Dear ,

 

The ACP has published a Statement of Variance to help Training Schools be clear with students applying to train this year and trainees qualifying this year what degree of flexibility can be applied to allow for the extraordinary circumstances the pandemic has presented for gaining experience and competences in training. The Statement acknowledges the very difficult circumstances that trainees and teaching staff alike are facing, and makes provision for qualification subject to certain conditions where needed.The full Statement can be read here.

A note to remind members that the CPD returns for the period from 1 September 2019 - 31 August 2020 will be required by November 2020 as usual. It would be helpful for you to think through at this stage what CPD activities you will be able to include. Hopefully you will have accessed a wide range of CPD activities in the period from September 2019 – March 2020 before lockdown. But we are mindful of how preoccupied and exhausted we all are by the current circumstances and that CPD may not be at the front of your minds.

 

Also members may have been looking towards cancelled events such as the Annual ACP Conference to make a significant contribution to their CPD. As an alternative you may wish to access online courses and training - Nick Waggett has given details of his recent webinar for example, and there are other webinars online, as well as specialist reading etc. to fulfil the requirements. The ACP is also hoping to offer safeguarding training online. Please note that the ACP online AGM is a CPD activity!

 

Please remember to document your activities and save email confirmation of attendance in the way that you usually would do.

We are very conscious that some members in independent practice may have experienced a negative impact on their income during the lockdown. The government provides a range of support for small businesses, which can be seen through this webpage Find Coronavirus Financial Support for your Business. The central form of support is the Self Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) for the self-employed whose income has been ‘adversely affected’, which could be due to a variety of reasons such as:

you’re unable to work because you: 

• are shielding
• are self-isolating
• are on sick leave because of coronavirus
• have caring responsibilities because of coronavirus

you’ve had to scale down or temporarily stop trading because:

• you cannot access your premises 
• you have fewer or no patients or clients
• your staff are unable to come in to work

 

HMRC have produced a webinar which explains how this works.

For information on what benefits you may be able to claim for there is advice here

The government has also announced Financial Support for Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Organisations to respond to Coronavirus, including the £200M Coronavirus Community Support Fund. 

You may be interested to read this report from Deirdre Dowling, our link with the European Federation of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy (EFPP). She attended a remote meeting where psychotherapists from across Europe discussed the impact of COVID-19 in their respective countries.

Jo Stubley, Consultant Medical Psychotherapist & Psychoanalyst and Lead at the Tavistock Trauma Service, has published a very helpful paper on working in the context of COVID-19, including thoughts on what is needed whilst we are still in the traumatic conditions it has created, and what we need to think about as we emerge from them.

The ACP’s COVID-19 Response Team has produced a survey that we would like all ACP members to complete.

We are keen to hear about members’ experience of working during the current exceptional circumstances and to learn from it as we move out of lockdown.

We will feed back anonymised results and use them to inform our engagement with policy leads and service commissioners and providers.

We would be very grateful if you could complete this survey, the closing date is Monday, 1 June 2020.

Kind regards,

 

COVID-19 Response Team 

Marie Bradley (Director of Scientific Development)
Francesca Calvocoressi (Director of Professional Standards)
Lydia Gilbert (Member Engagement and Administrative Officer)
Jo Goldsmith (Chair of Ethical Practice Group)
Eve Grainger (Lead of Employment Standards Group)
Leslie Ironside (Lead of Independent Practice Group)
Jessica Jarmon (Business Manager)
Jason Kaushal (Director of Training)
Julia Mikardo (Unite the Union)
Isobel Pick (Chair)
Kate Robertson (Vice-Chair)

Janet Shaw (Registrar)
Nick Waggett (CEO)