This session will provide an insight into the Clinical Associate in Psychology group, which was established to develop roles within the wider psychological workforce. The CAP role was established to offer a masters level training to psychology graduates allowing them entry into the workforce and able to practice autonomously with appropriate support, working within their scope of practice, under the supervision of a registered applied psychologist.
The employment of CAPs within the psychological workforce also offers the opportunity to build greater diversity within the psychological workforce, with fewer barriers to prospective candidates from disadvantaged and minority backgrounds. A Masters-level role with an apprenticeship-training route is likely to be accessible to a wider group of applicants including service users. This session will invite guest speakers from the CAP Trailblazers group, on the GTiCAP, and those in training, who will speak about the role, the background and developments in this workforce.
| Name | Organisation | Job title |
|---|---|---|
|
Natalie Billing |
Careers Team - BPS |
Careers Manager |
|
Tulsi Hirani |
Ealing MINT Psychology
West London NHS Trust |
Clinical Associate of Psychology |
|
Ravinder Rana |
East London NHS Foundation Trust/ CAP Trailblazer group |
Consultant Clinical Psychologist |
|
Greg Wood |
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust/ CAP Trailblazer group |
Clinical Director of Psychological Services |
|
Peter Keohane |
University of Plymouth/ GTiCAP |
Associate Professor and CAP Programme Director |
|
Paul
Fisher
|
University of East Anglia/ GtiCAP |
Clinical Associate Professor and CAP programme Director |
Attendees at this session will be able to engage in 3 different round table discussions to bring together different perspectives around psychology students gaining work experience.
Across Europe, psychology students face many challenges to gaining relevant work experience in their chosen field of psychology, including availability of opportunities, navigating the confidential nature of psychological work and the ability to fund unpaid placement opportunities.
We are going to host three round table discussions where psychological professionals, those with an interest in placement opportunities (university staff, placement providers) and students can come together and discuss some of these broader challenges and hopefully begin some cross-European dialogue around the topic. Although this session does not have a specific aim, we would like to use it to foster dialogue around work experience and placements in psychology. We hope that registrants will come away with a shared understanding of the challenges faced by students and placement providers and feel motivated to continue this discussion outside of the Congress, so that barriers could be reduced to students attaining placements.
| Name | Organisation | Job title |
|---|---|---|
|
Natalie Billing |
Careers Team - BPS |
Careers Manager |
|
Vicky Raynard |
University of Sussex |
Careers Consultant |
|
Susan Sullivan |
University of Sussex |
Senior Psychology Lecturer & Lead for the Psychology Professional Placement scheme |
|
Dr Helen
Johnson
|
University of Brighton |
Principal Psychology Lecturer |
|
Eleanor
Duncan
|
Student Committee BPS |
Chair of Student Committee for the BPS |
This session will give an insight into the Student Ambassador programme, which was set up in 2021 by the BPS Careers Team, to recruit volunteer students from across UK universities to represent the BPS and encourage engagement with membership and a career in psychology. Since starting, the programme has been rolled out across all four nations of the UK and is made up of a core group of 135 students. As part of this session, we have invited one of our Student Ambassadors to present on their experience and share some of the work they have been doing. Although only in its first year, the programme has already seen the team grow better relationships with universities, contribute to a variety of careers events and strengthen relationships between our regional branches and students and universities in their region.
| Name | Organisation | Job title |
|---|---|---|
|
Natalie Billing |
Careers Team - BPS |
Careers Manager |
|
Harmeet
Kaur
|
Careers Team - BPS |
Careers Officer |
|
Charlotte
Ward
|
BPS Student Ambassador - Nottingham Trent University |
BPS Student Ambassador |
|
Monika
Pallai
|
BPS Student Ambassador - Anglia Ruskin University |
BPS Student Ambassador |
|
Vlad
Makar
|
BPS Student Ambassador - University of Leicester |
BPS Student Ambassador |
|
Tahani
Baldwin
|
BPS Student Ambassador - University of Birmingham |
BPS Student Ambassador |
The British Psychological Society (BPS) Wider Psychological Workforce Register is an accredited register of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Registration with the Wider Psychological Workforce Register demonstrates a psychological professional’s commitment to their area of practice and demonstrates that they have the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to practice. They are part of a professional community that works to high standards, policies and codes of conduct and practice. This workshop will look at the work the BPS has done around getting these registers set up and gaining accreditation.
| Name | Organisation | Job title |
|---|---|---|
|
Natalie Billing |
Careers Team - BPS |
Careers Manager |
|
Claire Tilley |
BPS |
Head of Workforce Education, Training and Standards |
