What is the ACP-UK Member Network for Staff Health and Wellbeing?
We are delighted to tell you about the member network for Staff Health and Wellbeing. This network was established in January 2021, largely in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic has shone a light on the importance of the wellbeing of staff working in health and social care, and the various ways in which this can be affected. This has resulted in a rapid, and welcome, increase in the number of Clinical Psychologists working in the field of staff support and this network offers a platform for members to: share best practice; provide and receive peer support; collaborate on research projects and disseminate guidance and publications.
We welcome qualified members at any stage of their career and greatly value the contribution of non-qualified members (e.g. Assistant Psychologists, Research Assistants and Trainee Clinical Psychologists). We meet as a whole network via video every three months; however the network has several sub-groups which meet in the interim. Currently these sub-groups focus on:
- Systemic and community psychology issues in the field of staff health and wellbeing
- Overcoming barriers to accessing staff support
- The experiences of those providing staff support
- Providing support on a team level
- Shielding/redeployed staff groups
- Evaluation and monitoring
- Sharing best practice between service leads
- Peer support
In March 2021 we hosted our first Webinar ‘Psychologically-informed staff support interventions: showcasing the work of clinical psychologists during the pandemic’, which was well attended and generated some stimulating discussions. Our next Webinar is organised in collaboration with colleagues in the member networks for Clinical Health Psychology and Children, Young People and Families and is entitled ‘Compassion and Self-care for Staff who are Parents and Carers’. It will take place on the 16th July 2021 (Compassion and Self-care for Staff who are Parents and Carers (acpuk.org.uk) will be facilitated by Dr Mary Welford, a founding member of the Compassionate Mind Foundation. We hope it will prove to be a welcome opportunity for attendees to reflect on their own wellbeing, as well as the wellbeing of those they support personally and professionally.
We look forward to keeping you updated on the progress of our burgeoning network and invite people to express their interest in joining the network by emailing [email protected].
