Psychological Professions Networks come together to support the development of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner role

On Thursday 21^st November 2024 representatives from each of the seven regional Psychological Professions Networks (PPN) came together with service representatives and Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioners (MHWPs) with two key aims. The first of these was to have an opportunity to share learning and good practice of the range of different activities happening in different regions to support the implementation of MHWPs over the last two years. The second aim was to give an opportunity to ensure there was a really good understanding of the challenges currently faced by MHWPs and begin to think about what the PPNs might be able to do to help support and move forward the embedding of this new and important role.

The meeting was co-ordinated and chaired by myself, Liz Kell, Co-Chair of the PPN North West, and Adrian Whittington, Co-Chair of the PPN South East and National Clinical Lead for Psychological Professions at NHS England. At the end of the meeting, a number of short-term actions were agreed including to progress the second stage of the MHWP curriculum review and other MHWP supporting documentation. In addition, longer term ambitions were discussed, particularly in relation to regional and national work being coordinated and shared consistently and how we can work to better evidence the effectiveness of and best ways of working for the MHWP role. Further information will follow through PPNs, but I am pleased to include here reflections from two MHWPs who attended the meeting.

Emily Walter, an MHWP in the East of England:

“I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the PPN MHWP national meeting and am going to share some of my experiences and reflections from this day. As part of the first cohort of MHWPs nationally, I was invited to attend this meeting and felt proud to be there representing our PPN Community of Practice (CoP) group for the East of England. From the start, I felt a great amount of support and enthusiasm for the role in the room and was really pleased to see a commitment from so many to help establish this new psychological role within our mental health services.

Throughout the day, important discussions were had regarding positives and promising feedback from service users in regard to successes with the MHWP role, such as progression towards service users’ goals, the flexibility of the role within services and the ability to offer more psychological interventions to those who previously have not been able to access these. Obstacles were also discussed and issues on a national level were highlighted. These included issues relating to a lack of data on MHWP outcomes, unclear progression for qualified MHWPs and the lack of role clarity leading to the key duties of the role varying within services. I was encouraged to hear that these concerns are understood by all and felt reassured that through registration of the role, role clarity could be improved. I was also pleased to hear of an upcoming review of the MHWP curriculum as we have received feedback on this within our CoP meetings. Progression and development were a key feature and discussions were had around creating potential Senior MWHP roles and progression onto Psychological Therapist roles training. The need for joined up working in regard to evaluation of outcomes and how we can do this was a key topic and conversations were had around establishing communities of practice for MHWP supervisors and service managers to help carry this out.

Overall, I found this to be a very productive and empowering day which had MHWPs’ feedback at the heart of it. It was great to be part of wider conversations surrounding the role and the importance of and support for this role was evident. As an MHWP, I personally felt very heard and listened to and was reassured that issues we have come across within our CoP meetings and personal experiences have been understood and are being addressed. I look forward to being involved in future conversations to continue working on establishing this fantastic new role.”

Kirsten Brown an MHWP in the South East:

"The day felt incredibly productive, and did not shy away from acknowledging the vast positive feedback regarding the MHWP role, along with the work that is still to be done. Everyone in attendance works alongside MHWPs in different capacities or as an MHWP, so had an in-depth understanding of the role. The attendees worked together and had very passionate discussions about the positive impact MHWPs are having, issues MHWPs face, and potential methods by which to address and/or solve these issues. It was an incredibly productive and informed discussion, and beneficial in illuminating using the role to ensure service users have the care they need to manage their mental health. Three main priorities to enable the MHWP role to embed and move forward were identified and considered within the day:

• Outcomes/evidence and strategic oversight – in my view this could have huge positive impact in evidencing just how effective the role is
• MHWP role development and career progression – I know MHWPs are calling out for this, and would welcome progression opportunities
• Fidelity to the model and system readiness - this varies across regions, services and universities, and ongoing discussion is needed

I came away from the day feeling truly comforted that so many professionals have a comprehensive understanding of the conception of the MHWP role, how it has progressed, and the ongoing issues that are being faced. Having at times felt very unsure who was there to listen or if anyone was interested to see how the MHWP role moves forward, today has really convinced me that MHWPs are a priority, and very hopeful that the solutions are going to be apparent very soon."

As Emily and Kirsten have described, despite the significant challenges facing MHWPs currently, the day was a positive one, and is a really important starting point for a collaborative approach to support this new and important workforce and ensure the best fit for the implementation of the role within services. I personally look forward to continuing to support this work and sharing our progress!

Liz Kell

December 2024