Are you in London, the South East or East of England and interested in expanding the infant mental health workforce?

Summary

For a number of years, Anna Freud have been hosting the CYP IAPT Therapy programme awarded by University College London (UCL). Their 0-5’s modality aims to increase capacity by expanding the workforce of clinicians within infant mental health. Salary costs and tuition costs for the training are funded by the government (NHSE), so it is a great opportunity for infant MH services to grow and provide more help to families in need of these vital services. 

They really want to continue expanding their reach for the 0-5’s training and are keen to involve new services within London, South East and East of England regions that may benefit from the experience. 

Recruitment for the next cycle is now in progress with an expressions of interest process. New services can register their interest at this stage by contacting [email protected] to complete the expressions of interest form. This will begin the process of applying to NHSE for funding for the salary and tuition fees for a trainee who will become a new staff member employed at your service.

Successful organisations will be guided through the process and recruitment of trainees which usually takes place from August – November. The trainees recruited by your service will then start in post in January 2025 and alongside their work in your organisation will complete a one year Post Graduate Diploma funded by NHS.

How can CYP-IAPT support service growth for 0-5s in your area?
If services recruit new staff, NHSE will fund the first year’s salary (plus oncosts) and training fee to undertake a one year Postgraduate Diploma in CYP IAPT 0-5s.

Evidence shows 0-5 years is a crucial window for intervention to prevent the development of problems later in life. The CYP-IAPT 0-5s PGDip module offers training in evidence based practice for this age group. Practitioners will gain a holistic understanding of 0-5s as well as receiving full training in NICE recommended leading therapeutic interventions.

Who could benefit from this training?
We recognise that frontline practitioners (Health Visitors, Family Support Workers, Early Intervention Workers) are at the forefront of work with families with 0-5s. We would welcome conversations with commissioners and service managers who want to grow their offer to families by receiving funding to recruit new practitioners who can add evidence based interventions to the tool box of interventions services offer.

What about supervision?
Supervision is of course essential to good practice and all trainees on the CYP IAPT 0-5s module must have a named supervisor with appropriate skills. Supervisors will be supported by course staff and offered CPD in specialist infant mental health supervision.

Can CAMHS services also benefit?
In some areas, 0-5s may be offered support through an extension of existing CAMHS provision. CYP IAPT are also able to offer funding to recruit more traditional CAMHS staff (family therapists, psychotherapists, clinical psychologists) wanting to develop this area of practice. CAMHS services can also recruit the practitioners outlined above to provide support at an Infant Mental Health Practitioner level. This provision should include the 0-2 age range.