Faculty of Medical Psychotherapy Member Support

Information pack

The key areas we have considered are:

• 1.1  Training
• 1.2  Clinical services, including organisational context
• 1.3  Economic cases
• 1.4  Case scenarios, business cases anonymised.

The information pack is taking shape with a range of key documents gathered together, including: The Role of the Medical Psychotherapist, Council Reports, Training and Core Curriculum documentatvion, all of which are in the public domain.

In addition there are further documents either available or in development focussing on key areas where the group considers Medical Psychotherapy makes a significant and unique contribution to quality of services, organisational risk and financial management. These build on existing work and cross-reference to other strategic aims, the intention is to base these on local practice but develop general documents which can be shared with colleagues. James Johnston has provided documentation on the value of training and is feeding this into the strategic discussions around job planning for Consultants while Kevin Healy argues the case at College level. 

There is also a possibility of including anonymised case scenarios and business plans, with the caveat that care be taken to respect confidentiality in relation to commercial or clinical issues. While this may be contentious due to the competitive environment in which we increasingly operate, the sharing of arguments which have been influential would be of advantage in providing high quality commissioned services.  Sue Mizen’s work on the health economic case for psychotherapy is a valuable resource for those of us wishing to develop business cases.

Your input with case scenarios, business cases and economic arguments for psychotherapy would be very welcome. Please forward contributions to Jan Birtle.  

Strategic overview

The workforce in Medical Psychotherapy is under pressure nationally, with several retirement vacancies being deleted from budgets. The situation is being monitored and the Faculty is engaged in lobbying and reviewing the bigger picture, Mark Evans is actively involved in this work and again linking with colleagues across other Faculties including those under pressure. 

We have identified opportunities to strengthen our communication and to this end Jale Punter has facilitated the development of the Faculty Regional Representative Network.

The Regional Reps are core to our communication strategy, they sit on their local Divisional Executive Committees and through this are in a position to highlight local workforce issues and raise the profile of Psychotherapy. They are known to local colleagues, provide advice on job descriptions and can lobby for service and training quality.

Support for medical psychotherapists on the front line

The Regional Reps are often the first port of call for colleagues when services are under threat and we encourage this contact, especially as an early step.

In this instance Regional Reps can access strategic support from Faculty colleagues, for example response to consultations around service reconfiguration, often relieving pressure for those in the hot spots.

We are also aware of, and some of us have personally experienced, the professional stresses experienced when services are under pressure and are consequently now developing a network of volunteers willing to offer mentorship to colleagues in transition or flux. 

This may often best be a colleague outside the immediate locality. We will also make information about the availability of mentorship, and how to access this, through the Faculty member’s web site. 

This will also be linked into other support structures, including the Psychiatrists Support Service.