PPN NW Newsletter
Friday, 21st March 2025
Welcome to the latest edition of the Psychological Professions Network North West newsletter. We aim to bring you the latest updates about our work to join up psychological professionals, associated stakeholders, carers and experts by experience in the region.
PPN Member Communication Feedback Survey
We have launched a survey to hear what you think about how we currently communicate with our members, through our newsletter and other social media channels. We also want to hear how you would like the NW PPN to communicate with you going forward.
It’s really important that we understand what works best for you, what's not working and what you'd like to see from the PPN communications in the future.
We will be running this survey from Friday 21st March for a month, closing on 18th April. Please take the time to fill in the survey as your feedback will really help us shape how we communicate with our members going forward.
You can fill in the survey here.
Please note, more questions appear depending upon your responses.
Let’s keep talking; preventing male suicide in Lancs and South Cumbria
The Let’s Keep Talking campaign, launched by the NHS in Lancashire and South Cumbria, aims to change the conversation around male mental health and encourage more men to seek help.
The campaign aims to reach all men, not just those already using their services. It is recognised that there are cultural barriers that stop men from seeking help and this campaign aims to provide a helpful and informative way to talk about male suicide.
New research exploring the ‘Soteria’ approach as an alternative to psychiatric inpatient admission
Greater Manchester researchers have partnered with service users, carers, families, and community groups to explore an alternative approach to inpatient psychiatric admission – known as the ‘Soteria’ approach – for people experiencing extreme psychological states, often referred to as psychosis or mania.
The study would like to explore whether the Soteria approach could be used in the UK, and what might help or get in the way of setting up alternative services in the UK. This research project aims to speak to people with lived experience of inpatient admission or supporting family members with this experience, professionals with involvement in the mental health system, and people who have involvement with mental health-focused community organisations.
UCAS Careers Event, Manchester 4th and 5th March 2025
The PPN attended a UCAS event on the 4th and 5th March with the NHS England North West Widening Participation Careers & Apprenticeship Team, supported by NHS colleagues from a variety of disciplines including Radiography, PP, Medicine, Nursing, Dental, NWAS, HCS, OT, SALT.
The event was attended by thousands of young people and teachers from a range of colleges and schools across the North West.
Careers in Psychological Professions (mainly Clinical Psychology) topped the engagement across all NHS professions, with careers in Nursing and Medicine running closely behind.
Lots of queries were based on TV shows the students had streamed and enjoyed. Forensic Psychology was asked about frequently as were careers in Neuropsychology.
Many of the queries were regarding apprenticeships that don't exist widely enough to meet the demand.
National Education and Training Survey 2024 Results are Now Available!
You may remember from previous newsletters that we were signposting to the National Education and Training Survey (NETS) 2024 for responses. The results are now available!
NETS is the only national survey of learners across all healthcare education and training settings, providing valuable insights into their experiences. With this year seeing the highest response rate since NETS opened in 2019, the NETS results provide critical insights into the quality of the learning environment from the perspective of the learners.
Change NHS – final month to feedback
The Change NHS portal has been updated to gather feedback on early ideas for improving the NHS. Since launching last October, it has received 1.5 million visits and 100,000 contributions. Engagement so far has focused on three key shifts: bringing more services into the community, focusing on prevention not just treatment, and embracing digital solutions. Now, to help finalise the plan, it's time to give your views on the emerging ideas and your priorities for change.
You can share your views here. The window for feedback closes on Monday 14th April.
New King’s Fund report on the health of women from ethnic minority groups
The King’s Fund has published a long read on the health of women from ethnic minority groups in England.
The aim of this report is to support the development and implementation of strategies to improve health and reduce inequalities among women from ethnic minority groups and increase public awareness of the issues.
New joint pain programme launched with Nuffield Health in North West trusts
The government have announced a new rehabilitation programme, launched with Nuffield Health, which aims to reduce MSK-related absences in the NHS. The Nuffield Health’s Joint Pain Programme will support NHS workers with chronic and long-term joint conditions like arthritis. Initially available at ten trusts, it offers a 12-week rehab plan plus free gym access to support recovery.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Neurodiversity Celebration Week (17 March – 23 March) is a worldwide initiative that challenges stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences. It aims to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported by providing schools, universities, organisations, and others around the world, with the opportunity to recognise the many skills and talents of neurodivergent individuals while creating more inclusive and equitable cultures that celebrate differences and empower every individual.
The Neurodiversity Celebration Week charity is holding online events throughout the week. You can find the events calendar here and event recordings will be uploaded here.
These include events on Breaking Barriers - The Power of Language in Neurodiversity, Neurodiversity and Mental Health, and Empowering Neurodiversity in the Workplace
Exploring experiences with alcohol and how drinking has changed over time among minority ethnic groups with a diagnosed mental health problem
This study looks at minority ethnic groups with a diagnosed mental health problem and their experiences with alcohol. Minority ethnic groups are more likely to experience poor mental health but less likely to seek formal support. Mental health problems and alcohol use (including non-drinking) co-occur, though the reasons for this among minority ethnic groups are not well understood. This study explored:
- Alcohol use among minority ethnic individuals with a mental health problem
- How alcohol was used before individuals received support for their mental health
- How alcohol changed whilst and after individuals received treatment for their mental health.
Clinical Psychology and Public Health Network – next meeting date announced
The next Clinical Psychology and Public Health Network meeting will be on Tuesday 1st April 15:30 – 17:00. The topic for this meeting will be ‘Making the case for Clinical Psychology’s role in Public Health approaches – what are the levers? Considering value and impact’.
This network connects Clinical Psychologists with an interest/passion to reduce health inequities, or a curiosity in public health and related ways of working. The key areas of focus are:
Reflecting on ways of integrating public health principles into daily practice
Considering how we promote mental and physical well-being in underserved communities & improve service access
Fostering collaboration and innovation
You can join the meeting via this link. You are welcome to share the invite with interested colleagues.
Understanding mental health in Muslim communities –free course available
Cardiff University are delivering a free four-week online course which explores the distinctive mental health experiences of Muslims and how mental health support can be improved in Muslim communities.
Research shows that Muslims in Britain are under-referred to mainstream services for mental health problems. When they are accessed, their rates of improvement are lower. On this four-week course you’ll explore Muslim experiences of mental health and how to provide support for Muslim communities.
This course is for anyone who provides mental health support in Muslim communities. The course is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. You can book the course here.
Vacancy: Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust are seeking a dynamic and enthusiastic person with a range and depth of experience of working in secure care, including expertise in risk assessment and formulation, management of personality disorder, interventions for psychosis, accreditation in at least one model of a relevant therapy, and a track record of delivering supervision and other aspects of clinical leadership to psychology and non-psychology staff.
Please see the Job Advert for more information and to apply.
Are you a member of one of our Communities of Practice?
By receiving this email you are a confirmed member of the PPN NW; however, have you considered joining one of our Communities of Practice (CoP)? Please see links below for information on how to join one of our CoPs:
PPN NW Mailing List Review
The Psychological Professions Network depends on the engagement of its members. To do this we need to ensure we have an accurate and up to date register and mailing list to enable us to keep you regularly updated with events, policy changes, projects and more.
Due to an error on our website registration form, a number of people who have created PPN NW accounts have automatically been opted out of communications and, therefore, are not receiving professional updates or event opportunities – effectively negating any benefit of being a member! We are therefore in the process of opting all of these members back into communications. Please do email us if you wish to remain opted out of communications.
What are we asking you to do?
Being a member of our PPN NW Mailing List allows us to invite you to bespoke Community of Practice events and workshops, receive our newsletter.
We will not share your information with any third parties or send you any promotional emails that are not connected to delivering psychological health and wellbeing within an NHS-commission space.
Please email the PPN NW at england.ppn.northwest@nhs.net if you wish to be removed from the PPN NW Mailing List.
You can update your own details, for both Membership and Communications Preferences, at any time by visiting the website here, this includes your profile with your most recent job title, professional role, banding and ICB etc.
Share Your News!
Please email the PPN-NW team at england.ppn.northwest@nhs.net if you have an update from your work or local network that you would like featured in one of our upcoming newsletters. We want to boost important events and developments from around our region, so let us know what’s going on where you are!
Interested in joining the PPN?
Anyone can join the Psychological Professions Network! Whether you are a member of one of the psychological professions, another professional of any discipline, an aspiring psychological professional, or a member of the public, you can sign up and join us for free.
