The Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP) exists to promote the professional interests of Clinical Psychologists across the UK.
The DCP works closely with a number of organisations including the NHS, the government, and multiple professional bodies and groups in the voluntary sector, to promote and develop clinical psychology as a body of knowledge and skills.
For any queries regarding the work of the Division of Clinical Psychology please contact the Member Networks Team
Leadership is recognised as one of the key components of quality care.
Clinical psychologists working in health and social care are expected to be providing leadership and have a responsibility to work with others to manage planned and emergent change.
They often find themselves in leadership roles with little or no training and sometimes soon after qualifying.
The DCP commissioned a project to look at leadership development and support needs of clinical psychologists working in health and social care.
The project worked with clinical psychologists to understand the needs and current opportunities for leaders in health and social care.
Based on the findings of the project, this paper looks at concerns the profession has with regard to its leadership capacity and sustainability and makes a series of recommendations to strengthen clinical psychologists’ professional capacity to lead and influence.
The new Interim Chief National Assessor (Eric Karas) has been working hard with Hannah Farndon (BPS) and the Lead National Assessors to establish a revised operational system to improve the effectiveness of the Scheme. The Scheme will be launched on 4 May 2021 and employers wishing to secure National Assessors for recruitment will then be able to contact the central BPS Team who will enlist appropriate National Assessors and pass their names back to the employer within 5 working days.
Employers that have an existing relationship with National Assessors will continue to be able to contact them directly as in the past and the existing database of National Assessors will also remain available online. The new documentation will be sent to all Heads of Psychology Services across the UK and those Heads will be asked to pass the Guidance to employers to HR in their Trust/Health Board.
New National Assessors will be sought after the 4 May in specialities where there is a shortage. It is recognised that the responsiveness of all involved is vital to the success of the relaunch.
HEE have announced a significant increase (over 25%) in commissions for 2021/22. This is in addition to the previous year’s 25% increase. This is very welcome news and leaves us now with the challenge of delivery. The distribution of the 2021 places across courses will be variable dependent on the size of increase courses can manage.
In Scotland there has been a parallel increase in commissions of 33% over 2 years. In N Ireland a 25% increase in 2020/21 is likely to be continued in the current year and a smaller increase has been agreed in Wales.
The main challenges are securing placements/supervisors in services, appointing adequate numbers of course staff and the continuing support of the Trusts that employ trainees. Everybody has a role in seizing this opportunity.
The initiatives funded by HEE to help address the diversity and inclusion issue in clinical psychology are under way. They include to 27 Clinical Psychology Programmes to: (i) develop ways to improve equity of access and inclusion for Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority entrants to Clinical Psychology training, and (ii) develop mentoring programmes for aspiring psychologists from Black Asian and minority backgrounds. HEE has also provided funding to Trusts to develop and deliver paid clinical work experience opportunities to aspiring psychologists from disadvantaged backgrounds to help them progress their careers. Courses and Services are working together to coordinate all this work.
In addition, HEE has provided the funding of a scheme (the RISE leadership and mentoring programme) to provide leadership mentoring and training opportunities for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic psychological professionals who are from a qualified psychological profession and working within a mental health setting. ACP-UK has been working with the DCP to ensure the successful delivery of the programme.
Two workshops have taken place between HEE and NHSE/I and the training community to discuss the alignment between clinical psychology and the long term plan. There is a great deal of agreement in terms of EDI, the client groups particularly covered by the Plan and the importance of being responsive to the plans of the NHS. The issue of secondary accreditations is one area where ther is not unanimous agreement and this will be the subject of ongoing discussions. It is important to note that care is and needs to be taken of the alignment of training to the NHS Strategies and Plans of all the home nations not just England. Further work on these issues is being planned.
HEE have made funding available for individuals to train to take up the role of Approve Clinician under the Mental Health legislation. These funds also include money for backfill which is hoped will make it easier for people to take up the training. If you are interested you should contact your Head of Service and make arrangements to apply and engage the regional HEE leads.
The work carried out by the NHS Confederation has been commissioned by NHSE/I.
The survey is about engaging with the draft design principles that will provide a framework for all ICSs to design effective arrangements for clinical and care professional leadership.
Given the future importance of ICSs in the NHS in England we strongly recommend the completion of the survey to help make it clear that psychology needs to be at the heart of professional leadership within the ICSs to ensure the successful delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan.
We would therefore like to ask you to complete the survey for us before close of play on Wednesday 31st March.
Great news on workforce and training - Increase in training commissions for 2021 - Tony Lavender, Jan Hughes and Paul Salkovskis
Health Education England has announced that there will be a very significant increase in clinical psychology commissions for the 2021 entry in England.
Last year (2020), places expanded by 25 per cent at the last minute, and on top of this there will be a further increase of up to 30 per cent for 2021.
As Adrian Whittington (National Lead for Psychological Professions, NHS England/Improvement and HEE) wrote in making the announcement there is now the “huge challenge of delivering this” and thanked all involved for their “contribution and willingness to take up this opportunity. The increase of >60 per cent for the new intake over the past two years is going to make a really significant difference to the public. Needed now more than ever.”
This news comes on top of Scotland and Northern Ireland consolidating the 2020 increase into the 2021 intake, and Wales agreeing a smaller increase.
This will be demanding for the programmes and services which are working together to successfully deliver the expansion without compromising the quality of training.
The need for services and supervisors to increase the number of trainees they take is clearly vital to delivery and will be required at a time when we will, hopefully, be in the midst of services returning to a more usual mode of operating.
It will mean services and supervisors offering an increased number of placements on a routine basis in order that we can meet the future and growing demand for psychological services.
The DCP, and in particular the Group of Trainers in Clinical Psychology, are working with multiple stakeholders, including NHSE, HEE, and the Chief Psychological Professions Officers at a national, regional and local level.
A number of issues are being considered including the consistent utilisation of placement tariff money and the creative expansion of placement areas and populations.
Using a strap line from Obama’s election campaigns, working together “yes we can” deliver.
The National Psychological Professions Workforce Advisory Group had agreed to set up an Expert Advisory Group in physical health areas to set out the case for change in the way the psychological needs could be addressed. Once a chair is agreed for the Group there will be a process of recruiting members to the Group.
In parallel, the BPS, under the Practice Board, has established a group to look at the issues of psychologists input in the area of physical health care and how this can be promoted. Membership of the group has been agreed, with the physical healthcare DCP Faculties having a strong presence, and the first meeting arranged.
A 25% plus increase in training commissions was agreed for last year in Scotland, England and N Ireland. A smaller, deferred by a year, increase was agreed in Wales. This increase will be continued in Scotland for the 2021 intake. Although no formal announcement has been made to consolidate these increases for 2022 in England and N. Ireland, we are working hard to achieve this. A formal announcement is expected in the next few weeks.
All Trusts and Health Boards are able to access and use the measures that are held in the NHS Digital Repository free of charge. The NHS has negotiated with the publishers of the measures that these can be used free of charge. There is guidance on the website (Could we add the link it is webpages.).
On the web site there is also guidance for organisations to register to gain access to these measures. It was thought that this was not widely known amongst psychologists and was an important free resource.
We are delighted that Dr Lynne Taylor, a senior Consultant Clinical Psychologist, has been appointed to this new post within the Mental Health and Social Care Directorate which she took up in February 2021. We all wish Lynne well in this new role which she takes up in the depths of the pandemic. It marks the recognition that psychology should be at the heart of Government
The joint BPS/ACP-UK National Assessor review group chaired by Professor Tony Lavender has completed its work.
National Assessors are used for any appointments into consultant level posts (Band 8c and above).
The work has produced revised Guidance for National Assessors, Guidance for Employers, revised role descriptions, application forms and selection processes for the Chief, Speciality and Nation Leads and National Assessors.
The future operation of the Scheme will move from the DCP to the Practice Board.
Tony would like to thank the review group Linda Graham, Sheelagh Rodgers, Amra Rao (BPS/DCP), Tori Snell, Ruth Stocks (ACP-UK), Helen Barnett, Emma Smith and Lisa Howard (BPS) for their work on the review.
There have been meetings with the Lead National Assessors who will now oversee the operation of the Scheme and take forward the work of the review group with the support of the Practice Board (rather than the DCP) staff at the BPS.
A revised system is being introduced whereby employers seeking a National Assessor can either go to those Assessors with whom they have current relationships or directly to the National Assessor list or go to the BPS staff who, with the assistance of the Lead assessors, will find Assessors for the employer.
The system will also capture National Assessor activity. This system is currently being put in place and as soon as this work is completed the revised guidance and procedures will be launched.
Final checks are being made to ensure current Lead and National Assessors are able to continue
This process will make it clear the areas where new Lead and National Assessors are required.
Thus, rather than having an open call for new National Assessors a more targeted recruitment of new Lead and National will follow in the spring.
- Tony Lavender
We are very pleased to be able to announce that Eric Karas, a very experienced National Assessor, has been appointed to the role of interim Chief National Assessor.
The recommendation for the appointment was made by the Lead National Assessors and the Chair of ACP-UK and approved by Alison Clarke (Chair of the Practice Board).
The appointment is interim, as Eric wished to help with the relaunch of the Scheme and the eventual appointment of a Chief Assessor who would take up the appointment for the full three-year term.
The National Assessor scheme is used in providing External Psychology Assessors for appointments to Consultant posts (Band 8C and above) in Health and Social Care (and specific training/research posts within HEIs).
The National Assessor system and guidance documents have recently been reviewed and will shortly be published with relaunch of the Scheme.
We are about to embark on the recruitment of new National Assessors and any psychologists interested in making an application will be able to do this very shortly. We both thank and congratulate Eric in taking up this new role as Chief National Assessor.
There are three new HEE funded initiatives in this financial year.
More information should be available from your local HEE commissioner.
There was welcome news that agreement had been reached to continue to fund beyond March 2021 the NHSE/I Psychological Professions Leadership Team led by Adrian Whittington.
This meant the team could continue to take forward the programme of work that includes developing and evaluating the options regarding a future Chief Psychological Professions Officer, reviewing the involvement of Experts by Experience in the training of psychological professionals and working with NHS Digital to develop ways of recording and recognising the indirect work of psychological professionals.
The People Plan was published in July 2020 with a strong section on the mental health workforce, which set out the commitment to the 25% expansion of clinical psychology trainee numbers for the 2020/21 intake alongside significant expansion in the wider psychological workforce.
There is a very clear commitment, if money is made available in the spending review, to consolidate and increase this expansion in future years to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan. It is vital that the community responds positively to these developments which means courses adapting to larger numbers and services expanding the number of available supervisors and placements.
The National Psychological Professions Workforce Planning Group (NHSE/I HEE) has provided an important source of influence in the NHS on which the BPS/DCP is well represented.
Chaired by Adrian Whittington and Louisa Stuart it:
Approved clinician role: each region has been allocated money to fund the training and backfill for staff to occupy these roles. It is important for clinical psychologists to take up this opportunity and to find out the key HEE staff involved in this funding opportunity.
The national assessor system is about to be relaunched with revised guidelines, a new chief assessor and revised information for employers about the appointment of consultants. A check is being undertaken that existing national assessors wish to continue and there will be a call for new national assessors.
We urge clinical psychologists Band 8C and above to put themselves forward.
This National Stakeholder Group (established in April 2019) chaired by Adrian Whittington and Louisa Stewart (and on which the DCP have representatives in the form of Esther Cohen-Tovee and Tony Lavender) has established that the delivery of the NHS Plan will require an increase of 8,500 new psychological professions. The 25% increase in clinical psychologists in England provides a welcome but relatively small step in achieving the required numbers. It came just in time to deliver the increase for the 2020 intake which meant that some reserve list applicants were offered places immediately. It is not yet established that this increase will be maintained next year but we will be arguing strongly that it should and that there should be a further increase given the numbers required for the delivery of the NHS Plan.
There are moves across the four nations to establish a Chief Psychological Professions Officer (CPPO). In England the National Stakeholder Group received a paper outlining the options for developing such a role (to parallel the Chief Nurse and Chief Allied Health Professions Officer roles). A small leadership team accountable to NHSE/I and HEE will be funded from October 2020 to March 2021 but this is not permanent and needs further development and consolidation. In response to the options a joint letter explaining what is required has been sent from all the eight psychological professions’ organisations. The role is necessary if the psychological professions are to be closely involved in the development of policy and workforce plans rather than just being involved in providing responses to consultations. It would be part of such a role to ensure there was psychological leadership in all parts of the system. The DCP and the BPS policy leads alongside the other psychological professions organisations are playing a key role in this work.
The review of the National Assessor system is almost complete and new Guidelines have been written and shortly be published. National Assessors should be used for any appointments into consultant level posts (Band 8c and above). Over the summer a new Chief Assessor will be appointed, followed by appointments to the vacant Speciality and Nation Leads. There will be also be calls for new National Assessors (Band 8c and above) to ensure that we have sufficient Assessors to meet the demand from organisations to support their recruitment processes.
Building on the NHS Interim People Plan a people action plan has been published by NHSE/I in July 2021.
This Plan sets out actions for the leaders and staff in the short term but hopes to use the principals generated as part of building a sustainable future. It focuses on how staff must look after each other and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, as well as actions to grow and train the workforce, and work together differently to deliver patient care.
Central themes of this report are:
The plan sets out actions that employers and systems should take, as well as the actions that NHSEI and HEE will take. The focus is on:
The six Chapters expand on these themes and provide detailed actions expected. They are heavily influenced by the experience of delivering services during the pandemic.
It is colourfully presented with many photos of NHS staff (though, unfortunately, not any clinical psychologists).
In chapter 5 “Growing for the Future” the importance of expanding psychological services is stressed and increasing clinical psychology training places is included. This is to be welcomed although this is under the banner of mental health services rather than across the healthcare system.
Each local ICS is asked to develop a local People Plan in response to the national plan, to be reviewed by regional and system level People Boards. Employers are also encouraged to devise their own local People Plan and metrics will be developed by September 2020 with the intention to track progress using the NHS Oversight Framework.
The Plan is a further enhancement of the earlier Interim People Plan although still does not capture the importance of psychological services in helping to enable the transformation required.
It is important that Psychologists understand the plan and show locally and nationally how they can contribute to the actions outlined but also to a more deeply psychologically informed NHS.
The NHS plan, published on 7 January 2019, sets out key ambitions for the next 10 years.
In the following document Professor Tony Lavender, Chair of the DCP Workforce & Training Sub-Committee, provides commentary and feedback on the content of the plan's seven chapters.
The Health Education England Staff and Learners’ Mental Wellbeing Commission report pledges to provide better mental health and wellbeing support for NHS staff and learners as part of its ‘workforce implementation plan.
Dr Amra Rao, Chair of the DCP Leadership and Management Faculty, has summarised the key themes and implications of the report in the following document:
There is currently a consultation on the Clinical Associate Psychologist Degree Apprenticeship Standards.
Tony Lavender, chair of the DCP Workforce and Training Sub-Committee, and Gary Latchford, co-chair of the Group of Trainers in Clinical Psychology, have written a briefing paper on the DCP’s view of the issues that need to be addressed, which will inform Members when responding to the consultation.
This document provides detailed feedback regarding each training course for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Trainees provide qualitative and quantitative feedback each year about their course experience, offering prospective trainees an alternative perspective to The Clearing House website (where applications are made).
This document provides useful information and advice to supporting trainees and other pre-qualified clinicians working with children, young people, and their families.
The Group of Trainers in Clinical Psychology (GTiCP) is a network for colleagues involved in delivering training programmes in clinical psychology across the UK.
It provides a forum for discussion and debate of matters of strategic importance to clinical psychology training, as well as more practical and operational support to those involved in different aspects of training delivery.
There are seperate groups for academic tutors, clinical tutors, research tutors, service users and carers. They usually meet at each GTiCP meeting and the annual conference.
These groups also have their own email discussion lists.
To be added to one (or more) of these lists please email Helen Barnett
The Division of Clinical Psychology, Group of Trainers in Clinical Psychology are calling for statement of interests.
The deadline for submitting an statement of interest form is now closed.
Elections will be formally ratified at the next Committee meeting for Division of Clinical Psychology, Group of Trainers in Clinical Psychology on Tuesday 9 February 2021
If you have any queries regarding submitting an statement of interest please email Member Network Services
The GTiCP Programme Directors Sub-group is committed to ensuring that all members of the clinical psychology training community feel welcome and included and can learn and work free from the insidious and harmful effects of racism and other forms of discrimination.
The Division of Clinical Psychology publicly recognises and supports the unique and valued contribution that lived experience of mental health difficulties brings to individuals working within clinical psychology.
When lived experience is actively valued in aspiring, trainee and qualified clinical psychologists, it can help to enrich practice and improve service provision.
This document has been produced as guidance for the clinical psychology training community in order to increase the likelihood that trainees who experience mental health difficulties will be well supported.
Another central aim in producing this guidance was to recognise that mental health difficulties are just as common among mental health professionals and those in training as they are in the general population, and to challenge the silence, stigma and shame that often surrounds mental health difficulties.
The society also provides more general resources and information to help further your career in psychology on its Become a Psychologist page.
The information on offer includes details and advice about: