Delivering support for carers of people with psychosis: A train-the-trainer programme

Course information
Date
17 September
Level
Intermediate
Locations
Online
Length and time
9:30 - 17:00
Cost
£399.00
Course information
Date
17 September
Level
Intermediate
Locations
Online
Length and time
9:30 - 17:00
Cost
£399.00
About the course

This course is designed for mental health professionals with experience in psychosis and bipolar services who wish to develop, deliver, and supervise a service for adult informal caregivers of individuals with psychosis and bipolar disorder. The course assumes prior knowledge of psychosis and core therapeutic skills and their delivery. It provides training materials developed from the award-winning Friends and Family Service at Psychological Interventions Clinic for Outpatients with Psychosis (PICuP), enabling attendees to train and supervise junior staff in delivering a NICE-concordant, evidence-based structured carer support intervention.

The course will cover the national context and evidence base for establishing carer support services. It includes an introduction to and further reading on the common challenges faced by caregivers, along with the differing needs of various carer groups (parents, siblings, partners, and adult offspring). This 'how-to' course will address key topics such as recruiting staff, engaging family members, overcoming common pitfalls, managing administrative demands, measuring outcomes, and handling consent and confidentiality.

We will explore the cognitive-behavioural model of caregiving that underpins the approach and discuss the various stages of the intervention. Topics include initiating conversations with carers, framing problems, supervising collaborative discussions on psychoeducation, and using educational materials as tools for discussion. We will also differentiate between client-focused relapse plans and family/carer sustainability and crisis plans. Participants will have opportunities to ask questions and reflect on how these issues apply to their own contexts.

Topics covered
  • Introduction to the course: setting the work in the national context, the rationale, and a brief introduction to the evidence base, as well as common obstacles to delivery
  • Confidentiality and consent
  • Teaching core skills: useful concepts of biopsychosocial development and maintenance of psychosis, ‘active listening’, ‘reflection’, ‘summarising’, ‘normalising’, ‘understanding recovery’, ‘therapeutic optimism and realism’
  • Introduction to the impacts of caregiving on carers
  • Understanding the caregiving model, relationship to ‘Expressed Emotion’, and relapse of psychosis
  • How to position the offer of support to carers
  • Introduction to ‘framing problems’ within a carer support intervention
  • Introduction to psychoeducation materials for psychosis and bipolar
  • Introduction to wellbeing materials and signposting
  • Relapse, risk, and recovery planning: how to develop a carer ‘sustainability’ and ‘crisis’ plan
  • How to supervise within the caregiving intervention model: sticking to the plan, outcomes, working with complexity
Learning objectives

At the end of this course, learners will be able to:

  1. Plan NICE-recommended condition-specific support service delivery for informal caregivers of those with psychosis or bipolar, in line with NHS England initiatives across early intervention, secondary care, and specialist service contexts.
  2. Deliver carer support using a cognitive-behavioural model of caregiving.
  3. Deliver half-day training to junior staff in structured carer support delivery.
  4. Provide ongoing supervision to junior staff delivering structured carer support.
Testimonials

This is the first practical carer help I have received—22 years on from my daughter's diagnosis. This is not 'how does that make you feel' therapy—this is a million times more helpful.
(Carer treated by the Friends and Family Service, PICuP)



Course schedule

17/09/2025
Target audience
The attendees of this course should hold a core professional registration with the HCPC and/or BABCP, and have experience working with people with psychosis and/or bipolar disorder. Additionally, they should have an interest in, and ideally experience working with, caregivers, family members, and friends of individuals with psychosis and/or bipolar disorder.
Select the type of ticket you would like to purchase
Standard
£399.00
40 places available
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