Brian Rock, Dean and Director of Education and Training to step down

I am writing to let you know that I have stepped down from my role as Dean and Director of Education and Training. I finished my time with the Tavistock and Portman in early July to take up a role with a more clinical focus in digital mental health. I have had a long and valued association with the Trust from before I came to settle in the UK in 1996.

I have been a student, clinical trainee, clinician, teacher, and service lead before taking up my current role in January 2015. It has been a difficult decision, but I feel that I want a new challenge at this particular stage of my career.

I am proud of the many things we have achieved in the Directorate of Education and Training (DET) over the last 7+ years. We have significantly grown our student numbers across long and short courses as well as bespoke programmes, launched a suite of online, self-study courses, navigated the pandemic and developed a hybrid delivery model, obtained registration with the Office for Students, and professionalised our operations through new systems and processes.

I am especially proud of the encouraging achievements in developing the needed work on equality, diversity and inclusion. The National Workforce Skills Development Unit (NWSDU) and Tavistock Consulting continue to broaden our reach and impact. We have continued to develop our international activity too, and I am pleased that our group of international ambassadors has been formed and are now starting to connect and collaborate.

I have left at a point where we have strong and positive relationships with our university partner, Essex University, and with Health Education England. I know that our Integrated Care System (ICS) in North Central London strongly values and appreciates our education and training provision.

I am delighted that Elisa Reyes-Simpson is taking the baton and will be leading our Education and Training division. Elisa brings a wealth of institutional knowledge and experience to the role and has been Deputy Director of DET for the last three years, and Associate Dean since 2015. Elisa trained as a social worker then a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and was previously a course lead on our adult psychodynamic training for over a decade, as well as a visiting lecturer across a number of other courses. Elisa has helped lead the redesign of our training to take a more intercultural approach and is an advocate and ally when addressing issues of equality, diversity and inclusion. She has also worked in multi-disciplinary teams with a focus on special needs and learning disabilities. Elisa’s previous role as Chair of Professional Standards at the British Psychoanalytic Council speak to her incredibly detailed understanding of the requirements of both teaching and practicing psychoanalytically and therapeutically in general.

As a former student Brian is also a member of our Tavistock and Portman Alumni Society. You can keep up to date with Brian by following his Twitter or connecting on LinkedIn.

You can read more about Brian’s involvement with the Tavistock and biography on our Centenary website.