Paid Work As A BPS Actor For Training PWPs - What You Need To Know!

Applying for the role:

You might expect to see this role advertised on the BPS website or in the BPS magazine. This role however I saw advertised on an Instagram post (I believe it was the BPSStudentmember page). The post had an email address and then following sending an email I was sent the following via email:

A statement of interest form. This form involved noting my personal details (name, email address, number), current employer, supporting information and if I have my own car/ would be willing to stay overnight in a location if required (I think this is obviously for face to face role plays but as far as I know video assessments are still used the majority of the time).

A conflict of interests form. This one is pretty self explanatory.

A copy of the job advert. I was sent a more detailed job advert which lists when dates of role plays requiring actors are sent out, pay, person specification, actor requirements (training to attend...) and a breif bit of information on the role.

The Training process:

I emailed the forms on the 31st August and on the 5th September received an email inviting me on to the next stage, which was the actor training. The training took place over zoom and 4 candidates including myself attended. I was asked prior to the training to provide details of my availability which I passed on to them via email.

The training process itself began at 9:30am and was a few hours long. The training involved a PowerPoint about the role and discussions around how to access the revelant documents on the BPS portal. We also broke off into breakout rooms in pairs to practice a role play each under the observation of one of the training leaders.

Of the four of us who attended we had various levels of experience, so I would encourage anyone to apply for a role like this if you are interested. There was myself who has some IAPT and AP (assistant psychologist) experience, a PHD student who had worked as a qualified PWP (psychological well-being practitioner) in IAPT and two undergraduate students.

The Role:

As a part of IAPT/PWP training, students complete two demonstrations of practice/ role plays (DOP1 & DOP2). DOP1 is a role play of an assessment and as such is often more scripted on the part of the actor as information needs to be specific and standardised across all role plays. DOP2 is less scripted and the actor is required to improvise alittle more as this is a treatment role play.

On the day of the assessments, the client scenarios are released to the actor via the portal. Depending on the type of DOP, the amount of information/ type of information will vary. For a DOP2 for example you are going to get information on questionnaire scores, level of risk, type of treatment, homework, an issue with the treatment or homework which has arose...

Pay:

So here's the biggie, is it worth it money wise? As abit of extra money here and there and extra experience, especially if you plan to apply to train as a PWP definitely. As your only source of income, probably not as this isn't regular work.

Each assessment pays £25 and you can up to 5 a day, so you can get a minimum of £25 and max of £125 per day before tax.

Overall thoughts

This is a great opportunity to build experience, earn alittle extra money and try something new. I'd definitely recommend keeping an eye out for these roles being advertised.