Clinical Lead for Therapy, Dr Mary Welford to hold event on integrating CFT with familiar CBT approaches

Dr Mary Welford, founding member and chair of the Compassionate Mind Foundation will lead the training session, How to integrate Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) within familiar CBT approaches on 19th February (2.30-4.30pm) at the Guildhall, Saltash. You can find out more by emailing samantha.hastings@psychologyassociates.org.uk or visit our training & events page http://www.psychologyassociates.org.uk/training/events.aspx to download the flyer. The cost for the training is £20.00

The Adandoned Illness - a report by the Schizophrenia Commission

The Schizophrenia Commission have today published their latest report; the abandoned illness.

 The report demonstrates the need for more intervention early on and that psychological therapies such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can significantly help individuals who suffer with psychosis and other symptoms of mental health.

With Schizophrenia affecting more than 220,000 people in England alone this means that one in six people will have symptoms of psychosis, such as hallucinations, at some stage of their lives - it remains crucially important that we help and continue to raise awareness of what types of support is available.

The full report can be read here - http://www.schizophreniacommission.org.uk/the-report/

The latest publication for family justice professionals' by the Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre

Last month saw the publication of a great research review by the Childhood Wellbeing Research Centre. It's called 'Decision-making within a child’s timeframe: An overview of current research evidence for family justice professionals concerning child development and the impact of maltreatment'.

The review brings together key research evidence in the field of child development and attachment and links this with research on time-scales, highlighting a mismatch between children's developmental needs and the delays often experienced in achieving permanence.

There are really useful summary tables detailing things such as, factors associated with future harm to children; the importance of relationships and attachment in shaping the developing brain; key time-frames for brain development; and the impact of abuse and neglect.

The document is written for Family Justice Professionals, but will be of interest to anyone keen to know more about the latest research in these areas.

The review is available in full on-line:
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/CWRC-00117-2012.pdf

Dr Emma Greatbatch
Senior Clinical Psychologist

Christmas comes early…

We would like to invite all of our clients to a FREE SRA accredited CPD training event this Christmas.

The 2 hour CPD event will be taking place on Tuesday 11^th December, 5.30pm – 7.30pm at the Guildhall in Saltash, Cornwall.

 Our Managing Director, Dr Sue Candy will be presenting the event; demystifying the psychological expert where she will be helping you to understand;

·         Judging the quality of your expert - ‘separating the wheat from the chaff’

·         The difference between a psychologist, a psychiatrist or a counsellor

·         Cross examination issues in respect to psychometric assessments

·         The key psychological constructs

We also invite you to join us for wine, cheese and biscuits before the training from 4.30pm at our offices directly opposite the Guildhall.

Limited places are available so please book early by emailing samantha.hastings@psychologyassociates.org.uk

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

 

 

Adoptive parents’ feedback group

Our Child and Parenting team are inviting adoptive parents the opportunity to join their new feedback group.

The idea of the group is that parents and psychologists can team up to share ideas and opinions on the kind of support we could usefully offer to adoptive families.

As a practice we have been involved in working with adoptive families for a long time through doing assessments and providing therapy and consultation. We hope that these feedback groups will allow us to provide even more support to adopted children and their families by finding out exactly how we can help.

If you were part of the group you would receive occasional emails from us, sharing with you our ideas about what we might be able to offer and requesting your thoughts and ideas on this, as well as any other suggestions you might have.

There may be occasional opportunities to meet together as a group to share ideas and to discuss developments in our service, but there would be no obligation to attend any such get togethers.

As a token of thanks for your input to our service, you would also receive a discount on attendance at our training events.

If you are interested in getting involved or if you have any questions please contact Samantha.hastings@psychologyassociates.org.uk

There will be a limited number of places in our parents' feedback group so do get back to us as soon as you can if you're interested.

Food for thought...

The Irony Of The Rat Race

A fishing boat docked in a tiny Mexican village and an American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

"Not very long," answered the fisherman.

"But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American.

The fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.

The American asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife.  In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs... I have a full life."

The American interrupted, "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!   You should start by fishing longer every day.   You can then sell the extra fish you catch.   With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.   With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.   Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.   You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City!   From there you can direct your huge enterprise."

"How long would that take?" asked the fisherman.

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? That's when it gets really interesting," answered the American. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fisherman.

The American replied, "After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village on the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends!" 

External CPD Events in Bristol, Plymouth and Truro

If you are a solicitor or legal professional in the South West we have just added 3 SRA accredited CPD events to our training calendar which maybe of interest.

 Dr Maxine Tostevin, our Clinical Lead for Child and Parenting, will be presenting on ‘the psychological impact of domestic abuse on children’ in Plymouth, Bristol and Truro on the following dates:

Monday 12^th November 2012, 4.45pm – 6.30pm at the Council House in Bristol

Friday 16^th November 2012, 8.15am – 10am at the Hall for Cornwall, Truro

Friday 23^rd November 2012, 8.15am – 10am at the Jury’s Inn Hotel, Plymouth 

The events will provide an overview of the latest developments in contemporary research into the impact, both psychologically and neurologically, on children growing up in domestically abusive environment.

We have a limited number of places available at these event so please book early and the price is just £15 + VAT per person.

To book please contact Samantha.hastings@psychologyassociates.org.uk or call 0845 026 7260

Mental health issues for children who are fostered or adopted – workshop 26th September 2012

Our latest Fostering and Adoption workshop focusing on ‘mental health issues for children who are fostered or adopted’ took place yesterday morning at Exeter Racecourse. The event was lead by our Director of Child and Parenting Services, Dr Maxine Tostevin, and Senior Clinical Psychologist, Dr Emma Greatbatch.

Emma and Maxine used the 3 hour session to define mental health problems for children (explaining how they differ from other difficulties) and also to look at what happens in the brains of children during their early development.

They also explored a number of particular issues that children who are fostered or adopted are faced with, such as development disorders and some of the problems people experience in accessing support services.

The workshop allowed us a fantastic opportunity to meet with social workers from organisations such as Five Rivers Child Care, Pathway Care and Barnados, as well independent social workers and local authorities from all around the south west.

We were delighted to read the responses and comments from the morning. Feedback and requests for additional training about ‘PACE’ and for us to run the workshop as a full day event were greatly received. Comments like these are integral to our training team as we use it to shape the future sessions which we offer.

This event really was just an insight into the complex area of fostered and adopted children and in our half day session it was only possible to give an overview of the issues. We do however have many other sessions on our agenda, including some smaller focused workshops. We therefore encourage everyone to keep an eye on our website which we update regularly with up and coming training and events.

Thank you again to everyone who attended and we look forward to meeting you again soon!

 

Dr Mary Welford, Chair of the Compassionate Mind Foundation joins Psychology Associates to lead the new Therapy Centre

Dr Mary Welford, a founding member of the Compassionate Mind Foundation joins Psychology Associates as the Clinical Lead for Therapy.  Her previous role was as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist for the NHS, Greater Manchester working within a Community Mental Health Team and across a range of research projects. 

Mary is currently the Chair of the Compassionate Mind Foundation and has been involved with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) for many years, in various roles including Branch Liaison Officer, Magazine Editor and European Scientific Committee Member.

Clinically, Mary aims to understand the difficulties people often experience in light of evolutionary, social, developmental and neurophysiological psychology. The approach she uses in individual, group and systemic work is predominantly Compassion Focused Therapy though she also practices a ‘warmed up’ version of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, and Meta-Cognitive Therapy along with other approaches.

When asked about her move to Psychology Associates, Dr Mary Welford said “most therapists enter their profession because they are motivated to alleviate distress. Maybe they have experienced difficulties themselves or have seen those around them struggle.  Both are true for me. Having subsequently worked in the NHS for 20 years I have been privileged to work with people who have amazing courage in the face of profound difficulties. Thankfully I have seen how individuals can transform their lives”.

Mary added “However I have also realized that changing systems and the wider society is often a slow, if not impossible, process and I have found this personally very difficult.  As such I have decided to get off the train I was on, where I was a small voice in a huge organisation and get on a different one. The opportunity to develop a new therapy centre at Psychology Associates is really exciting. My role here is starting to evolve and I have a lot of ideas; I feel hopeful that I can still abide by my original aim – to alleviate distress – but maybe this time on a much larger scale”. 

Dr Mary Welford will be developing the Therapy Centre from Psychology Associates Cornish practice whilst continuing to speak at various events and seminars across Europe. Details of where Mary is presenting are available on Psychology Associates website.

Child Care Law and Practice Conference 2012

Our Clinical Lead for Child and Parenting Dr Maxine Tostevin will be delivering a training session at the next Child Care Law and Practice Conference in London on 10th October 2012.

 

The event is targeted at all child care practitioners and Maxine will be presenting on ‘Maltreatment in Babies'.  

Find out more about the conference here http://www.clt.co.uk/brochures/CF99094.pdf

Dementia Care Mapping introduced on World Alzheimer's Day

Today, on World Alzheimer's Day we have introduced a highly specialised tool called Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) which can provide dementia patients in residential settings with an improved level of care throughout their experience of dementia, and increase the effectiveness at which staff are able to interact with them.

Our Dementia Care Mapping tool is a method designed to evaluate and understand the quality of care provided from the perspective of the person with dementia.  

It involves using;

·     expert observation of a number of people with dementia, their experience of care and their interactions with staff; in terms of behaviour and well-being.

·     providing a clear report, and balanced objective feedback.

·     this can lead to further staff training on their interactions and provision of care.

Dr Neil Matson is a consultant Clinical Psychologist at our practice who has specialist DCM training. He is experienced in delivering this work, and in supporting staff teams and people with dementia. 

This service can help residential care home staff to improve the level of dementia care they provide by:

·      helping understand the patient and maintain their individual ‘personhood’

·      reducing the chance of displacement

·      reducing the chance of behavioural distress

·      working with staff teams to increase empathy and job satisfaction

·      decreasing stress

Report on Neuropsychology CPD day, by our Clinical Director for Neuropsychology, Dr Steven Roundhill

I attended one of the Division of Neuropsychology’s regular CPD events on 14^th September. The day was an interesting look into various psychological therapies being used with people with acquired neurological disorders. It was really well attended, impeccably run, and as with most good CPD seemed to raise lots of things to consider, as it felt like another day was needed just to discuss the issues evolving. Due to the packed nature of the programme the brief plenary at the end couldn’t hope to fully answer questions about the presentations let alone offer much opportunity for debate.

From the brief points that were aired it was evident that the threats we are all facing in both the NHS and the independent sector need broad discussion and planning around at this kind of Division, Faculty, SIG, or network level. As well as issues of maintaining standards of professionalism in a changing employment landscape it feels like there may be increasing constraints on what we can actually offer our clients, with commissioners necessarily having a close eye on evidenced practice and outcome data. I wonder if the forums we engage with, whether formal or informal, are going to be quick enough off the mark and sufficiently coherent to address these issues before the ‘solution’ is handed down to us and we all just have to get on with  it.

Anyway, climbing off my soapbox a minute (but probably not for long I warn you...), what was most encouraging about the day was the evident sophistication of the therapeutic models and techniques in use by neuropsychologists, and the reflective and open nature of the audience. This CPD day was a refreshing acknowledgment of the importance of good therapy in acquired brain dysfunction, and certainly no dry convening of neuro test-bashers!

The topics were ride ranging in nature, easily fulfilling the ‘across the lifespan’ aspirations of many CPD programmes these days. We had information on working with children and families with web-based interventions and in paediatric intensive care, through to using Compassion Focussed Therapy for people living with dementia. Similarly the range of ways therapeutic relationships may develop and inform interventions was highlighted. This was most evident in the seeming disparity between one talk that advocated the therapeutic uses of text messages and another that gave insight in to the mirco-anaylsis of non-verbal signals in short term psychodynamic interventions.

One thing that raised a wry smile for me, working at Psychology Associates where often there is an Attachment Theory orientation, was the use of Attachment models in working neuropsychologically. I’ve had the view that in the last few years that Attachment research and theory has increasingly emphasised neurological and neuropsychological foundations...using ‘hard biological science’ to offer a compelling slant on the application of broader psychological theory...and here we had neuropsychology clinicians now turning to Attachment to inform their work with adult survivors of brain injury. How refreshing is that?!

[n.b. climbing back onto soapbox now]

Working as both an Expert Witness offering medicolegal reports, and as a therapist working with clients, families, case managers, and multidisciplinary teams, it seems to me that there increasingly needs to be this kind of emphasis on interventions rather than assessing and reporting. Or rather, there has always been the need for this kind of emphasis but that historically neuropsychology has neglected it (with some notable exceptions of course).

It will be important also to inform the practise of neuropsychology with other therapeutic models, and to persuade the people instructing us in work that non-neuropsychologists have so much to offer neuropsychology clients. Often it is the case that an expert Neuropsychology report recommends intervention by a neuropsychologist only for the case managers to have difficulty finding qualified neuropsychologists to take up regular therapeutic input. The initial assumption that neuropsychologists need to be the ones doing the neuropsychological intervention may need to be questioned, especially when it transpires is that what would be of most benefit to the client is a systemic approach or coupe’s work rather than cognitive rehabilitation. We need to be working together on this, across traditional clinical distinctions, not only to offer these vulnerable clients the best service we can, but often to offer them any kind of psychology service at all.

More on this to come!

Stephen

Clinical Lead for Neuropsychology

Nurturing Children's Empathy

In her recent article ‘Nurturing Children’s Empathy’ Michele Borba speaks about the importance of helping Children learn to feel for others. Michele suggests 3 ways that parents can help develop this trait.

The short article, featured on Scoop It, can be read here:

http://www.scoop.it/t/empathy-and-compassion/p/2681924123/nurturing-children-s-empathy?_tmc=NPba5JT6H_EIwQGyVnqV9jKgpVdtJiiuofkrOCea85s

Do you have experience of helping your child to understand how others are feeling? If so, please let us know by commenting on this blog post.

World Suicide Prevention Day

Psychology Associates have today been supporting World Suicide Prevention Day by helping to spread important messages to our online communities. 

World Suicide Prevention Day is organised by the World Health Organsiation in a bid to prevent the number of suicides across the globe.

Have a look at the online video ‘U Can Cope’ launched today, which has been produced by Connecting with People - http://www.connectingwithpeople.org/
 

You can also show you support by helping them to raise awareness of their invaluable messages by giving them a retweet @UcanCope using hashtag #WSPD
 

Good work!

Mental health issues for children who are Fostered or Adopted workshop

We are pleased to announce our next Fostering & Adoption workshop is taking place on Wednesday 26^th September, between 10am and 1pm, at Exeter Race Course.

This half day workshop will focus on mental health issues for children who are fostered or adopted.

The event has been designed solely for all those working with, or caring for children, who have been removed from their birth parents. The cost is £15.00 +vat. 

Our Clinical Psychologist Dr Emma Greatbatch will be spending the morning giving an overview of the different mental health issues, as well as discussing the differences between mental health difficulties and the effects of trauma. We aim to support you by making you aware of some of the key things to look out for which may indicate the need for specialist intervention.

For further information please download our event flyer here or contact samantha.hastings@psychologyassociates.org.uk to book your place. 

Read this inspiring blog…

At our annual conference ‘The Mind and the Heart of the other’ with Dan Hughes, Graham Music & Colwyn Trevarthen last week we met some truly inspiring people working in, and with children in care as well as some wonderful & exceptional Foster Carers and Adoptive Parents. One of those Adoptive parents writes a brilliant and honest blog about her journey with her children. Please have a read…

http://www.sallydonovan.net/

BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour features Dr Kelly Camilleri

We are very pleased to announce that our very own Dr Kelly Camilleri will be speaking this morning on BBC Radio 4's Women's hour.

She will be discussing the challenges parents of children with disabilities experience in “letting go” and helping them gain independence in adulthood. This is part of the BBCs series on Disability.

Tune in today at 10am. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01d12nt

We wanted to share a new blog one of our Associates, Dr Emily Brooks has just discovered...
The BPS Research Digest bps-research-digest.blogspot.com. This is an award winning blog which reports on the latest research across all fields of psychology in an accessible format. Really easy to navigate, It allows you to search previous posts by key word, and provides links to research projects which are not included in the blog but which may be of interest.

Take a look at the specials section which has other interesting and,sometimes, light hearted features. We liked the responses of some of the world's leading psychologists to the title One nagging thing you still don't understand about yourself. Tell us what you think?

Happy reading.

This makes for an interesting read... the Government is looking into changing the law in relation to ‘Shared Parenting’ with both parents when parents separate to ensure that children can benefit from having a relationship with both parents.  There is some conflict in this move with the government’s Family Justice Review which presented an argument against this.  Listen to the radio 4 interview with Ken Clarke at http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9693000/9693357.stm .