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  • Become a psychiatrist

    Become a psychiatrist

    • Choose Psychiatry

      Choose Psychiatry

      • What is psychiatry?
      • How to become a psychiatrist
      • Why choose psychiatry?
      • Career essentials
      • What next?
      • Choose Psychiatry 2021 video
    • Sixth formers and school students
    • Medical students

      Medical students

      • Becoming a student associate
      • Psychiatry attachments
      • Awards, prizes and bursaries
      • PsychSocs
      • National conference
      • Summer and autumn schools
      • FuturePsych – the student associate magazine
      • The Student Psychiatry Audit and Research Collaborative (SPARC)
    • Foundation doctors

      Foundation doctors

      • Foundation doctor associates
      • Making the most of your psychiatry placement
      • Opportunities for foundation doctors
      • FuturePsych - the associate magazine
    • Help us promote psychiatry

      Help us promote psychiatry

      • How can I help?
      • Ideas to inspire you
      • Resources to help you promote psychiatry
    • Choose Psychiatry: Guidance for Medical Schools
    • Supporting Medical Students: Medical Schools
    • Choose Psychiatry
      • What is psychiatry?
      • How to become a psychiatrist
      • Why choose psychiatry?
      • Career essentials
      • What next?
      • Choose Psychiatry 2021 video
    • Sixth formers and school students
    • Medical students
      • Becoming a student associate
      • Psychiatry attachments
      • Awards, prizes and bursaries
      • PsychSocs
      • National conference
      • Summer and autumn schools
      • FuturePsych – the student associate magazine
      • The Student Psychiatry Audit and Research Collaborative (SPARC)
    • Foundation doctors
      • Foundation doctor associates
      • Making the most of your psychiatry placement
      • Opportunities for foundation doctors
      • FuturePsych - the associate magazine
    • Help us promote psychiatry
      • How can I help?
      • Ideas to inspire you
      • Resources to help you promote psychiatry
    • Choose Psychiatry: Guidance for Medical Schools
    • Supporting Medical Students: Medical Schools
  • Training

    Training

    • Curricula and guidance

      Curricula and guidance

      • GMC approved curricula
      • RCPsych Curricula Review 
      • Specialty guides
      • Dual Training
      • Curricula Implementation
    • Your training

      Your training

      • Psychiatric Trainees Committee: supporting you
      • Time out of training
      • Training resources
      • Run-through training
      • Prizes and bursaries for trainees
      • Training less than full time
      • Routes to Registration
      • Cost of Training
      • Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme
      • Understanding Career Choices in Psychiatry
    • Exams

      Exams

      • Can I take an exam?
      • Contact the exams team
      • Preparing for exams
      • Applying for your exam
      • Exam results
      • Special notices
      • Exam FAQs
      • A fair exam
      • Exams Help Centre
      • Examiners and exam panels recruitment
    • Neuroscience in training

      Neuroscience in training

      • About the project
      • Neuroscience events
      • Who was on the commission?
      • Neuroscience history
      • Neuroscience resources
      • Multimedia learning
    • Deanery/LETB Hub
    • Medical training initiative (MTI)
    • Undergraduate education forum
    • International Medical Graduates

      International Medical Graduates

      • Shortage Occupation List
    • Quality Assurance in Training
    • Credentialing
    • CPD eLearning
    • Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry

      Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry

      • Perinatal 2022 Masterclass Programme application and process details
      • Perinatal project resources
      • About the Building Capacity Project
    • Curricula and guidance
      • GMC approved curricula
      • RCPsych Curricula Review 
      • Specialty guides
      • Dual Training
      • Curricula Implementation
    • Your training
      • Psychiatric Trainees Committee: supporting you
      • Time out of training
      • Training resources
      • Run-through training
      • Prizes and bursaries for trainees
      • Training less than full time
      • Routes to Registration
      • Cost of Training
      • Leadership and Management Fellow Scheme
      • Understanding Career Choices in Psychiatry
    • Exams
      • Can I take an exam?
      • Contact the exams team
      • Preparing for exams
      • Applying for your exam
      • Exam results
      • Special notices
      • Exam FAQs
      • A fair exam
      • Exams Help Centre
      • Examiners and exam panels recruitment
    • Neuroscience in training
      • About the project
      • Neuroscience events
      • Who was on the commission?
      • Neuroscience history
      • Neuroscience resources
      • Multimedia learning
    • Deanery/LETB Hub
    • Medical training initiative (MTI)
    • Undergraduate education forum
    • International Medical Graduates
      • Shortage Occupation List
    • Quality Assurance in Training
    • Credentialing
    • CPD eLearning
    • Building Capacity in Perinatal Psychiatry
      • Perinatal 2022 Masterclass Programme application and process details
      • Perinatal project resources
      • About the Building Capacity Project
  • Members

    Members

    • Supporting you

      Supporting you

      • Psychiatrists Support Service
      • New consultants (StartWell)
      • Mentoring and coaching
      • Revalidation
      • Assessing and managing risk of patients causing harm
      • Leadership and management
      • Working less than full time
      • If a patient dies by suicide
      • Writing clinic letters
      • Looking after yourself
    • CPD eLearning
    • Submitting your CPD

      Submitting your CPD

      • CPD Submissions FAQs
      • Alterations to CPD during coronavirus pandemic
    • Membership

      Membership

      • Members login
      • Receipts
      • Pay Your Subscription
      • Direct Debit
      • Your subscription
      • Grades of membership
      • Benefits of membership
      • Fellowship and other Honours
      • Applying for Fellowship
      • Nominations for Honorary Fellows
      • Nominations for National Honours
    • Your Faculties

      Your Faculties

      • Academic psychiatry
      • Addictions psychiatry
      • Child and adolescent psychiatry
      • Eating disorders psychiatry
      • Forensic Psychiatry Faculty
      • General adult psychiatry
      • Intellectual disability psychiatry faculty
      • Liaison psychiatry faculty
      • Medical psychotherapy faculty
      • Neuropsychiatry faculty
      • Old age psychiatry faculty
      • Perinatal psychiatry faculty
      • Rehabilitation and social psychiatry faculty
      • Faculty job descriptions
    • Devolved Nations

      Devolved Nations

      • RCPsych in Scotland
      • RCPsych in Wales
      • Coleg Cymraeg
      • RCPsych in Northern Ireland
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
    • English Divisions

      English Divisions

      • Eastern
      • London
      • Northern and Yorkshire
      • North West
      • South Eastern
      • Trent
      • West Midlands
      • South West
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
      • NW and NY mentorship
    • International members
    • Special Interest Groups

      Special Interest Groups

      • How to join a SIG
      • Adolescent forensic psychiatry
      • Arts psychiatry
      • Digital psychiatry
      • Evolutionary psychiatry
      • History of psychiatry
      • Neurodevelopmental psychiatry
      • Occupational psychiatry
      • Philosophy
      • Private and independent practice PIPSIG
      • Rainbow SIG
      • Spirituality
      • Sport and exercise psychiatry (SEPSIG)
      • Transcultural psychiatry
      • Volunteering and international
      • Women and mental health
      • Special Interest Group Job Descriptions
    • Committees of Council
    • RCPsych Insight magazine
    • Publications and books
    • Your monthly eNewsletter

      Your monthly eNewsletter

      • Members' update 12 May 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2022
      • Members' update 14 April 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter March 2022
      • Members' update 10 March 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter February 2022
      • Members' update 10 February 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter January 2022
      • Members' update 13 January 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter December 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter November 2021
      • Members' update 11 November 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter October 2021
      • Members' update 14 October 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter September 2021
      • Members' update 26 August 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter July 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter June 2021
      • Members' update 10 June 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter May 2021
      • Members' update 13 May 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2021
      • Members' update 8 April 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter March 2021
      • Members' update 11 March 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter February 2021
      • Members' update 11 February 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter January 2021
      • Members' update 14 January 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter December 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter November 2020
      • Members' update 12 November 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter October 2020
      • Members' update 8 October 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter September 2020
      • Members' update 11 September 2020
      • Members' update 1 September 2020
      • Members' update 14 August 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter July 2020
      • Members' update 10 July 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter June 2020
      • Update 12 June 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 29 May 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter May 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 7 May 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 1 May 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2020
    • Posts for members
    • Public members list
    • Jobs board
    • Specialist and Associate Specialty Doctors

      Specialist and Associate Specialty Doctors

      • A message from the Chair
      • Who are SAS Doctors?
      • How to enter the SAS grade
      • SAS career development
      • SAS doctors resources
      • College SAS training and events
      • Startwell and Staywell
    • President's lectures

      President's lectures

      • Declaration of competing interests (President's lectures)
      • List of president's lectures competing interests
      • Past President's lectures
    • Retired members
    • New Members Ceremonies
    • Obituaries

      Obituaries

      • Submit an obituary
      • Remembering Dame Fiona Caldicott
    • Membership survey
    • Mindmasters quiz

      Mindmasters quiz

      • About the quiz
      • The draw for the quiz
      • The rules of the quiz
      • Sample quiz questions 
    • Supporting you
      • Psychiatrists Support Service
      • New consultants (StartWell)
      • Mentoring and coaching
      • Revalidation
      • Assessing and managing risk of patients causing harm
      • Leadership and management
      • Working less than full time
      • If a patient dies by suicide
      • Writing clinic letters
      • Looking after yourself
    • CPD eLearning
    • Submitting your CPD
      • CPD Submissions FAQs
      • Alterations to CPD during coronavirus pandemic
    • Membership
      • Members login
      • Receipts
      • Pay Your Subscription
      • Direct Debit
      • Your subscription
      • Grades of membership
      • Benefits of membership
      • Fellowship and other Honours
      • Applying for Fellowship
      • Nominations for Honorary Fellows
      • Nominations for National Honours
    • Your Faculties
      • Academic psychiatry
      • Addictions psychiatry
      • Child and adolescent psychiatry
      • Eating disorders psychiatry
      • Forensic Psychiatry Faculty
      • General adult psychiatry
      • Intellectual disability psychiatry faculty
      • Liaison psychiatry faculty
      • Medical psychotherapy faculty
      • Neuropsychiatry faculty
      • Old age psychiatry faculty
      • Perinatal psychiatry faculty
      • Rehabilitation and social psychiatry faculty
      • Faculty job descriptions
    • Devolved Nations
      • RCPsych in Scotland
      • RCPsych in Wales
      • Coleg Cymraeg
      • RCPsych in Northern Ireland
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
    • English Divisions
      • Eastern
      • London
      • Northern and Yorkshire
      • North West
      • South Eastern
      • Trent
      • West Midlands
      • South West
      • Executive Committee job descriptions
      • NW and NY mentorship
    • International members
    • Special Interest Groups
      • How to join a SIG
      • Adolescent forensic psychiatry
      • Arts psychiatry
      • Digital psychiatry
      • Evolutionary psychiatry
      • History of psychiatry
      • Neurodevelopmental psychiatry
      • Occupational psychiatry
      • Philosophy
      • Private and independent practice PIPSIG
      • Rainbow SIG
      • Spirituality
      • Sport and exercise psychiatry (SEPSIG)
      • Transcultural psychiatry
      • Volunteering and international
      • Women and mental health
      • Special Interest Group Job Descriptions
    • Committees of Council
    • RCPsych Insight magazine
    • Publications and books
    • Your monthly eNewsletter
      • Members' update 12 May 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2022
      • Members' update 14 April 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter March 2022
      • Members' update 10 March 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter February 2022
      • Members' update 10 February 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter January 2022
      • Members' update 13 January 2022
      • RCPsych eNewsletter December 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter November 2021
      • Members' update 11 November 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter October 2021
      • Members' update 14 October 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter September 2021
      • Members' update 26 August 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter July 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter June 2021
      • Members' update 10 June 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter May 2021
      • Members' update 13 May 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2021
      • Members' update 8 April 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter March 2021
      • Members' update 11 March 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter February 2021
      • Members' update 11 February 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter January 2021
      • Members' update 14 January 2021
      • RCPsych eNewsletter December 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter November 2020
      • Members' update 12 November 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter October 2020
      • Members' update 8 October 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter September 2020
      • Members' update 11 September 2020
      • Members' update 1 September 2020
      • Members' update 14 August 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter July 2020
      • Members' update 10 July 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter June 2020
      • Update 12 June 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 29 May 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter May 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 7 May 2020
      • COVID-19 Update 1 May 2020
      • RCPsych eNewsletter April 2020
    • Posts for members
    • Public members list
    • Jobs board
    • Specialist and Associate Specialty Doctors
      • A message from the Chair
      • Who are SAS Doctors?
      • How to enter the SAS grade
      • SAS career development
      • SAS doctors resources
      • College SAS training and events
      • Startwell and Staywell
    • President's lectures
      • Declaration of competing interests (President's lectures)
      • List of president's lectures competing interests
      • Past President's lectures
    • Retired members
    • New Members Ceremonies
    • Obituaries
      • Submit an obituary
      • Remembering Dame Fiona Caldicott
    • Membership survey
    • Mindmasters quiz
      • About the quiz
      • The draw for the quiz
      • The rules of the quiz
      • Sample quiz questions 
  • Events

    Events

    • Conferences and training events

      Conferences and training events

      • Register your interest - CESR in Psychiatry Training
      • MHA Section 12 and Approved Clinician Training
      • Register your interest - Present State Examination Course 2022
      • Subscribe to receive the Events eNews
      • Register your interest - ICD-11 events
      • RCPsych Certificated Courses
    • International Congress 2022

      International Congress 2022

      • Congress 2022 FAQs
      • Registration
      • Poster Presentations 2022
      • Exhibition Opportunities 2022
      • Your guide to Congress
      • IC22 Keynote speakers
      • Programme
      • Travel and accommodation guidance 
      • Social and Fringe Events
      • #RCPsychIC
    • In-house training

      In-house training

      • In house training: working with us
      • Health of Nation Outcome Scales
      • Competing interests
    • Events held by other organisations
    • Free webinars

      Free webinars

      • Free webinars for members
    • Recruitment events
    • Claiming Expenses
    • Terms and conditions
    • Speaker guidance for online events
    • Conferences and training events
      • Register your interest - CESR in Psychiatry Training
      • MHA Section 12 and Approved Clinician Training
      • Register your interest - Present State Examination Course 2022
      • Subscribe to receive the Events eNews
      • Register your interest - ICD-11 events
      • RCPsych Certificated Courses
    • International Congress 2022
      • Congress 2022 FAQs
      • Registration
      • Poster Presentations 2022
      • Exhibition Opportunities 2022
      • Your guide to Congress
      • IC22 Keynote speakers
      • Programme
      • Travel and accommodation guidance 
      • Social and Fringe Events
      • #RCPsychIC
    • In-house training
      • In house training: working with us
      • Health of Nation Outcome Scales
      • Competing interests
    • Events held by other organisations
    • Free webinars
      • Free webinars for members
    • Recruitment events
    • Claiming Expenses
    • Terms and conditions
    • Speaker guidance for online events
  • Improving care

    Improving care

    • College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI)

      College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI)

      • What we do in the CCQI
      • Quality Networks and Accreditation
      • National Clinical Audits
      • Multi-source feedback
      • CCQI resources
      • CCQI Who we are
      • Research and evaluation
      • CCQI news
    • Campaigning for better mental health policy

      Campaigning for better mental health policy

      • The Mental Health Act (MHA)
      • Five Year Forward View
      • Integrated care and mental health
      • Children and young people's mental health Green Paper
      • RCPsych in Parliament
      • Join our Research Panel
      • College Reports
      • Position statements
      • Process for College publications
      • Other policy areas
      • Mental Health Watch
      • COVID-19: Guidance for clinicians
      • Reforming The Mental Health Act
      • Don't overlook mental health campaign
      • The Mental Health Policy Group (MHPG)
    • Planning the psychiatric workforce

      Planning the psychiatric workforce

      • About workforce
      • Job planning and recruitment
      • Our workforce census
      • Campaigning for the mental health workforce of the future
      • Workforce strategy
      • Job description approval process
    • Public Mental Health Implementation Centre

      Public Mental Health Implementation Centre

      • Our partners and first partnership activity 
      • How to work with the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • Who's involved in the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre?
      • Aims and objectives
      • Reports
      • About public mental health
    • National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health

      National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health

      • About NCCMH and our work
      • Clinical guideline development
      • Competence frameworks
      • COVID-19 Mental Health Improvement Network
      • Mental health quality improvement programmes
      • National suicide prevention programme
      • Reports and research
      • RCPsych Enjoying Work Collaborative
      • Reducing restrictive practice
      • Service design and development
      • Sexual Safety Collaborative
      • Work with us
      • Improving Quality in Inpatient Mental Health Settings Scoping and Design Exercise
    • Physician Associates

      Physician Associates

      • About Physician Associates
      • Employing Physician Associates
      • Becoming a Physician Associate
      • Support for Physician Associates
      • Physician Associates network
      • The Competence Framework for Physician Associates in Mental Health
    • Invited Review Service
    • Public Health and its role in mental heath
    • Sustainability and working sustainably

      Sustainability and working sustainably

      • In your community
      • In your practice
      • In your trust
      • Nature matters
      • Sustainability scholars
      • About sustainability in mental health care
      • Sustainability resources
      • Working sustainably (old)
      • College position on sustainability
      • Attending COP26
    • RCPsych Course Accreditation

      RCPsych Course Accreditation

      • Apply for accreditation
    • Using quality improvement
    • College Centre for Quality Improvement (CCQI)
      • What we do in the CCQI
      • Quality Networks and Accreditation
      • National Clinical Audits
      • Multi-source feedback
      • CCQI resources
      • CCQI Who we are
      • Research and evaluation
      • CCQI news
    • Campaigning for better mental health policy
      • The Mental Health Act (MHA)
      • Five Year Forward View
      • Integrated care and mental health
      • Children and young people's mental health Green Paper
      • RCPsych in Parliament
      • Join our Research Panel
      • College Reports
      • Position statements
      • Process for College publications
      • Other policy areas
      • Mental Health Watch
      • COVID-19: Guidance for clinicians
      • Reforming The Mental Health Act
      • Don't overlook mental health campaign
      • The Mental Health Policy Group (MHPG)
    • Planning the psychiatric workforce
      • About workforce
      • Job planning and recruitment
      • Our workforce census
      • Campaigning for the mental health workforce of the future
      • Workforce strategy
      • Job description approval process
    • Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • Our partners and first partnership activity 
      • How to work with the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre
      • Who's involved in the Public Mental Health Implementation Centre?
      • Aims and objectives
      • Reports
      • About public mental health
    • National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health
      • About NCCMH and our work
      • Clinical guideline development
      • Competence frameworks
      • COVID-19 Mental Health Improvement Network
      • Mental health quality improvement programmes
      • National suicide prevention programme
      • Reports and research
      • RCPsych Enjoying Work Collaborative
      • Reducing restrictive practice
      • Service design and development
      • Sexual Safety Collaborative
      • Work with us
      • Improving Quality in Inpatient Mental Health Settings Scoping and Design Exercise
    • Physician Associates
      • About Physician Associates
      • Employing Physician Associates
      • Becoming a Physician Associate
      • Support for Physician Associates
      • Physician Associates network
      • The Competence Framework for Physician Associates in Mental Health
    • Invited Review Service
    • Public Health and its role in mental heath
    • Sustainability and working sustainably
      • In your community
      • In your practice
      • In your trust
      • Nature matters
      • Sustainability scholars
      • About sustainability in mental health care
      • Sustainability resources
      • Working sustainably (old)
      • College position on sustainability
      • Attending COP26
    • RCPsych Course Accreditation
      • Apply for accreditation
    • Using quality improvement
  • Mental health

    Mental health

    • Problems and disorders

      Problems and disorders

      • ADHD in adults
      • Alcohol and depression
      • Alcohol and older people
      • Anorexia and bulimia
      • Anxiety, panic and phobias
      • Bereavement
      • Bipolar disorder
      • Cannabis
      • Club drugs
      • Coping after a traumatic event
      • Debt and mental health
      • Delirium
      • Depression
      • Depression in older adults
      • Eating well and mental health
      • Feeling on the edge
      • Feeling overwhelmed
      • Feeling stressed
      • Hoarding
      • Learning disabilities
      • Medically unexplained symptoms
      • Memory problems and dementia
      • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
      • Perinatal OCD
      • Perinatal OCD for carers
      • Personality disorder
      • Physical illness
      • Postnatal depression
      • Postnatal depression key facts
      • Postnatal depression: information for carers
      • Postpartum psychosis
      • Postpartum Psychosis in Carers
      • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 
      • Gambling disorder
      • Schizoaffective disorder
      • Schizophrenia
      • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
      • Self harm
      • Shyness and social phobia
      • Sleeping well
    • Support, care and treatment

      Support, care and treatment

      • Alzheimers drug treatments
      • Antidepressants
      • Antipsychotics
      • Antipsychotics in pregnancy
      • Being sectioned
      • Benzodiazepines
      • Children's social services and safeguarding
      • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: herbal remedies
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: physical treatments
      • Depot medication
      • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
      • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
      • Electronic health records in mental health services in England
      • Guide to mental health tribunals
      • Liaison psychiatry services
      • Lithium in pregnancy and breastfeeding
      • Mental capacity and the law
      • Mental health in pregnancy
      • Mental health rehabilitation services
      • Mental health services and teams in the community
      • Mother and baby units (MBUs)
      • Neuromodulation
      • Perinatal mental health services: what are they?
      • Planning a pregnancy
      • Psychotherapies and psychological treatments
      • Social prescribing
      • Spirituality and mental health
      • Stopping antidepressants
      • Valproate in women and girls who could get pregnant
      • What to expect of your psychiatrist in the UK
      • COVID-19: Medication for mental health
      • COVID-19: Remote consultations
      • COVID-19: Going to hospital for a physical illness or injury
      • COVID-19: Eating disorders
      • COVID-19: Perinatal care
      • COVID-19: Using drugs
      • Hypnosis and hypnotherapy
    • Young people's mental health
    • Translations

      Translations

      • Arabic عربى
      • Bengali বাঙালি
      • Bulgarian български
      • Chinese 中文
      • French Français
      • German Deutsch
      • Greek Ελληνική γλώσσα
      • Gujurati ગુજરાતી
      • Hindi हिंदीहिंदी
      • Italian italiano
      • Japanese 日本語
      • Lithuanian Lietuvių kalba
      • Pashto پښتو
      • Persian (Farsi) فارسی
      • Polish Polski
      • Punjabi ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
      • Romanian Română
      • Russian Pусский
      • Somali
      • Spanish Español
      • Turkish
      • Tamil தமிழ்
      • Urdu اردو
      • Welsh Cymraeg
      • Sindhi سنڌي
      • Ukrainian украї́нська
    • Mental health and psychiatry FAQs
    • Order mental health leaflets
    • About our mental health information
    • Disclaimer about our mental health information
    • Choosing Wisely - a national campaign
    • BSL translations
    • MindEd – free mental health eLearning
    • Order mental health packs for schools
    • Audio resources
    • Veterans' mental health
    • Suicide resources
    • Problems and disorders
      • ADHD in adults
      • Alcohol and depression
      • Alcohol and older people
      • Anorexia and bulimia
      • Anxiety, panic and phobias
      • Bereavement
      • Bipolar disorder
      • Cannabis
      • Club drugs
      • Coping after a traumatic event
      • Debt and mental health
      • Delirium
      • Depression
      • Depression in older adults
      • Eating well and mental health
      • Feeling on the edge
      • Feeling overwhelmed
      • Feeling stressed
      • Hoarding
      • Learning disabilities
      • Medically unexplained symptoms
      • Memory problems and dementia
      • Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
      • Perinatal OCD
      • Perinatal OCD for carers
      • Personality disorder
      • Physical illness
      • Postnatal depression
      • Postnatal depression key facts
      • Postnatal depression: information for carers
      • Postpartum psychosis
      • Postpartum Psychosis in Carers
      • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) 
      • Gambling disorder
      • Schizoaffective disorder
      • Schizophrenia
      • Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
      • Self harm
      • Shyness and social phobia
      • Sleeping well
    • Support, care and treatment
      • Alzheimers drug treatments
      • Antidepressants
      • Antipsychotics
      • Antipsychotics in pregnancy
      • Being sectioned
      • Benzodiazepines
      • Children's social services and safeguarding
      • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: herbal remedies
      • Complementary and alternative medicines: physical treatments
      • Depot medication
      • Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
      • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
      • Electronic health records in mental health services in England
      • Guide to mental health tribunals
      • Liaison psychiatry services
      • Lithium in pregnancy and breastfeeding
      • Mental capacity and the law
      • Mental health in pregnancy
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April 2018 - Dr John Crichton, RCPsych in Scotland Chair

RCPsych in Scotland blog

09 April, 2018

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This month's guest blog is written by RCPsych in Scotland Chair, Dr John Crichton. Dr Crichton will be updating you on the College in Scotland's activities quarterly via the guest blog.

I have a confession: I like reading mental health law – any mental health law. It is not necessarily a shared passion and usually evokes a pitying glazed look the faces of my colleagues. But I was in my element hearing about the fusion of incapacity and mental health legislation last week in Northern Ireland. How would the issues of fluctuating capacity and forensic disposal, which so vexed the Millan committee and generated the compromise of 'significantly impaired decision making', be addressed? What about children? The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities? Advance statements? Resources? Training?...sound familiar? In a perfect world we would wait to see how implementation of the Act in Northern Ireland goes. In a perfect world we would have learnt more from their experience of integrated health and social care before its implementation in Scotland. But with no current Northern Irish Government we will have to wait to see how this trailblazing piece of legislation works in practice.

In Scotland we had our tweak of the 2003 Act in 2015 and the College is working up its response to a more thorough redrafting of Scots incapacity legislation currently being consulted upon. The 2000 incapacity and 2003 mental health acts were radical in their day but less so now - my prediction is that within the next 5 years we will set in motion a fundamental review, fusing Scots mental health and incapacity legislation. In the meantime, Professor Sir Simon Wessely has been asked to review English mental health law in an implausibly short period of time. Well, if anyone can pull it off Simon can but at best his review can only be a tweaking of English law and we may well find elements of current Scots law being adopted.

One of the unexpected pleasures of being Chair is meeting and working with our professional and third sector organisations in the mental health partnership. When we focus on the needs of our patient population, challenge stigma and misinformation and champion positive messages about mental health there is a real spirit of collaboration, which transcends any differences of approach. Together we can articulate persuasive messages to Government. As a partnership we recently met with our Mental Health Minister, Maureen Watt. One theme of discussions is how to get Health and Social Care Partnerships to work effectively in mental health and how to get the practitioner's voice heard. Integrated Joint Boards must have real engagement with practitioner groups – just as engagement with the third sector is recognised as essential. IJB governance and accountability structures also need to be clearer – a topic of conversation I have had with both the Mental Welfare Commission and Health Improvement Scotland.

Quality Improvement can be a powerful mechanism for getting across the perspective of practitioners. I was pleased that this was a theme at our Glasgow meeting in January.  Underpinning our QI endeavors and the monitoring of IJBs is the intelligent use of published data. I had been struck by the usefulness of the dashboard of mental health data available in England. It came as a pleasant surprise that much of the same data is available publicly in Scotland – it's just hard to find. We are now producing a quarterly digest of key information, available from the Queen Street team, to help guide discussions and move from anecdote to evidence in the issues we raise. We have also had a series of very helpful meetings with Information Services Division about what mental health data is available in Scotland and how it is presented. I am hopeful they will produce a new look Scottish Mental Health dashboard of information later this year.

One of the striking observations from that data is the percentage of colleagues with MHO status currently over the age of 50. As well as encouraging young doctors to Choose Psychiatry there needs to be a retention strategy developed. It will be vital to creating the right working environment for both those taking early NHS retirement to continue in part-time work and those facing a much longer working career. I have written to all Health Board and Integrated Joint Board Chief Executives and HR Directors regarding the creation of a retention strategy and look forward to the support of our working retired group to identify the right professional environment for those in their late 50s and 60s. We cannot expect those who are now contemplating a retirement at 68 to work in the same way as generations before. Getting retention strategies right is as important as getting recruitment strategies right.

There is considerable enthusiasm for recruitment. The problem (and it's a good problem to have) has been how to fund all the great ideas coming forward from members in Scotland. This year I have already spoken at a number of medical student events – over 200 Scottish medical students - all interested in a career in psychiatry. As a College we must improve what we provide for them as student associates and I hope there will be opportunities as the College IT platform is upgraded. That upgrade should also at last bring about reliable video conferencing for College committee meetings later this year, when I also expect we will become a devolved Council of the College.

Over the next quarter we will be making some preparations for becoming a devolved council – it gives an opportunity to refresh and review College structures and roles in Scotland. I am also looking forward to further discussions on the work led by Andy Williams regarding Personality Disorder. If we can come to a sensitive and accurate consensus regarding how we can better meet the needs of this patient population, and if we can gather support and endorsement from our partnership colleagues, then there is a good prospect of this being adopted into the work of the Mental Health Strategy, bringing about the sort of transformation we see in perinatal care.

With a patient focus and joining with partners, the College in Scotland can be the catalyst for positive change. After recent excitement about the commencement of Minimum Unit Pricing, I was asked for the materials produced in Scotland by former Chair, Peter Rice, to inform the debate. I hope we will all work with the mental health strategy to bring improvements in many areas: early intervention, mitigating the effects of Adverse Childhood experiences, harnessing modern technology, closing the mental illness mortality gap, achieving parity. Much of this will rest on the implementation and commissioning of research and the dissemination of best practice – the College will continue to play a vital role.

I wish everyone a refreshing seasonal break and perhaps some kinder weather for the Spring.

Dr John Crichton

Chair, Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland

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Professor John Crichton
Professor John Crichton

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