Hannah Prytherch, Laura Lea and Matthew Richardson
The purpose of this paper is to examine service-users’ experiences of mentoring trainee clinical psychologists as part of an involvement initiative on a doctoral training course.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine service-users’ experiences of mentoring trainee clinical psychologists as part of an involvement initiative on a doctoral training course.
Design/methodology/approach
Seven service-users were paired with trainee clinical psychologists. Pairs met for one hour monthly over six months. Meetings were unstructured, lacked a formal agenda and were not evaluated academically. All seven mentors were interviewed. They were asked about positive and negative experiences, as well as about the support provided. Transcripts were subject to thematic analysis and themes were reviewed by mentors in a follow-up meeting.
Findings
Overall, the results demonstrate that service-users can be involved in training in a way that they find meaningful and contribute to their recovery. Seven themes were identified: giving hope and optimism; making a difference; personal and professional development; the process; practicalities/logistics; support (positives); and support (areas for improvement).
Practical implications
The importance of designing involvement initiatives in a way which implicitly supports service-user values was highlighted. Recommendations for designing effective support structures are given. The authors were also involved in the scheme which could have introduced bias.
Originality/value
The research exploring service-users’ experiences of involvement in training health professionals is limited. This was the first study to explore in depth service-users’ perspectives of involvement in a scheme such as the mentoring scheme. If initiatives are to seriously embrace the values of the service-user movement then seeking service-users’ perspectives is vital.
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Sue Holttum, Laura Lea and Sarah Strohmaier
Previous research suggests that service user and carer involvement (SUCI) in clinical psychology training may have an impact. The purpose of this study was to develop a validated…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous research suggests that service user and carer involvement (SUCI) in clinical psychology training may have an impact. The purpose of this study was to develop a validated questionnaire to enable trainee clinical psychologists to rate this.
Design/methodology/approach
A collaborative project was carried out with service users and carers and trainee clinical psychologists. The principles of questionnaire design were followed. The authors developed and validated a trainee self-report questionnaire, based on focus groups and relevant literature indicating potential impacts of involvement on practice. A draft 60-item version was piloted with 15 trainee clinical psychologists. Then, 133 trainees from 22 UK clinical psychology courses completed it (estimated response rate of 13.2%). The sample was representative of UK trainees in gender and ethnicity, but slightly older.
Findings
The principal component analysis produced a 36-item questionnaire with four factors: human communication, carer perspectives, empathy and challenging/changing. The questionnaire showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Stakeholder consultation suggested face and content validity and there was some indication of construct validity.
Originality/value
The project has resulted in a usable co-produced questionnaire, which is now available to clinical psychology courses to assess the self-reported impact of SUCI in training, and which may also be used in future research.