This year’s theme was ‘Innovations in Psychology’ and we heard presentations from both internal and external speakers. Our first Keynote presentation of the day was from Dr Katherine Carpenter, who shared her experience during her time as president of the British Psychological Society (BPS); including the ongoing work to modernise and update systems and processes, and establishing the equality and diversity network.
The second keynote speech was from Dr Chris Irons, co-director of Balanced Minds, who spoke on the importance of compassion in the workplace, both for ourselves and in our practise. For our afternoon sessions, delegates were able to select three symposiums to attend, all lead by different team members from Cygnet and covering a wide range of topics including; cultural awareness, creative therapies and EMDR.
Our final keynote speaker was Dr Sam Warner, who spoke on trauma. She emphasised the importance of going beyond trauma informed care, and making sure that trauma based systems are at the heart of the care we provide.
Closing the event was the annual awards ceremony, recognising fantastic work done across the country at Cygnet sites. The winners are as follows:
Team of the Year – Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke
The team at Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke were awarded ‘Team of the Year’ for their outstanding work and positive culture.
Allied Health Professional of the Year: Samantha – Louise Parker, Cygnet Sherwood Lodge
The AHP award went to Samantha – Louise Parker. Samantha was described as ‘dedicated to delivering an excellent service’. Shaun Keegan shared that her creativity and organisation skills are excellent. Samantha was recognised for making a positive impact with warmth, dedication and enthusiasm.
Researcher of the Year: Bobbie Turnbull, Cygnet St Williams
Researcher of the Year was awarded to Bobbie in recognition of her work building the research team at Cygnet. Her research has made a significant impact on the practice of psychology and the wider discipline of psychology through publication of academic knowledge.
She said, “I am very pleased to receive the researcher of the year award. It has been a privilege over the past few years to see the research team grow and develop and to work with all the researchers both within the company and externally who choose to do their research with us. It is lovely to see the progression of projects and to see ideas evolve into studies which evidence the great work achieved in the company.”
Psychologist of the Year: Rebecca Gibbs, Cygnet Sherwood Lodge
The Psychologist of the Year award was presented by Shaun Keegan. He explained how nominations for Rebecca had highlighted the outstanding impact she had on a local and regional level. He described her as a ‘shining example’ and leader.
Innovator of the Year: Sarah Ashworth – Cygnet Grange, Charlotte Keeling – Cygnet Hospital Woking, Majid Saleem – Gledholt
Innovator of the Year celebrates the innovation that is leading the way in delivering better services, empowering our staff teams and improving the quality of care provided for our service users. The judging panel felt that the Assistant Psychologist Development Programme (APDP) was a perfect example of this. As a team, the three winners had developed and rolled out the programme nationally.
Congratulations to each of our winners and all of the nominees.