Celebrating 10 years of the Northern Talking Therapies Practice Research Network

This October, the Northern IAPT (Talking Therapies) Practice Research Network celebrated ten years of collaboration and impact with a well-attended anniversary conference held at the Guildhall, York’s stunning, historic events space.

PCMIS were proud to sponsor the event in a show of support and appreciation for the academics and clinicians involved and their efforts to create a world-leading research hub in the North of England.

 

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What is a Practice Research Network?

A PRN is a coordinated group of clinicians that provides an infrastructure to “facilitate direct and active collaboration between psychotherapists and researchers in scientifically rigorous and clinically meaningful research” (Castonguay et al, 2010, p. 346).

The PRN model has been advocated as an optimal way to generate practice-based evidence that enables clinicians to assess their effectiveness and to explore the challenges of routine therapy (Margison et al, 2000).

Typically, a PRN operates through a formal group of clinicians that identify areas of practice to be researched, in collaboration with academic partners that are able to offer methodological and technical expertise. In this way, research directly influences and connects with routine clinical practice and advances the scientist-practitioner model.

10 Year Anniversary Conference

Throughout its first ten years, the Northern PRN has involved over 20 services and half a dozen Universities in a partnership that has produced over 30 scientific publications.

Organised by Professor Jaime Delgadillo with support from the PCMIS team, the event in York paid tribute to the membership’s impactful work to date, showcased some exciting new research in the field of psychological therapy, and set some key challenges and areas of exploration for future projects including a focus on digital health and machine learning.

 

Attendees and presenters ranged from member organisations across the North of England, including Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Rotherham, Doncaster & South Humber NHS Foundation Trust.

In a testament to the broad impact of the Northern PRN, the event was also attended by a range of guest speakers from further afield, with University College London, University of Exeter and Royal Holloway (London) presenting their research and acknowledging the influence and achievements of their Northern counterparts.

PCMIS is proud to support this important work and wishes the Northern Talking Therapies Practice Research Network well for what will surely be another ten years of cutting edge, impactful, collaborative research projects.

To find out more about their work visit the Northern PRN website.