North West of England
The North West is an exciting part of the UK, with lots going on and lots to offer psychologists living and working within the region. If you are a member of the BPS and are based within the north west region, you are automatically a member of our Branch.
About
We are a long-established Branch, involving a committee - elected yearly - and its membership, which consists of all BPS members in the north west of England.
The purpose of the Branch is to bring together psychologists and students of different fields from around this geographical region.
To fulfil our mission, our activities include:
- Discussing and contributing to BPS matters and other psychology-relevant topics
- Organising and running events of broad interest in our membership, including conferences and workshops
- Organising careers events for students and other outreach activities
- Organising informal events that provide social networking opportunities cutting across the fields of psychology
- Organising public engagement events
- Supporting other events relevant to our membership that are held in our region
If you are a BPS Branch member with ideas of what kind of events you would like, or if you are a related interest group in the region who’d like to make links with us, then we would very much like to hear from you!
You can contact us directly at [email protected] and keep up to date with ongoing developments and upcoming events using our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Not only does the Branch exist for you, but it is also effectively run by you. That is, events only happen because there are good people putting themselves forward, along with their effort and expertise, to organise relevant events, run them, and/or speak at them.
If you have any ideas for events and other activities, or you would be open to be invited as a guest speaker or otherwise contribute your expertise, then we would love to hear from you.
Aim
Our central aim is to promote psychology and the British Psychological Society to both psychologists and non-psychologists in our Region, the North West (NW) of England.
The Branch is run by the Committee and all BPS members whose addresses cover the NW area are automatically members of the Branch.
The Committee presently includes a range of practitioner and academic psychologists and students from diverse fields and with a range of specialisms and from different parts of the NW all bound together by our common location and our wish to fulfil our mission statement aims. We are able to do this as Committee members volunteer to give up their time and by holding six ordinary meetings throughout the year and by organising and assisting at various events. We also produce a newsletter, which is called The Update and maintain close links with the BPS (keeping updated with Society business) and the other Branches (via the Branches Forum).
We are a very active region and most of our activities involve organising events in the local vicinity. The range of backgrounds of our Committee members is not only enriching for the Committee members themselves but also means that we can put on a diverse range of events to suit a variety of interests and levels. Recent events include an occupational psychology day, forensic psychology conference, a neurolinguistic programming conference. and our series Psychology for Non-Psychologists. Some of these events are organised in collaboration with other organisations. We also arrange our very popular careers events aimed at sixth formers and undergraduates.
In keeping with our stated aims, we place much emphasis on promoting psychology and the BPS to students and this is reflected at all levels. Committee members have made regular careers visits to local schools, and we also maintain close links with PsyPAG (Psychology Postgraduate Affairs Group) by having a representative on the Committee.
Another focus has been on our strong attempt to reach out to all of the region and to encourage more members on to the Committee from all corners of the North West.
Each year, usually in October, we hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) (where members are invited to put themselves forward for nomination on to the Committee) which also includes a stimulating guest lecture and lovely buffet supper. All members are welcome.
Mission Statement
The overall mission of the North of England Branch of the British Psychological Society is to promote psychology and the British Psychological Society within the region to both psychologists and non-psychologists.
This will include the following items:
- Actively creating and using opportunities to interact with both psychologists and non-psychologists, and the media, and to develop and increase their understanding of psychology and its relevance.
- To encourage those considering a career in psychology to take advantage of the benefits of qualifications and a career in psychology.
- Seek to increase membership of the BPS.
- Organise events and other activities on topics of importance for the career and professional development of psychologists, focusing on topics of common interest to different divisions/sections, and help to facilitate communication across divisions/sections boundaries on matters of common concern.
- It may sometimes be in keeping with our mission to organise events of a specialist scientific nature. The aim of these events will be to facilitate communication between North of England Branch members, and aid scientific and professional development.
- Facilitate and encourage communication between Branch members.
- Regularly and systematically assess and respond to the wishes of Branch members.
News
Events
Carl Rogers Award for Creativity in Psychology
The Award for Creativity in Psychology is an award that celebrates a fresh approach to the application of psychology in your area of interest, research and /or everyday life.
This award is intended to celebrate the power of self-expression and individuality rather than academia and is meant to encourage students to develop their writing skills, and act as an inner guide to self-knowledge and ones’ capacity to courageously engage in exploring the world of ideas and their application to our society.
An example of topics might be the influence of nature versus nurture on child development or why do adolescents engage in risk-taking behaviour? Or even how psychology has impacted my decision making process.
This award is open to anyone who is a postgraduate psychology student at a University in the North West of England. Eligible University Psychology Departments, can be found below
Eligible universities:
- Lancaster University
- University of Manchester
- University of Chester
- Edge Hill University
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- Liverpool John Moore
- University of Salford
- Liverpool Hope University
- University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)
- The Open University (students placed in Region 8 - and Carlisle area only within Region 9 - for their studies)
- University of Bolton
- University of Cumbria
What is the award?
- Certificate of the award
- 13 monetary prizes of £100
- Recipients will be announced as part of the 2023 NW Branch programme.
What are the criteria?
- A genuinely creative and original paper between 750-800 words on the application of psychology on a topic that highlights your personal interest and passion
- Recipients of the award must be postgraduates psychology students at a BPS accredited university in North West
How to apply
Submissions will be judged by an awards committee that will consist of at least two committee members of the North West Branch.
Submit an application for the Carl Rogers Award
If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] with 'Carl Rogers Award for Creativity in Psychology ' in the subject line
Deadlines
- 30 June by midday (12 noon) – submission deadline for papers
- 2 October – comments for the successful papers will be sent back to successful nominees
- 6 October – North West Branch will issue the prizes for the winners
North West Undergraduate Dissertation Prize
The British Psychological Society North West Branch is delighted to introduce its undergraduate dissertation prize in the region, offering 13 awards of £100 each.
This prize is awarded for the best undergraduate dissertation at each BPS-accredited North West University.
Eligible universities:
- Lancaster University
- University of Manchester
- University of Chester
- Edge Hill University
- Manchester Metropolitan University
- Liverpool John Moore
- University of Salford
- Liverpool Hope University
- University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)
- The Open University (students placed in Region 8 - and Carlisle area only within Region 9 - for their studies)
- University of Bolton
- University of Cumbria
Each university nominates its best undergraduate dissertation, and each winner is awarded a monetary prize worth £100 subject to the Branch receiving a 1500 word summary article which will be published in our annual publication, currently The BPS Awards publication.
The summary of your dissertation will be published in our BPS Branch Awards publication. Every article has a unique DOI (Digital Object Identifier) meaning their abstracts can be discoverable via Google Scholar.
Authors also have retained rights for their articles including green open access, so they can post their own articles to online repositories.
The Board of Examiners at each University will decide on the dissertation submitted to the North West Branch.
What is the award?
- Certificate of the award
- 13 monetary prizes of £100
- Recipients will be announced as part of the 2023 NW Branch programme on the date specified
What are the criteria?
- 1500 words summary of your undergraduate dissertation from a BPS-accredited North West University
- Recipients of the award must be undergraduates students at a BPS accredited university in North West
How to apply
Please note: nominees (students) cannot apply for this prize directly through the BPS North West Branch.
Eligible University Psychology Departments will nominate students to the BPS North West Branch.
If you consider yourself eligible to be nominated for this prize and have not been please contact [email protected].
Deadlines
- 21 June: North West Branch will write to successful nominees requesting 1,500 word shortened dissertation for publication in The BPS Awards publication
- 23 August - extended deadline for universities to complete relevant documentation
- 7 September: deadline for submission of shortened dissertations
- 31 October: successful shortened dissertations will be sent to the North West Reviewing Committee
- 30 November: comments for the successful shortened dissertations will be sent back to successful nominees
- 17 December: North West Branch will issue the prizes
Resources
Podcasts
Our NWPsychTalk podcast is designed to inform and make current issues in psychology accessible to both practitioners and the general public alike.
Committee
Chair(s): Lorna Mills and Clare Mulligan-Foster
Chair Elect: Vacant
Past Chair(s): Mia Pal / Jimmy Petruzzi
Honorary Treasurer: Jon Coldwell
Honorary Secretary: Andrea Stein
Committee Members:
- Kevin Pattrick
- Emma Hancock
- Stephen Stradling
- Caldun Harris
- Clare Mulligan-Foster
Communications: Jimmy Petruzzi
Student Ambassador Lead: Ruby Rainbow
PsyPAG Representative: Danielle Mountain
ATP Representative: Amy Halsall
Join
When you join the BPS you are automatically made a member of your local branch.
The North West of England Branch covers the following areas/postcodes:
- Blackburn (BB)
- Bolton (BL)
- Carlisle (CA)
- Chester (CH1-CH4)
- Crewe (CW)
- Blackpool (FY)
- Isle of Man (IM)
- Liverpool (L1-L99)
- Lancaster (LA)
- Manchester (M1-M99)
- Oldham (OL)
- Preston (PR)
- Stockport (SK)
- Warrington (WA)
- Wigan (WN)
Member e-newsletter
The North West of England Branch uses its e-newsletter to inform its members of activities and initiatives that are relevant to their interests and to make requests for engagement on topical issues.
To receive this you will need to:
- become a member of the North West of England Branch
- check your email preferences that you have opted into receiving emails
- ensure that your email address is correct
You can check your preferences by logging into your member portal.
If you have any queries, please contact Member Network support - North West Branch.
Getting involved with the North West of England Branch Committee
The North West of England Branch relies on a wide range of people getting involved, and the work of the Branch is largely achieved through the dedication of unpaid volunteers.
Our volunteers come from a wide range of different backgrounds, whether they be practitioners or academics, or full members or in-training members, and together form an open and inclusive community.