Members can now book onto a free CPD training event around guidance for therapists working with clients taking or withdrawing from prescribed drugs.

The training is based on the Guidance for Psychological Therapists: Enabling conversations with clients taking or withdrawing from prescribed psychiatric drugs.

The online training event aims to take a deeper look at the evidence around antidepressants and implications for therapeutic practice.

The speakers are Professor John Read, professor of clinical psychology at the University of East London; Professor Joanna Moncrieff, author and professor of critical and social psychiatry at University College London (UCL); Dr Mark Horowitz, a leading writer on withdrawal from such drugs, a training psychiatrist, and a clinical research fellow at UCL; and Dr Anne Guy, the secretariat co-ordinator for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence, an associate member of the Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal and the lead editor for the guidance.

Learning outcomes include:

  • Introduce therapists to the broader context for the prescription of psychiatric drugs in the UK today in terms of levels, outcomes, and risks of dependence
  • Summarise the main effects, adverse consequences, possible withdrawal strategies and reactions from psychiatric drugs using antidepressants as an example
  • Support therapists in deepening their knowledge and offering practical strategies for working with clients taking or withdrawing from prescribed psychiatric drugs

The event is hosted by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and takes place on Friday 15 October from 2pm to 4.30pm. It’s free to our members.

Visit the event page for more information. You can also sign up for free on the event page by clicking the pricing tab. The code for our members to get free access is on the pricing tab page.