Public Involvement

What Is LUPIN?

The Lancaster University Public Involvement Network (LUPIN) aims to increase public involvement in the Lancaster Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology. LUPIN was set up in early 2008 and is constantly evolving through consultation with members of the community.  LUPIN members include users of clinical psychology services, carers, programme staff and trainee clinical psychologists.

What is the purpose of LUPIN?

LUPIN and the course are working together to make sure that a public involvement perspective is woven throughout all aspects of the DClinPsy programme. This is to improve the experience of training so that trainees learn from the experiences of service users/carers.

The aims of LUPIN are:

• To audit and increase current public involvement in all aspects of the clinical psychology doctoral programme
• To offer advice and guidance to all stakeholders involved in the programme, including attending relevant programme committees
• To measure the impact of increasing public involvement within the programme

What work does LUPIN do?

LUPIN members have been involved in a range of work on the programme, such as being involved in selection interviews for trainees, teaching trainees, attending progrramme committees and developing programme policies: Please see our members' stories for their accounts of this involvement. For more information on what we have done so far, please see the ‘Our Work So Far’ page.

What meetings take place?

The LUPIN steering group meets every three months, and aims to guide the overall strategy of service user and carer involvement with the course. Several subgroups also meet periodically to focus on specific developments within the programme. LUPIN members also attend the programme Stakeholders Committee.

Where can I find out about your next meeting?

Please see the ‘Getting Involved’ section for information on how to join LUPIN and find out about our next meeting.

Why is the programme interested in public and service user involvement?

Service user involvement in clinical psychology training, including teaching, is enshrined in current policy. Department of Health policy emphasises the importance of involving service users and carers in all aspects of health care planning and delivery. The HPC Standards of Education and Training require clinical psychology training programmes to demonstrate evidence of the contribution that stakeholders, including service users, make in curriculum planning processes.

“If the traditional division between ‘us’ (the professionals) and ‘them’ (the service users and carers) is to be challenged, practitioners require opportunities to learn in a variety of ways from the experience of those who have personally lived with mental distress and disability.” (BPS, 2008).

On the Lancaster programme we are keen to ensure that the views and opinions of service users are represented as much as possible in the training experiences of our trainees.
Service user involvement in training is important, as it can:

• provide valuable and positive contact with people who have experienced mental health problems and/or used psychological services
• give trainees a different spin on what is important in our encounters with clients
• emphasise the importance of collaborative ways of working
• emphasise a community psychology perspective and a holistic view of mental health
• help trainees to see user-run groups as legitimate community resources

(Harper, Goodbody & Steen, 2003)

 

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