SAVE THE DATE!
We will be Celebrating 25 Years of Family Intervention and The Meriden Family Programme. Event will be online via MS Teams.
Implementation of Family Interventions
18th October 2023 – 9.15am – 4.00pm
To confirm your place at this event please email Booking Form to: [email protected]
We currently have a limited number of places available for our 10-day Health Education England (HEE) funded “Family Interventions for Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder” course starting on 19th June 2023.
The course adheres to the HEE ‘National Curriculum: Family interventions for psychosis and bipolar disorder’ covering; the theory and practice of Behavioural Family Therapy, provision of carer psycho-education and support, developing a family sensitive organisation and the supervision of others in the application of BFT for Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder. The course is delivered over a 12 month period, including 10 days training online via Teams and 20 hours of group supervision provided by Meriden Family Programme. For more details and course dates please see our brochure HEE (Y3 C1) Cohort June 2023 Brochure.
If you are interested in this excellent opportunity, please contact Julia Danks: [email protected]
Please be aware the course is only open to applicants based in England. Before an application can be accepted, we are required to confirm the availability of funding for your specific organisation with HEE, once confirmed we can proceed with the application.
Carers week is an annual campaign to raise awareness of caring and highlight the challenges carers face and recognise the contribution carers make to families and communities. Details about carers week and information about support for carers can be found by visiting the Carers UK website https://www.carersuk.org; information for carers is also available on the Carers Trust Solihull website https://www.solihullcarers.org/carersweek/
Information and support for carers is also available on our website.
The Meriden Family Programme would like to invite you to participate in a current piece of research, outlined below.
“Family workers’ experiences of delivering Behavioural Family Therapy (BFT) to service-users (and their families) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and another mental health condition.”
What is the purpose of this research?
The current research will explore clinicians’ perspectives around delivering BFT to families of a service-user with ASD and another mental health condition (specifically, one presenting with psychosis). The ultimate aim is to identify ways in which BFT can be better implemented and the relevant training conducted more effectively.
What are the requirements to participate?
The only requirement is that you have delivered BFT to at least one service-user (and their family) with comorbid ASD and another mental health condition (presenting with psychosis). If you have had contrasting experiences (i.e. positive with one family and negative with another), this would be especially advantageous, but is most certainly not essential.
What will happen/what will I be asked to do?
You will be asked a series of questions relating to your experiences during an online or telephone interview, which will be recorded and subsequently transcribed. Please note that: (i) interviews should take no longer than half an hour and (ii) recordings will be kept securely and your personal details will only be shared with necessary parties overseeing the research.
Who will be conducting the research/interview?
The interview (and, later in the process, data analysis) will be conducted by a research student at the University of Birmingham, under the supervision of the Meriden team.
What if I wish to withdraw?
The Meriden team supports the practice of protecting participants and their emotional well- being. Should you wish to withdraw at any time, please be aware that you are free to do so without penalty.
What happens afterwards?
A report outlining the findings of the study will be written, which you are welcome to have a copy of.
If you have any further questions, or would like to get involved, please contact Lucy Moid ([email protected]).
What is the training?
Psychological therapies for people with severe mental health problems (PTSMHP) are a key part of the integrated offer for adults, as set out in the NHS Long-Term Plan. The Mental Health Implementation Plan and subsequent Community Mental Health Framework for Adults and Older Adults, provides a new framework to ensure services are integrated, “place based” and designed to meet specific local need.
For those experiencing severe and/or complex mental health problems, the Framework advocates the provision of NICE-recommended psychological therapies and views these as critical in giving people the best chance to get better and to stay well. Funding to commission new courses has been made available to Health Education England (HEE) through NHS England (NHSE) and a national curriculum has been agreed for the training based on the best available evidence.
The Meriden Family Programme is one of 4 training providers commissioned to deliver across England and will be offering a 12-month programme via Microsoft Teams to staff working in community adult or older adult services. The training will equip practitioners with the skills to deliver evidence based face-to-face FI sessions, as well as remote working where necessary.
Please read HEE Cohorts 3 4 Brochure Brochure information with training application details.
For further details on the course, please email us at [email protected]
How to apply
Applications can be made by submitting the booking form to [email protected] and we will then forward applications to HEE for authorisation and confirmation.
What is the training?
Psychological therapies for people with severe mental health problems (PTSMHP) are a key part of the new integrated offer for adults, as set out in the NHS Long-Term Plan. Funding to commission new courses has been made available to Health Education England (HEE) through NHS England (NHSE). A national curriculum has been agreed for the training based on the best available evidence.
The Meriden Family Programme is one of the 4 training providers commissioned to deliver across England and will be offering a 12-month programme via Microsoft Teams.
Please open and read HEE FI Flyer information for training application details.
For further details please contact:
Health Education England (HEE) has developed a national curriculum for family intervention training for CMHTs which states that the training they will be commissioning from approved training organisations will be required to:
The national curriculum only relates at present to CMHTs for adult and older adult services and not to Early Intervention services. The course does not enable participants to train other staff, but does enable them to supervise their colleagues within their CMHT. If you have completed BFT training then you do not need to attend this training course in order to work with families. Existing trainers and supervisors do not need to attend this training in order to continue to train and supervise colleagues in BFT.
The course will consist of the fundamental elements of BFT, plus aspects of the trainers and supervisors course and the Caring for Carers course which may be familiar to a lot of trainers.
The Meriden Family Programme welcome the opportunity to be one of four approved providers across England and see this as a way of looking to ensure that family intervention becomes embedded in CMHTs, which for a considerable number of areas has been challenging.
There have been a number of discussions that have taken place with trainers and supervisors from across the country about the current status of the five day BFT training.
The message that we are sending out is that you should go ahead with any training plans that you have. If the training and supervision you provide is working well for your organisation then carry on as usual.
We will be involved in ongoing discussions with HEE and others regarding developing standards for CMHTs in the future and will keep trainers and supervisors informed about any further changes.
Martin Atchison – Acting Head,
Meriden Family Programme
Feedback from Facilitators & Families about Online Caring for Carers Experience
By Dani Himmelman
Coordinator
Families Matter In Mental Health
Schizophrenia Society of Nova Scotia
Two online programs were delivered in Nova Scotia, Canada, between May and July 2020:
The Covid-19 outbreak has prevented in-person Caring for Carers programs (known in Nova Scotia as Families Matter in Mental Health) from being offered since March, 2020. We recognized that families need support now more than ever and that Covid may prohibit in-person programs for some time. With support from the Nova Scotia Health Authority, we decided to offer an online version of the program via Zoom. Some clinicians expressed concerns about the technical aspects of offering the program online and about staying true to the model. Some were unable to be involved because of Covid related additional work and home responsibilities. Five facilitators (3 clinicians and 2 family members) agreed to take on the challenge of delivering 2 online programs between May and July 2020.
During program planning, facilitators identified some concerns and each was addressed:
Participant Attendance: (9 sessions in total)
9 sessions – 8/14 people (57%)
8 sessions – 3/14 people (21%)
7 sessions – 2/14 people (14%)
4 sessions – 1/14 people (7%)
Overall attendance was 90% and attendance at 7 or more of the 9 sessions was 92%. This is as good or better than our in-person programs.
Post Group Participant Feedback:
All 14 families said they would recommend the online program if an in-person program was not available. When asked to rate their experience of attending the group online – 1 person rated it as average, 6 rated it as good, and 7 rated it as excellent. Feedback for individual sessions did not reflect a change in positive/negative responses compared to in-person programs offered in the past.
Comments from families:
“Program was excellent. I am glad I was part of this experience. Thank you.”
“It was a good experience. For some people, a Zoom format may even be more suitable than in-person and it would be nice if both formats could be offered.”
“Was able to put things into practice during the course and debrief about our experiences and effectiveness.”
“I am glad that I participated in the program. The facilitators were knowledgeable, approachable and supportive. I liked how they spoke of personal situations as it normalized what the participants were experiencing. I will definitely refer back to handouts that I received, particularly those dealing with communication skills. It was good to meet others who are facing the challenges of having a family member(s) living with mental illness.”
Post Group Facilitator Feedback:
Facilitators were amazed at how quickly participants connected. The online format did not limit participation and discussion. Visual presence affects engagement and participation, so it is recommended families use video when possible. Practicing skills poses similar challenges in online and in-person groups, so breakout rooms are advisable. A size limit of 3 to 4 families per facilitator is suggested. It was helpful to assign 1 facilitator each session to monitor the ‘room’ (i.e. facial expressions, raised hands, chat box, admitting/readmitting people). Overall, facilitators were impressed by how well the online format worked, how user friendly it was, and by the flexibility it adds to program delivery.
Advantages of In-person vs Online Programs (gathered from a post-group Network Meeting discussion among trained clinician and family facilitators):
In-person programs:
Online programs:
Summary
There are advantages to both in-person and online programs. The Zoom facilitators recommend the online program as a good option. The post program facilitator Network Meeting discussion suggested that many facilitators are interested in the online option and that offering a combination of both in-person and online programs is worth considering going forward. Many facilitators are gaining online meeting experience since Covid-19 has restricted in-person meetings. This has helped it become a more acceptable and viable option for facilitators and families alike.
To view the guide please click on the link to download the Covid-19: Family work by telephone guidance:
Caring for Yourself is a self-help workbook in eight parts. The resource is available online and is free to download.
To download the guide please click on the links below
Caring for Yourself
We hope that you and your family are well and keeping safe.
We ask that you please follow the government guidelines to avoid going out of your home unless for essential items, food and/or medication or to work if you are unable to work from home. For more information on the government guidance, please visit https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus.
We would also like to take this opportunity to reassure everyone that calls to the Meriden office are being monitored and redirected to Martin Atchison, Acting Head of the Programme.
We have a number of training courses planned, but due to current circumstances it is impossible to be clear whether these will go ahead. We will be posting regular updates on this website as the guidance changes. We will also be posting some guidance soon about continuing to support families in contact with services under the current restrictions.
Be kind, stay safe.
Martin Atchison
Acting Head of the Programme
The Meriden Family Programme welcomed our colleagues from Japan who were here to attend the Training for Trainers and Supervisors course.
Pictured here are, from left,
Dr Kumiko Morita , Professor, Rissho University, Saitama Prefecture, Japan
Mr Peter Woodhams, Carer Consultant, Meriden Family Programme
Ms Mariko Kamikubo, Mental Health Social Worker, Peerclinic, Hamamatsucity, Japan and
Professor Masako Fujiwara, University of Fukishama Gakuin, Fukushima, Japan
Due to the typhoon in Japan, our colleagues were delayed in returning home due to flights being cancelled. Peter was kind enough to pay a visit on the Monday after the course to talk about the involvement of families in mental health services.
We are hoping that the relationship between Meriden and colleagues in Japan continues to flourish.
Martin Atchison
Deputy Head
Meriden Family Programme