Reflective Practice: Psychologists with Lived Experience of Mental Health

Reflective Practice: Psychologists with Lived Experience of Mental Health

Overview: You are invited to participate in this series of 6 reflective practice group sessions with 5 other qualified clinical or counselling psychologists, who have lived experience of mental health difficulties. This monthly group, is a closed group to promote the opportunity for connection and containment, to facilitate and support the sharing and reflection on past or current experiences of mental health difficulties and the subsequent interactions of the personal/professional interface.

Rationale: I set up this group as, in my view, there are not enough spaces for qualified psychologists to talk about and begin to reflect on self, in relation to their mental health experiences and their work environment.

Often psychologists are inhibited to talk about their mental health needs and experiences due to the ongoing stigma in professional mental health arena’s and associated concern as to how it can impact how they navigate professional spaces and clinical work. The group is, therefore, designed to invite reflection and consider issues of power, position, privilege, academia, alongside peer emotional support.

Criteria: This group is for qualified clinical and counselling psychologists, meaning that attendees will be qualified to doctoral level and registered with HCPC. Attendees are asked to share the details of their HCPC registration ahead of attending, to ensure that the space is perceived as protected and protective by all those who take part.

In terms of ‘lived experience of mental health’, this refers to personal experience of mental health difficulties - these do not have to have been formally diagnosed mental health difficulties and to that end, the 'personal experience' is somewhat defined by the attendee.

Attendees will be asked to complete ‘Reflective Practice Group Terms’ before attending the group.

The group is not a substitute for supervision, nor is it a counselling/therapy space. It is the attendees responsibility to ensure that they are accessing the relevant support networks to ensure fitness to practice.

Format: The group will include up to 5 other qualified professionals, as outlined above. The group will be hosted on the second Tuesday of the month at 09:30 lasting up to 90minutes in length. The closed group experience will run for 6 consecutive sessions. This group will be online and facilitated on Zoom by Dr Elina (Linnie) Telford. Please see: www.thebluebellclinic.co.uk for details of her professional experience.

Structure: The reflective practice groups will be lead by Linnie. Within the group, members will be invited to outline a professional situation for the purpose of group discussion and reflection. There will be the opportunity to discuss up to a maximum of two situations per session, which will be decided at the beginning of each session. The decision of what will be discussed will be informed by who would like to speak. In cases where there are more than two situations to discuss, priority will be given to the most urgent topic.

Dates & Times: The dates and times of this 6 block rotation of groups are:

Tuesday 14th October 2025 at 09:30 - 11:00

Tuesday 11th November 2025 at 09:30 - 11:00

Tuesday 9th December 2025 at 09:30 - 11:00

Tuesday 13th January 2026 at 09:30 - 11:00

Tuesday: 10th February 2026 at 09:30 - 11:00

Tuesday: 10th March 2026 at 09:30 - 11:00

Cost: £260 for a closed block of six consecutive sessions, a minimum of 5 people are needed to book for the group to run.

Cancellation Policy: Group members are asked to commit to attending the block of 6 sessions to help the formation of a protected space and to support the continuity in group dynamics; to this end, there are no refunds on missed sessions.

You have the right to cancel your booking within 14 days of booking if it was arranged online, in compliance with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Further information can be provided on request and is also, outlined in the ‘Reflective Practice Group Terms’.

Please email: drlinnie@thebluebellclinic.co.uk should you wish for more information ahead of booking your space. I look forward to meeting you soon.