Historically, the dissemination of research findings across many disciplines has been limited to peer reviewed journals. More recently, dissemination practices are broadening to include sharing with wider audiences, such as the community being researched. At the University of Hertfordshire some doctoral clinical psychology trainees disseminate more widely than others. Research has not yet asked what helps support trainees on the programme to disseminate their work beyond scientific publication, or what barriers disrupt this. This programme-related project utilised a mixed methods survey which aimed to gain an understanding of barriers to community dissemination practices and how these could be overcome. Results indicated that, although participants strongly agreed that findings should be shared with communities researched, barriers to delivering this exist. The identified barriers to community dissemination included time and limited awareness of community dissemination practices. Further support from supervisors and teaching on wider dissemination practices may help trainees to disseminate more widely. This is important as it could move dissemination outside of the academic community where findings could reach those who could benefit most from them.

This exploratory study considers research published by staff and trainee clinical psychologists from the University of Hertfordshire (UH) Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) programme. This was done to reflect on which group is most often the first author, where the work is published, and the impact potential of this research output.The study employed both quantitative and qualitative enquiry. The quantitative aspect of the study provided descriptive information regarding known publications between January 2015 and October 2022. The qualitative aspect of the study used a questionnaire to find out about dissemination experiences of alumni. The programme prodnced 166 publications during the time period evaluated, an average of 20.8 publications per year. ‘Original Articles’ were the most popular type of publication, with a mean jonenal impact factor of 2.322. Trainee clinical psychologists were most often the first author on publications.The findings show production of research output via publications within journals that, on average, have an impact factor in line with the top 40–60 per cent of psychology journals. The level of output should continue to grow as a result of the increase in commissioned training places. However, there is more that the programme can do to support quality academic dissemination and recommendations for programme development are made. Trainee’s experiences and recommendations for future aspiring publishers are considered as well as a critique of the study itself.

IntroductionPsychological therapists should be leading on the development of formulation within multidisciplinary teams, supporting psychologically-informed practice. This evaluation investigated the impact of team formulation for clinicians in an Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) service.MethodA mixed-methods design was employed. Clinicians’ self-reported knowledge and confidence in developing psychological formulations, satisfaction with team formulation, and perceived access to support were assessed using an online survey. Focus groups were conducted to understand participants’ experiences of team formulation, including their learning and any perceived impact on patient care. Qualitative data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsA total of 7 participants gave survey responses. High ratings were observed for perceived helpfulness of the groups (9.26 out of 10), effective use of clinical time (7.57 out of 10), access to support within the team (9.93 out of 10), and confidence in developing formulations as a team (8.83 out of 10). Moderately high ratings were given for confidence in developing formulations independently (6.67 out of 10), and knowledge of different formulation approaches (6.83 out of 10). Six participants were represented across two focus groups. Three themes were identified: (1) Getting Along to Formulation Meetings, (2) Collective Responsibility & Psychological Safety, and (3) Holistic Focus & Quality of Care.ConclusionsThe results supported ongoing delivery of team formulation in EIP. Recommendations were outlined which could be relevant to other services.

This evaluation aims to provide insight into trainees’ experience of delivering cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) whilst on placement. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse data from a focus group consisting of trainees on a selected clinical doctorate programme. Results highlighted the importance of supervisors’ CBT background, teaching focused on the structure and the providing of materials, and trainees’ reactions to CBT. Future directions were suggested for enhancing CBT training and further evaluation.

The Psychological Professions have undergone unprecedented workforce expansion in recent years. Growth of the new role of psychological wellbeing practitioner, provides us with an opportunity to learn about the factors that underpin successful implementation of the growing family of additional new psychological practitioner roles and consider what workforce and education development issues need attention in order to allow the psychological practitioners to grow and flourish with sustainability.