First annual Midsummer Conference for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Talking Therapies

The first annual Midsummer Conference for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Talking Therapies saw staff come together to mark a new chapter for the service.

The event served as the launch for the newly named service; with the name change reflecting the national move from Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) to Talking Therapies.

More than 300 staff from the service attended the event, held at Port Vale Football Club. It is led by Clinical Director Dr Sarah Watts and comprises teams from MPFT, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust, Changes, Mental Health Matters, Dove Service, Mind Burton and District and Mind North Staffs.

Sarah said “It was a great day with a lovely atmosphere and the first time that we had all been together in one room. It was announced that IAPT would be renamed Talking Therapies earlier this year and we were lucky enough to have Hayley Mathews, Talking Therapies Programme Manager from NHS England join us at the conference and talk us through the rebrand. We also launched our new website on the day www.stokeandstaffstalkingtherapies.nhs.uk along with a new suite of leaflets.”

Other speakers included an opening address by MPFT Chief Executive Neil Carr, an insightful presentation by Ben Rogers, MPFT’s Director of Psychological Services, and Ross Crowther-Green, Lead for Mental Health Psychological Services, on why partnership working between primary and secondary mental health care is so important. Other presentations focused on topics including the support the service can offer to military veterans, patients with long term conditions and patients looking to get into or return to employment.

“We had a number of feedback question boxes placed around the room in which the team could post their thoughts and ideas as to how to take the service forward. The contributions submitted are amazing and so positive,” Sarah added. “We’ll be feeding back on those to staff over the coming weeks.

“I am privileged to have such a phenomenal team doing such great work. I was so very proud to see all the team together in one room and we are already setting in place plans to repeat the day in 2024.”