The role of a practitioner health psychologist in a primary care mental health service

In this article Kate Hamilton-West describes her role as a Practitioner Health Psychologist at KCA, a charity providing NHS mental health services. Kate is also a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Kent and Research Advisor (Health Psychology Lead) for the NIHR Research Design Service South East. She Chairs the DHP Practitioner Subcommittee and the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Health Psychology Network (KSSHPN). Kate reflects on the relationship between research and practice in health psychology and considers how Health Psychologists can contribute to the development of more integrated NHS services.