The Complex Mental Health Network developed in 2019, please see more information about our committee here. Our vision as a network is ‘To promote, psychologically and trauma informed ways of understanding and working with complex mental health issues – a whole person approach’. We provide an outline of some of the activities of the network last year, and some of out thoughts about the focus for work in 2022 – 2023 in our Network Plan.

Complex Mental Health Network Activity Update 2021 – 2022

Briefing Paper: Psychological Services within the Acute Adult Mental Health Care Pathway: Guidelines for Commissioners and Managers

• A number of members were involved with BPS colleagues from the Psychosis Complex Mental Health Faculty in developing guidelines for Acute Adult Mental Health Services
• The guidelines span Mental Health Liaison Services, Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Teams and Adult Mental Health Acute Inpatient Services.
• A well attended launch event was held online in November 2021
• The guidelines are available here

UCL Core Competency Guidelines for Acute Inpatient Services

• The network has been represented in the development of competency guidelines for staff working into Acute Inpatient Mental Health Services
• Wood, L., Williams, C. & Roth, A. (2022) Competency Framework Acute Mental Health Inpatient Settings. Available from the end of March 2022 here

National Clinical Audit of Psychosis

• ACP has continued to be represented in the National Clinical Audit of Psychosis through the network

ACP-UK Mental Health Act Reform White Paper Consultation Response

• The network led on the ACP response to the national consultation on the Mental Health Act in 2021. Our submission to the government was informed by discussion with a number of psychologists with significant experience of working as Approved Clinicians and integrated the views of members from an online survey.
• The ACP response is available here

Concerns about the High Intensity Network (HIN) and Serenity Integrated Mentoring (SIM)

• Concerns were raised on social media about the High Intensity Network (HIN) and Serenity Integrated Mentoring.
• We responded in May 2021 by highlighting some of the concerns raised, for example the limited evaluation linked to the expansion of the project, and the way psychological principles are being used clinically. We also sought information from the programme lead to provide some context. Finally we made some recommendations for an independent review and signposted further information.
• The response is available here

Professional Practice Guidelines for Clinical Psychologists Working with Trauma-related Dissociation

• The network is leading the development of professional practice guidelines for working with complex, trauma-related dissociation. This work is being co-led by Helena Crockford, and Melanie Goodwin, First Person Plural Expert by Experience.
• The work is being co-developed with experts by experience, and a broad range of stakeholders.
• It is hoped the guidelines will be published in 2023.
• Contact Helena (email: [email protected]) to find out more or how to become involved.

Quality Network Working Age Adult Inpatient Royal College of Psychiatry

• The network represented Clinical Psychology at a review meeting about the AIMS accreditation standards for Acute Inpatient Services in January 2022 with the project team.
• We added comments about ‘lead clinicians’ rather than consultant psychiatrists, ensuring a more holistic model of inpatient care, emphasis on involvement in decision making throughout treatment, involvement with carers and important others in people’s lives, and supporting connections with other services and community resources, e.g. community services, recovery colleges.

Team Formulation Discussion Paper for Clinical Psychologists

The network has been working with other ACP networks to develop a discussion paper for Clinical Psychologists on team formulation. The work has been co-chaired by an Expert by Experience and involved engagement with psychologists and Experts by Experience from Adult Mental Health, Older Adult, Children and Young People’s Services, Secure Care, Intellectual Disabilities and Clinical Health. It is hoped this will help good practice principles put forward in the document to be helpful across a number of clinical pathways. While we hope the discussion paper will be published soon, a launch event is planned for the September 2022.

Network Updates and Meetings

We developed network webpage in 2021 and had a network event in July 2021, as well as the Acute Guidelines launch event. We have a quarterly network events planned for 2022.

Network Meeting 6th April 09.00 – 11.00 with presentations on A Competency Framework for Adult Mental Health Inpatient Services, Lisa Wood, Associate Professor, University College London, Principal Clinical Psychologist, North East London NHS Foundation Trust. Also on Guidelines for Understanding and Working with Dissociation, an Opportunity for Coproduction by Helena Crockford, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Member CMHN & Iris Benson, MBE, Expert by Experience View Event Flyer

Restrictive Practice and Human Rights what can Adult Mental Health Services learn? Monday 20th June 14.30 – 17.00. Presentations will be given by Iris Benson, MBE, Expert by Experience, AHP Improvement Lead for Mersey Care, and a Trustee for Bild/ACT. Dr Andrew Hider, Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, Clinical Director, Approved Clinician, Ludlow Street Healthcare. Professor Edwin Jones, Positive Behavioural Support PBS Strategic Lead, Bild. David O’Brien, Senior Improvement Manager, Learning Disability Improvement Public Health Wales Public Health Wales – 1000 Lives Improvement Unit View Event Flyer

Team Formulation Launch Event – September (date TbC).

Network Meeting Monday 12^th December 15.00 – 17.00. Please let us know what topic you would like the meeting to focus on. We wondered about Trauma Informed Care, or Community transformation, new psychology roles (MPAC, CAPs, TAPS, Mental Health Wellbeing Practitioners).

Committee Opportunities

Being part of the Complex Mental Health Network committee brings opportunities to develop a network of colleagues interested in complex mental health. It enables people to be part of responding to the development of national guidance and to promote psychology within health care settings nationally. We have been pleased to welcome Erin Beale as our trainee and research representative and Andrea Davies as our representative for Wales. We would welcome expressions of interest in the following roles and would be happy to have informal discussions to provide more information. Please contact us through [email protected]

We are seeking representatives for

• Scotland and Northern Ireland.
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Community Mental Health Services
• Crisis Teams/Mental Health Liaison Services
• Psychosis and EIP
• University/DClin Psychology and academic
• Ordinary Committee Member

We have a twitter account and would love to hear from you. Get in touch with us at @ukcmhn