Associate Director for Psychological Services in CNTW NHS FT. I am committed to clinical psychologists promoting wellbeing and being part of services that are responsive to social inequities, preventative, and compassionate. I have had the opportunity to apply community psychology principles in NHS work . This requires an understanding of powerful systemic and environmental influences, and an appreciation of social justice, co-working and collaborative leadership. 

Staff wellbeing and development is very important, and I recently worked for the NE and North Cumbria Staff Wellbeing Hub. I currently facilitate training and reflective practice with primary care and third sector organisations. I am part of the British Psychological Society committee for the Power Threat Meaning Framework, the BPS Community Psychology Section and Psychologists for Social Change. 

Recent publications: 

Bostock, J. Burman, H .Hagan, T. Harris, C. Stirzaker, A. & Young, J. (2023) Reducing the Impact of inequality: What leadership do we need from clinical psychologists? Clinical Psychology Forum, 363 45-51
BPS Guidance (2022) Reducing the impact of social inequalities on mental health through the NHS Community Transformation Agenda

Reducing the impact of social inequalities.pdf. BPS, Leicester. 
Bostock, J. Hartley, N., Lai, S. (2021). Community psychology, Covid-19 and beyond: What can clinical psychologists learn and contribute? Clinical Psychology Forum No 345 September 2021

Teresa worked as a research psychologist in public health, social policy and health service research at a Regional Health Authority, the Social Policy Research Unit (York) and the University of Manchester (Dept Psychiatry). She then took up clinical psychology as a second career and subsequently worked as both a clinician and clinical research psychologist in both mental health trusts and voluntary action organisations. She has also served as an elected member of a City Council Scrutiny and Policy Committee. She has undertaken collaborative research/projects exploring unequal access to public services. Her PhD, looked at the under-usage of health clinics by people experiencing significant disadvantage during and after pregnancy. She has published work around asthma, incontinence, survivors of CSA, and multiple heritage.

She has contributed to the critical consideration of theory/practice in psychology and psychotherapy, drawing attention to the social context in which mental health issues arise, exploring the concept of power and the impact of health/social and welfare policies on day-to-day practice. She has retired from her NHS clinical role and is currently collaborating with others to encourage conversations and action around inequity through research, teaching, training, and publications with colleagues in Community Psychology and voluntary sector organisations.

Some Publications
Mitchell, C., Dwyer, R., Hagan, T. and Mathers, N., (2011). Impact of the QOF and the NICE guideline in the diagnosis and management of depression: a qualitative study. Br J Gen Pract, 61(586), pp e279-e289. Br ]Gen Pract 2011; 61 (586): e279-e289.
Calvert, R., Kellett, S. and Hagan, T., (2015). Group cognitive analytic therapy for female survivors of childhood sexual abuse. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54(4), pp.391-413.
Mitchell, C., McMillan, B. and Hagan, T., (2017). Mental health help-seeking behaviours in young adults. BJGP DOI: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp17X688453
Dhanjal, R, Hagan, T, Fletcher, H & Kellet, S. (2018). Developing services for people with enduring interpersonal problems: An evaluation of a complex care consultation clinic. Clinical Psychology Forum, June 306.
Hagan, T, Armstrong, N and Bostock, J (2019) Putting the social into psychotherapy: Implications for CAT. Chapter 3, in Cognitive Analytic Therapy and the Politics of mental health, Lloyd, J and Pollard, R (eds), Routledge.
Hagan, T, Harris, C, Bostock, J, Young, J and Stirzaker, A (2022) Inequalities and mental health: Overview of evidence. BPS 16.05.2022. BRE526
Harris, C, Bostock, J, Young, J, Hagan, T, Stirzaker, A, Sinclair, H, Fatimilehin, I, Cameron, A, Elguenuni, F, Cobner, R, Burman, H and Zlotowitz, S. BPS, Community Psychology Section (2022).Using Community Psychology approaches to reduce the impact of inequality through the Community Mental Health Framework. BPS 16.05.2022. BRE52a
Hagan, T, Bostock, J, Harris, C and Zlotowitz, S (2022) How can we address the negative impact of inequalities on our mental health? New BPS guidance to inform prevention, inequality and mental health, Clinical Psychology Forum 356-August 2022.

Dr Amra Saleem Rao is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Organizational Coach & Trainer. She has been involved in leading psychological services and organisational consultancy in the public and private sectors in the UK. She runs a Psychological Therapies & Organisational Consultancy in Central London. She is the Executive member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Clinical Psychology. She chairs the BPS Leadership & Management Faculty and Faculties Network. As part of her DCP role, she is leading several projects including psychological practitioners' well-being, leadership training, mentoring and supporting future leaders.