2018 saw the launch of the new DDP Special Interest Group for the West Midlands Region.
Facilitated by Dr Billy Smythe (Clinical Psychologist, Consultant DDP Practitioner) & Dr Marie Kershaw (Clinical Psychologist, DDP Practitioner), and hosted in partnership with Phoenix Psychology & Birmingham Children’s Trust, the group has gone from strength to strength.
Participants come from a wide range of service settings (e.g. NHS, Local Authority, Regional Adoption Agencies, and Third Sector), professional backgrounds (e.g. Clinical Psychology, Social Work, Educational Psychology, therapists), and therapeutic trainings.
Main themes for 2018 included;
- common challenges, dilemmas & successes in practice
- managing expectations
- how long to work with a family and how do you know when it’s time to stop
- working within the limits of your professional training
- DDP & PACE with the system
- deepening the affect and resisting problem solving
- attunement & the non-verbals
- applying DDP to Social Care Practice (non therapists) & Organisational Stress
- maintaining PACE in the face of significant challenge or resistance (including therapists own personal blocks)
- working with ‘Parts’
- practical issues (ASF funding, consent to video, practicum, supervision needs)
To keep things interesting, sessions usually involve a variety of learning formats, including: an hour of ‘business’ issues (new developments, service issues, hot topics/questions, re-connecting with core components of the model – ‘Keeping The Essence Alive’) and 2 hours of ‘practice’: reviewing DDP tapes with real families (with consent), small group discussions, role plays, sharing dilemmas for peer supervision, and some all important time for networking and informal support. The group is extremely friendly and supportive, and has a strong ethos of learning together.
Sessions are held on a quarterly basis from 1-4pm at The Wharf, Bridge Street, Birmingham.
Dates for 2019 are:
11th January 2019 – West Midlands DDP Interest Group, Birmingham
5th April 2019 – West Midlands DDP Interest Group, Birmingham
12th July 2019 – West Midlands DDP Interest Group, Birmingham
18th October 2019 – West Midlands DDP Interest Group, Birmingham
If you would like to attend this group, please email Jackie.chambers@phoenixpsychology.com to book a place.
Due to high demand, places are booked on a first come first served basis. If you have booked a place, and are no longer able to attend, please cancel in advance to allow that space to be offered to someone else on our waiting list.
We look forward to seeing what hot topics 2019 brings!
Marie & Billy
