The Scottish Government

An Action Plan for Allied Health Professionals in Mental Health

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/06/15133341/0

Exciting developments for DMP and the treatment of schizophrenia

On 23d September 2008 NICE published a draft document for consultation for the treatment of Schizophrenia:

Schizophrenia: Core interventions in the treatment and management of schizophrenia in adults in primary and secondary care (update).

The website of this document is:

http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/pdf/SchizophreniaUpdateFullGuidelineDraft%20ForConsultation.pdf;

NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence) is an independent body that evaluates all treatments (including both psychological and pharmacological) for physical and mental health. After a long consultation period with relevant stakeholders, NICE publishes guidelines on treatment and makes recommendations to the NHS re best practice, treatments the NHS should be offering and research. The first document on the treatment of schizophrenia was published in 2002 and now six years later it is being revised and updated. ADMP registered for this update as one of the stakeholders.

Of particular significance to Arts Therapists is that (in contrast to the 2002 document) there is a detailed section on the Arts Therapies as providing positive, helpful and cost effective treatments for schizophrenia. (See chapter 8.3 pp 196-200). More specifically seven relevant robust scientific studies are mentioned as providing a good evidence base for the use of the arts therapies in schizophrenia. One of these seven papers is by ADMP patron and internationally renowned body psychotherapist, Dr Frank Röhricht. This paper (Röhricht, F., & Priebe, S. (2006) Effect of body-oriented psychological therapy on negative symptoms in schizophrenia: a randomised controlled trial. Psychological Medicine 36: 669-678) is based on seven years of work within the East London Mental NHS Foundation Trust and compares the effectiveness of body psychotherapy (mainly Dance Movement Psychotherapy and Neoreichian Therapy) with supportive counselling for the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

There is a consultation period following the draft publication which ends on 17th November 2008 and feedback and responses to this draft document will then be reviewed and collated. The final document will be published in March 2009. This final document will provide the main recommendations for the treatment of schizophrenia in the NHS until it is reviewed some years down the line.

The recognition of this research work is very exciting and encouraging for our profession as it brings DMP and the Arts Therapies into the main stream of treatments for mental health conditions.

In terms of this specific research work on schizophrenia there are of course further developments. There is now a two centred study under way (at Springfield Hospital and Newham Centre for Mental Health), involving four DMP therapists who provide the manualised treatment, to further investigate the effects of body psychotherapy on schizophrenia. And a second paper (Röhricht, F, Papadopoulos, N. Suzuki, I. Priebe, S. Ego-pathology, body experience, and body psychotherapy in chronic schizophrenia) based on the first study is in press in the British Psychological Society Journal, Theory, Research and Practice and is due to be published later this year.

Nina Papadopoulos, SrDMP,

East London NHS Foundation Trust Research Team

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SRDMT CHANGES

As announced at the AGM in June there is a need to make a change in the SRDMT registration for ADMP. Following the AGM of ADMP’s Professional Registration Committee (PRC) and further ratification by council the timetable of changes is as below. There is work still being done by council and senior practitioners on the final version of the necessary changes to criteria, these will fall in line with HPC and the other Arts Therapies guidelines for becoming a Supervisor.

Council ratified the PRC proposal that the final submission for any new applications or re-writes for SrDMP level would be August 31st 2009 (with the new procedures starting September 1st 2009). Applications that are already in the system by August 31st 2009 will be processed according to the original SrDMT/P criteria and procedures. If they successfully satisfy those criteria the applicant will automatically be included on the new Register of Supervisors. All processes must be completed within one year of submission.

(The PRC will be disbanded from August 31st 2010).

It should be noted that any SrDMT/P’s awarded this level of registration prior to Sept 2009 would automatically be included on the Supervisor’s Register, as well as any applicants who submit before the deadline (August 31,2009) who successfully fulfil the original SrDMT/P criteria.

From September 2009 there will be a period of transition to complete ADMP’s supervisor training courses. So anyone wishing to train as a supervisor at this time will be recommended Supervisor training courses already in place with one of the other Arts Therapies. ADMP council will be more able to advise you about these courses at next years AGM in June.

COUNCIL MEETINGS

Did you know that any member of ADMT UK can attend Council Meetings?

Council Meetings:
28th June Siobhan Davies Dance Studios, St. Gorge's Road, London

Meetings are held every three months, full details of dates, times and venue can be found in the e-motion newsletter, which is to be posted on the web from Summer edition 2007 onwards.
Since July 1999 ADMT UK Executive Council has appointed Accreditation Panels to evaluate, and accredit where appropriate, DMT Post Graduate Masters level courses across the UK. So far the 2 courses accredited by ADMT UK are at Goldsmiths University of London and Roehampton University. Both courses qualify graduates with an MA. The Criteria for Registration is available on the website for public perusal. It is updated regularly in line with Health Professions Council (HPC) standards and Higher Education reviews and funding issues. The 2 courses train students to a level of competence that allows them to gain entry to the profession as a Registered Dance Movement Therapist (RDMT) on graduation. For this process to take place automatically the student must be registered as a Student Member with their professional body i.e. ADMT UK. This is an expectation that is common to all professions. Council re-opened the Grandparent Route in 2003 for those practitioners who have been working as a Dance Movement Therapist prior to accredited trainings in the UK and also for qualified DMTs from abroad who wish to practice in this country. ADMT UK also operates a Senior Registration system (SrDMT) that qualifies a DMT who has at least three years supervised practice and continued personal therapy to offer Private Practice and Supervision. The Register of Senior Practitioners will be posted on the web in April 2007 for students and the general public to access for therapy and supervision services.
The application to HPC for State Regulation and Registration with this body was made in March 2004. We are awaiting the Department of Health to undertake a Public Consultation before our professional titles are protected and we are fully included in the HPC. The titles that we proposed are Dance Movement Therapist and Movement Psychotherapist.
Please contact ADMT UK NOW if you are interested in REGISTERING .

andrew