Ross Matthewman, head of public affairs and stakeholder relations at the University of Birmingham, has been appointed the first head of policy and communications at the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).
He is set to start his new role in January. Matthewman will sit on UKCP’s senior management team and report to chief executive Jon Levett.
He will head up a six-strong communications team and his focus will be on leading UKCP’s policy development, government relations and public affairs activity. Matthewman will also direct the organisation’s communications strategy in a bid to boost its engagement, profile, and influence.
One of his first priorities will be to assess the organisation’s existing communications and policy outputs, such as its engagement with media, government and others, he told In.Comms.
“I want to get feedback and views from key stakeholders on how our existing approach is working, opportunities for the future, and looking at where we can enhance our activity and kick-on to boost impact,” he added.
Another “key early focus” will be the recently launched Commission for the Future of Counselling and Psychotherapy that UKCP is involved with. “This commission marks an important moment for counselling and psychotherapy,” he said. “By working together across the professional bodies, there is a real opportunity to develop a clear, collective vision for the future and ensure the voices of practitioners, clients, and the wider public, are all heard,” Matthewman added.
Before joining the University of Birmingham in 2023, he spent more than five years at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, where he rose from public affairs and PR manager to head of policy and campaigns. Prior to that he was a public affairs manager at disability charity Sense. Earlier in his career, Matthewman was press and parliamentary officer at the Family and Childcare Trust, and a parliamentary assistant to Conservative MP Helen Grant during her time as minister for sport and equalities.