Children, Young People and Families Network Bulletin

Ellie Atkins and Sam Walker
April 27, 2022

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Dear all,

In this bulletin, some thoughts and resources re Ukraine, our new perinatal/Neonatal group, our next committee meeting and upcoming lunchtime event on ASD/LD.

This month we’ve been thinking particularly about the babies, children and young people, and their families, caught up in the war in Ukraine and all around the world. Please do see the ACP statement too. There have been some incredibly distressing images of neonatal doctors working in basements, injured or fleeing children & families and the maternity hospital bombings. The war in Ukraine which is being so widely covered also sheds light on those suffering in other conflicts that are perhaps less known about or yesterday’s news.

I remember vividly the weeks leading up to the national Lockdown due to coronavirus in March 2020. I felt incredibly helpless in the face of rising case numbers and equally rising panic. In the hospital where I worked it was all we talked about. How could we cope with the coming onslaught? I was desperate to do something helpful but completely at a loss as to what I could do. How could I do something which helped people? Where could I make a difference? I was struck by the adage I heard then ‘when you feel helpless, help others’. It occurred to me that what I could do was share my psychological knowledge about dealing with feelings. That I had something small to offer other people. We talk in Clinical Psychology about ‘putting your head above the parapet’. In the context of the current war, I’m not sure that’s the most helpful phrase but it means stepping outside our comfort zone or taking a risk using our training and experience. I felt like I was taking a risk, writing webinars and putting videos out on you tube. I hoped I didn’t get anything wrong, hoped no one thought I was being too arrogant or that the webinars were just generally unhelpful. I’m sure some people did think that, but other people said how helpful they found them. It was a small thing but it was something.

Now, we find ourselves in a similar position again. As we watch the news footage of refugees and injured Ukrainians we feel helpless. How can I do something which can help in this geopolitical crisis? I’m really reminded of that poem, by Martin Niemöller which reminds us we all have a duty to speak out against injustice. I come back again to thinking I can do what I know. As Clinical Psychologists working with CYPF, we can share our knowledge about what is helpful. I’m reminded of a presentation some trainees did when we asked them ‘Do Clinical Psychologists have a duty to change the world?’. The trainee’s conclusion was a resounding ‘yes’ but not because we are Clinical Psychologists, but because we are people with the education, resources and skills to make a positive difference and because it’s the right thing to do.

So here are some resources you may find helpful. Please do send us others you think would be useful for others in the network to know about.

Thanks to Natalie Briant for collating some of these.

If you want to do something else, there’s also this scheme:

https://www.gov.uk/register-interest-homes-ukraine

and I am sure there will be many roles for us supporting CYPF who do come to the UK, again both as Clinical Psychologists and as people ensuring that all those we work with are safeguarded, protected and supported. If you already work supporting CYPF refugees or those processing the trauma of war do let us know as we’d be keen to put an event on.

In other news, we are planning our next committee meeting on Tuesday 26th April at 2pm. Please do join us if you’re interested to hear more about the work we’re doing in the network, or would like to get more involved. We’re a small group but al want to see the network developing to support us all and develop our work. Here is the link – feel free to join us, even just to see what we’re working on. We’re also keen on finding someone to manage a twitter account so if you fancy doing this (perhaps as a job-share or on a rota basis) do please come to the meeting or let us know.

We are in the process of developing a perinatal and neonatal group within the CYPF network. We’ve been approached by BAPM (British association of perinatal medicine) to formally recognise the skills we have in this area. (See Mike Wang’s comments on this in our recent email update from the ACP). We’ve also worked with the ACP and colleagues from Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care to write a statement on parental presence and family visiting on our wards, something which has been severely curtailed by the pandemic. Please see the statement on the website and re-tweet our tweets on this. This statement also has DCP backing and will be send to trusts in the hope that they will change their policies. We’d like to do more work like this. If there is an area you feel passionate about please do talk with us. We want Clinical Psychology, and particularly those working with CYPF, to have a voice nationally.

We have a programme of lunchtime events coming up. These are meetings to have discussions around a particular topic. Someone will chair and lead the discussion. Please do come if you can. You are welcome to bring your lunch.

28^th April 2022 at 12pm talking about increase in referrals and diagnosis of LD/ASD/ADHD and how we respond lead by Natalie Briant and Georgie Barnes.

In May we will be thinking about the forest school approach lead by Sam Walker.

If you have a topic we should be talking about, let us know.

On a reflective note, it continues to feel like the ground is shifting under our feet. Rising covid rates, new booster jabs, a new war, continuing to work in hybrid ways. We are still far from the ‘new normal’ we will eventually attain. Given this, take care of yourselves in these turbulent times. Seek out support which nourishes and energises you. Find times to rest and reset. Hold on to hope that life will be more settled eventually. Being there for others involves also being there for yourself.

Best wishes

Ellie and Sam