Health Psychology Services
At the forefront of delivering unique, quality, personalised healthcare services
Company bios
Sasha Cain, Company Owner
HCPC Registered Psychologist, Chartered Psychologist
Fellow of The British Psychological Society
I have worked in Health and Social Care since 1998, my background is working in General Psychology moving into general preventative health and public health in 2002 and becoming a Consultant Health Psychologist in 2004. I moved into independent private practice in 2012.
I have considerable expertise in working in & with NHS organisations, primary care providers, local authority, education & third sector organisations where I have developed new Health Services and staff teams as well as reviewing, evaluating & re-configuring services. I have particular expertise in working therapeutically with individuals and groups and in achieving sustained complex health behaviour change. I have lead services for 20 years including the strategic commissioning of public health services.
In 2012 I moved into independent practice, developing this Company from a Partnership to an LLP and now as SCPS Consulting LTD which has included expanding my expertise across all areas of Health Psychology Practice and business development. From 2020 SCPS Consulting takes forward the work of my Company SCCH Consulting. Moving into my second decade of private practice I take forward a track record of delivering a number of public, private and third sector services including therapeutic service delivery, training, supervision, service development and evaluation. I have successfully achieved contract extensions across projects, where this has been possible. I really enjoy meeting and working with new Organisations and Partners, identifying opportunities for collaboration and providing an insight into how Health Psychology can take a product to another level. My work in private practice was given external recognition in 2017, when I was given the British Psychology Society Practitioner of the Year Award.
Since 2004 I have had an active role in the development of my Profession through inputting into the work of my Professional Body and National Regulator (The British Psychological Society and HCPC). This has included assessing European and Overseas applications for professional recognition; developing and delivering training and networking events for Health Psychologists, leading on development of Consultant level roles across Psychology; negotiating with the Governments Workforce Review team to make a case for Health Psychology paid training places and raising awareness of the crucial roles played by Health Psychologists in the NHS. I was the first Chair of the British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology to be a full time practitioner and in Indepedent Practice (2015). I am a BPS National Assessor and an HCPC Partner.
A Founding Partner of SCCH Consulting (forerunner of SCPS Consulting), working with the Company until until 2020. Background as Consultant Lead Health Psychologist and CBT Therapist in NHS physical health services (previously Head of Psychology, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Trust). Expertise & experience provided have fed into the products offered by SCPS Consulting e.g. training.
Company Experience: After a decade of business, SCPS Consulting LTD (formally SCCH Consulting) has developed considerable experience across all aspects of Health Psychology Services. We have developed and provided a number of direct client-facing clinical services including in Private Hospital Settings. Services have included staff-support, bariatric services, cancer, long-term conditions and preventative health. Evaluation of effectiveness, uptake & outcomes have shown the high quality of our Services.
The Company has been privileged to support a number of clinical services through reviewing & developing services and their staff. Our contracts in these areas have been well received and we have been able to develop effective methods to balance between the Commissioners and Providers of these services so as to be able to effectively carry out this challenging intermediate role. We use our advanced skills to be able to tailor our work individually, rather than relying on fixed models or techniques that may not fit the client's needs. Our particular expertise is to support organisations to understand how they can use Health Psychology to make their services more effective. We have a systematic and highly effective process of understanding the research evidence base, evaluating our Client's existing services and making specific recommendations for high impact service developments. We have gone on from these pieces of work to support organisations to develop clinical risk stratification resources, standardising service operating procedures, providing training for staff and many other tailored materials.
We are the only UK providers of Applied Health Psychology Therapeutic training and we have spent the last 10 years listening to our clients and adjusting our training over time to meet the needs of applied health professionals. Our work has been Commissioned by many UK postgraduate University Health Psychology courses. In 2020 our training services were developed to include a significant online offer, with our Knowledge based training certificate being wholly available through online learning. Our trainee's have really appreciated being able to learn from home and reduce the costs of travel and venues. Our trainee's consistently achieve significant increases in knowledge and skills.
The Company provides professional supervision to a considerable cohort of Health Psychologists, trainees and students, which puts us in a unique position to be able to advise and guide based on a very broad and in-depth understanding of what our Supervisees are experiencing in their day-to-day practice. In 2020 this has included a significant focus on experiences of COVID and Discrimination issues. To support this work, we maintain British Psychological Society Certification as Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors. Most commonly, Supervision consists of formative, restorative and normative components, with a focus on application of evidence into practice and meeting HCPC and BPS guidelines. The Company provides Supervision to Organisations for their staff (including input into PDP) as well as Privately Funded Supervision (for employed and self-employed people). The Company has or is currently working with practitioners in the following areas of practice: Pain management (Hospital NHS and Other Providers as well as Private Practice), Bariatric Psychology, General Hospital Psychology Services (across specialisms), Thyroid Specialism, IAPT and Private Practice general long-term conditions (e.g. ME, pain, long-COVID, MSK, Sickle Cell), Lifestyle Services (smoking, alcohol, weight management), Hypertension Services, Stroke Services, Older Adults (isolation and long-term condition management) third sector. We also provide one-off career advice and planning. We have a strong track record of providing Supervision services to trainees, newly qualified, mid career and Consultants.
In 2018 the British Psychological Society recognised the work of the Company by awarding the Practitioner of the Year Award for 2017. Recognising work carried out in developing online interventions for Long-term Conditions, developing novel methods for reviewing Public Health/ Local Authority STP plans and organising a New National Applied HP Conference.
National Roles: Working in the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Health Psychology (DHP) National Executive Committee. Developing the Department of Health's Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Programme competences, Public Health Competencies, New Ways of Working in Applied Psychology Working Party and the commissioning and funding of health psychology services with the Workforce Development Confederations. Advising and working with government and national health policy, commissioning and training centres. Organising a National Conference for Practitioner Health Psychologists from 2014-18.
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