Conference Review – The Power of Collaboration for the Complex Client
29th November 2022
Written by Caitlin Thompson, Assistant Psychologist.
On 24th November 2022, Richard, Laura, and Caitlin from the Psychology Chartered team attended a conference in Bristol hosted by Enable Law and 3Hub on the importance of professional collaboration when working with complex clients involved in litigation. The diverse speakers and audience included solicitors, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, case managers and psychologists.
The conference was cleverly structured around a case study of a client’s complex needs prior to and after acquiring a brain injury. Each of the professional speakers outlined their formulation of the issues within their field of expertise, addressing key issues, risks and challenges.
Solicitors Tim Jones of Enable Law and Mark Bailey from DAC Beachcroft discussed their roles and priorities when working with the client from both the claimant and defendant perspectives. It was highlighted that the optimal approach would be co-operative, using open communication and an understanding of the complex/diverse effects of brain injury. Correspondingly, a case manager would assess and work in the best interest of the client and their family.
The role of mental capacity was addressed by solicitors from the Enable Court of Protection team, Tim Bennett and Emily Steel, addressing differences between finance and health and welfare deputies in complex cases. This was particularly interesting as they were directly involved with the original case and were able to give further context to their roles in the case study.
Case manager from 3 Hub, Emily Denny, spoke about the comprehensive and integral role of case management; she focused on the risks and obstacles faced in the case and the importance of communicating effectively with the client, their family, solicitors, and other therapeutic professionals. Later in the day, once all the attendees had received further information about the case study, Emily spoke again about concurrent challenges and possible interventions that could be put in place for the client.
Our own Dr Richard Maddicks focussed on the neuropsychological effects of injury on development/maturation and executive function. He highlighted that limited self-awareness of injury effects can impact the client’s engagement and understanding of the importance of therapy and present specific challenges in terms of the therapeutic relationship and the family experience.
Later, Richard spoke about the Empowerment Behavioural Management Approach during intervention which focuses on systemic influences, positive behaviour support and behavioural contracts to promote awareness and skill development. In relation to the case, Richard also discussed the need for psychosexual education/support and how the responsibility for addressing this aspect of rehabilitation is often poorly managed/addressed by rehabilitation professionals.
Marcelo Rhodes presented his rehabilitative work as a physiotherapist at the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital. As an inpatient private hospital, they provide patient centred holistic rehabilitation therapy programmes using physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, occupational therapy, mobility, and speech and language support. It was interesting to hear about the range of innovative technology equipment used at the hospital to assist patient’s programmes, which Marcelo was particularly proud of. He also he made it clear that patients individual needs are of paramount importance in developing and implementing effective care plans.
Jeff Goodright from Cyber Spider provided an insight into important and sometimes overlooked ‘cyber threats’ to the client’s safety. He spoke about assessment and choosing appropriate devices, support with using technology, interacting with others online, as well as highlighting some of the simple and effective ways to manage complex and difficult online behaviours, using ‘safeguards’ that already exist on many devices.
The theme of the conference was reflected in the title, a true insight into the importance of the collaborative process of professionals to support the needs and wishes of a complex client. Alongside a real appreciation of each other’s professions and expertise, there was a great sense of ‘team’ effort in how to support clients through the litigation process and beyond.
Thank you to Enable Law and 3Hub for having us.
Conference speakers:
John Ross – Enable Law barrister and chair of the conference
Mark Bailey – DAC Beechcroft Solicitors
Tim Jones – Enable Law Solicitor
Emily Denny – Specialist Case Manager
Dr Richard Maddicks – Clinical Neuropsychologist, Psychology Chartered
Tim Bennett – Enable Law, Mental Capacity Legal Director
Emily Steel – Enable Law, Mental Capacity Solicitor
Marcelo Rhodes – Physiotherapist, Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital
Jeff Goodright – Cyber Spider