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