Meeting the psychological needs of dementia in Northern Ireland Launch of the British Psychological Societydementia papers

The Long Gallery, Parliament Buildings,Stormont Estate Belfast

Monday 30 November 2015

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Introduction

We are delighted to welcome you to this event at Stormont organised by the Northern Ireland Branch of the British Psychological Society and our Divisional Chairs Policy Group. We gratefully acknowledge our Faculty for the Psychology of Older People and the Faculty for People with Intellectual Disabilities for organising the programme.

It is estimated that at present in Northern Ireland there are 19,000 people living with dementia; fewer than 1,000 of these people are under 65 (DHSSPS, 2011). With an increasing aging population in Northern Ireland dementia is becoming a major public health and societal issue. The demand on our health and social care service and on our society will increase dramatically.

This event showcases the contribution of psychology to those living with dementia. It will highlight recent important documents published by the Society:

Clinical Psychology in Early Stage Dementia Care Pathway A Guide to Psychosocial Interventions in Dementia Dementia and People with Learning Disabilities

The launch of these documents will be set in the local context and will outline current research and best practice. We hope you have an enjoyable and productive afternoon.

Professor Chris McCusker Consultant Clinical Psychologist Chair of the NI Branch of the British Psychological Society

Dr Ciaran Shannon Consultant Clinical Psychologist Chair, Division of Clinical Psychology Northern Ireland

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A Guide to Psychosocial Interventions in Early Stages of Dementia

Reinhard Guss, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Kent & Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, Dementia Workstream Lead, Faculty for the Psychology of Older People

Reinhard Guss, the Faculty for the Psychology of Older People’s Dementia Work stream lead, has coordinated the development of the BPS documents Clinical Psychology in Early Stage Dementia Care Pathway and A Guide to Psychosocial Interventions in Dementia. This suite of documents was produced in collaboration with people living with dementia, the Faculty’s Expert Reference Group and their colleagues from Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia Action Alliance (DAA) and Dementia Engagement and Empowerment Project (DEEP). The papers highlight the importance of personalised pre-assessment counselling, skillful cognitive assessment, sympathetic communication of the diagnosis and appropriate post diagnostic support and access to relevant psychosocial interventions. These documents provide clear recommendations and guidance not only to clinical psychologists working in the field but to colleagues in other disciplines and partnership agencies working with people living with dementia.

Reinhard studied Clinical Psychology and Gerontology at Heidelberg University, Germany, in the 1980s. He came to the UK initially to conduct his dissertation research on the effectiveness of CBT stress management training for carers of people with dementia in Salford, and subsequently obtained UK recognition of qualifications. He has since worked as a Clinical Psychologist in Kent, with a special interest in Memory Clinics, early diagnosis and therapeutic approaches in dementia and services for younger people with a dementia.

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In recent years Reinhard has become more interested in the meaningful involvement of people living with dementia in service user involvement activities. For the past three years he has lead the Dementia Workstream of the Faculty for the Psychology of Older People in the BPS. He is involved in teaching and training of the next generation of Psychologists working with people with dementia, vice chair of the Faculty of the Psychology of Older People, and a regular contributor to conferences on dementia related issues.

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Psychological wellbeing in dementia: A Northern Ireland Perspective

Dr Frances Duffy, Consultant Clinical Psychology Lead for Older Adults, Northern Health and Social Care Trust

Dr Duffy will discuss how older peoples services in Northern Ireland support psychological wellbeing and respond to psychological distress experienced by people living with dementia. There are many examples of innovative practice across the region within the Health and Social Care trusts, Voluntary and Community sectors. There have been significant developments following the publication of the Dementia Strategy (DHSSPS, 2011) which will shape the future direction of services. With an increasing ageing population, how do we ensure our services continue to develop so that people live well with dementia? The current regional dementia collaborative, working to respond to the challenges of timely diagnosis and quality of care, will facilitate equity of service provision across Northern Ireland.

Dr Frances Duffy is the Consultant Clinical Psychology Lead for Older Adults in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. Frances completed a DPhil investigating Memory Deficits in the Early Stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Following a number of years lecturing in Neuropsychology at the Universities of Bristol and Glasgow, she trained as a Clinical Psychologist and subsequently completed a Diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology. Before moving back to Northern Ireland she worked in epilepsy, acquired brain injury and alcohol related brain injury services in Glasgow. Frances is presently clinical lead for the Northern Trust Memory Service and the Dementia Home Support Team (DHST). She developed CLEAR Dementia Care with the DHST, an innovative model to assess and address the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. She is a committee member of the British Psychological Society Faculty for the Psychology of Older People (FPOP) and a member of the Regional Dementia Improvement Collaborative.

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Good Practice Guidance on the Assessment, Diagnosis, Intervention and Support for People with Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Dr Karen Dodds, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Vice Chair of the DCP Faculty for People with Intellectual Disabilities This presentation will present the work of the Intellectual Disability Faculty of the British Psychological Society in collaboration with the Royal College of Psychiatrists in updating the guidance on the assessment, diagnosis, intervention and support of people with intellectual disabilities and dementia. Best Practice on the assessment, diagnosis, intervention and support for people with Intellectual Disabilities and dementia is reviewed and discussed. The presentation will both highlight the changes to the guidance since its original publication in 2009, and the role of psychologists in the care pathway. Dr Karen Dodd is Co-Director of Services for People with Learning Disabilities, Associate Director, Therapies – Learning Disabilities Services and a Consultant Clinical Psychologist for Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Karen has worked with people with learning disabilities for over 30 years. Throughout her career Karen has worked to develop new approaches, training materials, policies and guidance with regard to core issues for people with learning disabilities. These include: Sexuality and Personal relationships; health inequalities; treatment of psychological issues; health and pain; end of life and organ donation; CBT for staff working with people with learning disabilities and IAPT.

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Karen has had a longstanding interest in people with Down’s and dementia. This has included undertaking a 20 year longitudinal study of adults with Down’s syndrome; developing work with peers of people with Down’s syndrome and dementia; developing resource packs and information for staff, families and people with learning disabilities; training and workshops. Karen recently chaired the joint group between the British Psychological Society and Royal College of Psychiatrists Learning Disability Faculties to update the national guidance on the Assessment, Diagnosis, Interventions and Support of people with Learning Disabilities and Dementia (BPS 2015). Karen is now using her knowledge to improve services for all people with dementia, including the implementation of a quality outcome measure.

Karen is currently Vice Chair of the DCP Faculty for People with Intellectual Disabilities, and Co-Chair of the Learning Disabilities Professional Senate.

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Intellectual Disability and Dementia: A local perspective Matt McMurray, Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust Whilst the topic of dementia has gained increased attention in recent years – with a concurrent emphasis on service development in health and social care settings – this pace has been somewhat slower in the context of intellectual disability services. Nonetheless there have always been a small group of professionals interested dementia and intellectual disability and how best to meet service user needs. This is no different in the Northern Ireland context. Matt will briefly describe existing local service models and reflect on current directions in the development of improved dementia support for people with an intellectual disability, including opportunities and challenges therein. Matt McMurray has worked alongside people with a learning disability for over ten years. He presently works as a clinical psychologist for the learning disability psychology team for the South Eastern Trust where he works with adults and children with a learning disability and their parents and carers. Matt is currently chair of the NI Division of Clinical Psychology Faculty for People with an Intellectual Disability.

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