South West of England Branch

Hello and welcome to the South West of England Branch.

The branch represents over 3,600 psychologists and stretches from Bristol in the north to Cornwall and the islands of Jersey and Guernsey in the south.

I am delighted to say that our committee has Hubs representing all these areas so you will not be too far away from a local group.

We are keen on collaboration in the south-west working with the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP), and the Division of Coaching Psychology (DCoP) in the South West and with neighbouring branches in Wessex, West Midlands, Wales and further afield in the North East of England.

As a group all the branches communicate through a Branches Forum.

I joined the branch in February 2019 when I moved from Sheffield to Devon. I became chair in November 2019.

We have a lively branch that is keen to be involved in a wide range of psychological activities. For example, following our successful gathering focusing on poverty in January 2021 (see South West Review Spring 2021) we are planning our next multidisciplinary event for 2022.

The branch reviews its activities at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) and our next AGM is scheduled for Wednesday 17 November 2021. As a BPS member you will receive an invitation to this event.

We are seeking new committee members at the AGM so please get in touch through links in our e-newsletter to find out more about the roles available

Over the last 12 months we have been developing a strategy for the support of psychologists in the south-west featuring forward planning, engagement, and empowerment.

These facets guide our activities and over these pages you will see the things we are doing:

• supporting young people to learn about psychology in schools and colleges
• helping undergraduates and postgraduates build their knowledge and practice
• enabling continuous professional development for all grades of psychologists
• collaborating and supporting activities in our communities.

• Student Experience are working with schools, colleges, and universities to increase student membership and engagement, and to collaborate with psychology teachers and lecturers. Key aims are to: raise awareness of student and teacher benefits, including available bursaries; bring together BPS student representatives to make the role more meaningful; and encourage progression from A level/GCSE psychology to further study and career.

• Career Development continues to support psychologists in their career journey after leaving higher education on to developing as senior members of their applied speciality. The group aims to foster and support expertise across a range of applied areas of speciality; supporting continuous professional development. This group is developing a career mentoring and coaching community – see LINK TO CAREER PAGE

• Community Outreach has been established to work with local communities promoting the value and use of psychology. Its aim is to join with other community groups and organisations to sustain and develop initiatives aimed at public support and development.

Our Hubs operate in the following geographic areas:

• Bath
• Bristol
• Guernsey
• Jersey
• Plymouth
• Truro

Prior to the Covid-19 restrictions Hubs presented face-to-face interactions for members.

With these meetings no longer possible we are working on virtual interactions to engage members in these areas and have several new activities coming up in 2021.