June saw the Oxford Doctorate in Clinical Psychology’s biggest research conference yet, as over 40 final year trainees presented the findings of their doctoral research to audiences of over 100 people.
Taking place over two days, the DClin research conference is an opportunity for final year trainees to present research conducted as part of their doctorate to other trainees, supervisors and NHS staff. This year’s conference additionally featured keynote speeches from renowned clinical psychologists Dr Helen Kennerly and Professor Peter Fonagy.
Trainees presented their high-quality work on several areas, including highlighting the impact of service improvement work that has taken place across the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. This included innovations to the delivery of 1:1 time with service users on inpatient wards, and exploring how the staff psychology service can better support CAMHS workers at risk of burnout.
The conference also saw the presentation of innovative research in a variety of fields, including work utilising a newly developed questionnaire exploring a fear of losing control in anxiety disorders, and a project exploring the consequences of traumatic brain injury in people experiencing homelessness which challenges assumptions about the feasibility of conducting research in this population.
Dr Myra Cooper, one of the Course Research Directors, commented: “It was very exciting to see such a wide range of high quality studies, and I felt immensely proud of the trainees who have all worked incredibly hard to complete this work. The work is all eminently publishable and will be of great benefit to patients and the NHS. This is always a lovely occasion, and we wish them all well in their professional lives”.
The conference was the culmination of a large amount of work from third year research representatives Victoria Milner and Joel Lewin, supported by Wolfgang Fuchs (research team administrator). Victoria reflected: “Organising the research conference was a bit of a juggling act alongside finishing training, but it was absolutely worth it. After three years of hard work, it was incredible to see our cohort come together and share research that not only pushes the field forward but keeps service users' voices at the heart of it all”.
“We often only catch glimpses of what each other is working on, so it was really special to finally see the full range of projects come to life. The variety of topics and the positive implications for real-world practice made me feel genuinely excited about the future of clinical psychology”.
