1. Adult Mental Health Nikki Harrison Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Belfast Health & Social Care Trust

2. What got me interested? Some mental ill-health in the family
1 in 4 people will experience mental health problem in course of a year
Family member worked in social work & occupational psychology
General curiosity/interest

3. Mental Health in Cinema/TV

4. Cont’d

5. Mental Health in Cinema/TV

6. In Books/Poetry
LoF – human impulses towards civilisation and the pursuit of power

7. My route into Undergraduate degree in psychology – UUJ
Msc in applied psychology- UUJ
Assistant Psychologist post- learning disability
3 year clinical training- Psychological society of Ireland (PSI)
First clinical post- working with Looked after Children (LAC) in Health Service Executive (HSE)
BPS statement of Equivalence
Second post- AMH- Belfast City Hospital, Windsor house- 6 years
Current post ( 2012-) Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Primary Care, Belfast Trust

8. My job: Individual work Family work Group work Consultation
Supervision
Management
Teaching e.g. on the DClinPsy training course

9. Services I work into Primary Community Mental Health Teams (PCMHT)
Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPN), Social Workers, Psychiatrists, Psychologists
Referrals to team from GP’s
Moderate/ Complex Mental Health Difficulties- not Severe Mental Illness (SMI)

10. Clinical work- Typical referrals to Clinical Psychology
Complex/ Chronic Anxiety Disorders
Depressive disorders
Trauma- Type II ( including childhood trauma)
Adjustment/ Loss
Attachment/ Interpersonal difficulties
Often with associated difficulties such as Self harm/ Risk/ Eating Disorder/ Personality Disorder

11. Individual work Assessment Psychological formulation
Psychological interventions/ Psychological therapies

12. Family therapy
Helping family members support someone with a MH problem, reducing isolation
Improving communication in family relationships particularly during times of stress
Improving understanding of mental health
Identifying helpful and unhelpful family patterns

13. Group Work
Self-Esteem ACT 4 mood Others Mindfulness Childhood trauma group Bipolar awareness group

14. Other parts of my job:- Consultation Supervision
Management/ Service Development
Teaching/ Training

15. Other roles for psychology in AMH
Cognitive assessments/ IQ
Assessment of ASD & ADHD
Neuropsychology
Behavioural work
Working with staff teams (reflective practice)
Research
Working with SMI- Psychosis & Bipolar
Can work on acute Psychiatric wards, or in community settings ( e.g. Health centres)

16. Skills for the job Empathy Patience
Good communication skills ( verbal, written & listening skills)
Curiosity
Critical thinking skills
Time Management

17. Issues Challenges Too few clinical psychology training places
Too few funded posts in Health Service
Other disciplines claiming to do the same/ similar work
Positives
Can be fascinating work
Can change peoples’ lives
Can specialise how you like, to quite an extent; in terms of area, research, approach
No two days ever the same, always learning