New Ways of Working in Psychology: Evaluating a Pilot of the Clinical Associate Psychologist Apprenticeship on an Acute Mental Health Ward

Abstract

Aim: Acute mental health wards have been criticised for being untherapeutic. NHS England aims to move towards therapeutic wards by increasing psychological practitioner staffing. The new clinical associate psychologist (CAP) role may provide a cost effective way of enhancing existing psychological therapies teams. The current study aimed to evaluate the introduction of a CAP apprentice on an acute mental health ward. Specifically, the study aimed to (1) examine whether the CAP role could improve patients access to direct psychological interventions; and (2) explore the ward team's experiences of the role. Method: Referrals for direct psychological interventions and sessions conducted were collected over a six-month period and compared to pre-collected data from the previous year. A focus group was held to explore the ward teams experiences of the role which was transcribed and thematically analysed. Results: Referrals for direct psychological interventions increased following the introduction of the CAP apprentice on the ward, including an increase in patient self-referrals. Direct psychological intervention sessions consequently increased as a result of referrals. Additionally, there were more follow-up sessions in the community. Analysis of the focus group derived three main themes Supporting the team, Patient experience and Ward based role, demonstrating that staff perceived numerous additional benefits of the CAP role. Conclusion: CAPs provide a cost effective way of improving access to psychological interventions on acute wards. CAPs may offer a way for psychology to become more present on acute wards and better integrated into staff teams.