Regional Groups | West Midlands

Caroline Formby

West Midlands Group Annual Report 2006

West Midlands PSIGE, continues to meet six times, annually at the University of Birmingham. It is attended regularly by a small, core Group of qualified Psychologists (six to eight) and a larger number of Trainees and Assistants, with numbers fluctuating dependent on vacancies and times of year!

Clinical Psychology, working with older people in the West Midlands continues to grow as described in the West Midlands edition of the PSIGE newsletter January 2006. Clinical Psychology Services across the region vary both in terms of size, therapeutic orientation and model of service development. We also have close links with the three local Clin.PsyD. courses of Birmingham University, Coventry and Warwick University and Staffordshire University.

The regular meetings of PSIGE West Midlands reflects this range, and very much focus on the purpose of the regular meetings to provide an opportunity to discuss professionals issues, developments within clinical work and matters relating to clinical psychology training.

The meetings follow the usual format of the first being providing an opportunity to discuss business matters relating to service developments and training issues, national PSIGE items etc, and a clinical discussion. Topics here particularly in the July and September meetings focus on the production of the West Midlands edition of the PSIGE newsletter which was published in January 2006. This was naturally a time of increased activity for the Group but with the production of the final draft being available by the agreed deadline in October and containing many articles reflecting the range of work being currently undertaken within the region it was thought to be a very productive time for the Group.

In addition to the usual clinical discussions occurring at the PSIGE meeting two half day study days have been organised.

21 March 2006, Workshop on Mental Capacity led by Mike Church and Sarah Watts with feedback from the BPS Workshop on Mental Capacity by Nicola Belson.
This Workshop made use of presentation and casework material to help develop our skills and confidence in looking at the role of clinical psychology in assessment of capacity, making use of a broad range of skills not purely neuropsychological assessment.

16 May 2006, Workshop looking at the Development of Dementia Care Pathways, contributed to by all members of the PSIGE Group with particular reference to the publications by CSIP - Everybody's Business and the draft PSIGE guidelines on Memory Clinics.

West Midlands PSIGE has a new Secretary and Treasurer, details below.
Caroline Sincock remains as Chair until January 2007.
Anna Fairhurst
Judith Bond