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Posted on 4 Apr 2022

We are delighted that our Psychology Team at the National High Secure Healthcare Service for Women (NHSHSW) at Rampton Hospital, has won the British Psychological Society Innovation in Practice 2021 Award. The team won for its work developing and implementing the Trauma Informed Care Pathway.

During the past two years, the Psychology Team at the National High Secure Healthcare Service for Women (NHSHSW) at Rampton Hospital have led on the development and implementation of the Trauma Informed Care Pathway (TICP) within their service.

Dr Sue Elcock, Executive Medical Director/Executive Director of Forensic Services said:

“Congratulations to the team, this award is thoroughly deserved. They have worked extremely hard to develop a care pathway which means the patients are getting the best possible care and treatment. A huge well done to everyone involved”

The NHSHSW Treatment Pathway was revised as a Trauma-Informed Care Pathway (TICP) in January 2021. The revisions were in line with key recommendations about women’s mental health, emphasising key principles such as co-production, engaging in outreach and holistic working. Outreach is important as the effects of trauma can make it difficult for some women to engage with new services. The National Women’s Outreach Service (NWOS), led by Dr Jessica Lewis, Consultant Clinical Psychologist works with female services across the secure pathway, supporting patients who are on the waiting list for admission, transitioning out of high secure care, or those who have been referred for advice and support. Holistic working is about supporting the whole person and understanding mental distress in the context of peoples lives and experiences, enabling a wide range of presenting issues to be explored and addressed. Individually tailored formulations and effective multi-disciplinary working in the NHSHSW help drive this process.

The TICP takes a ‘gender and trauma-informed’ approach, in line with guidance from government and independent reviews. The TICP is based upon the phased approach to trauma and consists of three overlapping phases, which individuals may move between during their stay: ‘Safety and Stabilisation’, ‘Insight and Processing’, ‘Reintegration and Moving Forward’. Safety and Stabilisation is about establishing a sense of physical, relational, and psychological safety and the development of healthy internal and external resources. Insight and Processing is focused on supporting understanding and acceptance. Reintegration and Moving Forward is focused on the integration of learning, the strengthening of connections and the preparations for transition. Outreach plays a crucial role in this phase.  

These three phases capture all elements of care provision across the whole system, illustrating the holistic, multidisciplinary approach which is used to facilitate growth, transition, and recovery.

Yasmin Siddall, Consultant Forensic Psychologist and Joint Lead of the NHSHSW Psychology Service said:

“We are absolutely delighted and honoured to have received this award from the BPS. We are grateful to all the patients and our colleagues in the NHSHSW and sincerely thankful they have embraced the restructuring of our treatment pathway to a trauma informed care pathway so enthusiastically”.