Psychosocial Care for Kidney Patients

Level One Training -- PILOT COURSE

This course is currently available only to pilot participants. To access the course materials, you will need the pilot password, which was included in the 7 March invitation email.

Designed for all patient-facing staff in kidney care, this training enhances skills in providing compassionate, empathetic psychosocial support to kidney patients.
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All Patient-Facing Staff

Target Audience

Self-paced
Online Course

Course Type

15-30 min
per module

Module Length

2-2.5 hours

Total Duration

Welcome to the pilot!

Thank you for participating in the pilot of this course. Your feedback will help us in refining the final version before its launch across the UK. At the end of the course, you'll have the opportunity to complete an evaluation, sharing insights on what worked well and what could be improved. 

You can access the course evaluation using the button below.
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About the course

This training is designed for patient-facing staff in kidney care and focuses on enhancing your ability to provide compassionate and effective psychosocial support to kidney patients. Through a series of short, practical modules, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the emotional, social, and psychological challenges these patients face and how to support them effectively.

Developed by a team of renal psychotherapists, counsellors, social workers, and clinical psychologists, this course equips you with the knowledge and strategies for addressing patients' stressors, improving communication, and fostering better treatment adherence. You'll explore common psychosocial responses to chronic illness, the reasons some patients struggle to adjust, and how to use active listening, validation, and empathic engagement to enhance patient care.

By integrating psychosocial care into your practice, you can help patients navigate their treatment journey with greater resilience and well-being, ensuring a more holistic and patient-centred approach to care.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to:
  • Identify common psychosocial stressors affecting kidney patients, their families, and support network.
  • Understand the broader social context and its influence on kidney patients' experiences.
  • Recognise typical psychological, emotional, and behavioural responses.
  • Explain why some kidney patients face difficulties in adjusting and adapting to long-term health conditions.
  • Understand the importance of communication, both verbal and non-verbal.
  • Apply strategies such as setting boundaries, active listening, empathising, normalising, and validating to support patients.
  • Plan appropriate next steps, including providing information, signposting, or referring patients for further psychosocial care.
  • Understand the impact of exposure to patients' emotions and experiences on healthcare providers.
  • Understand how to respond to suicidality and risk in kidney patients.
  • Recognise and understand the underlying functions of 'challenging behaviour' and its context.

Course Lessons

The Authors

  • Philip Alexander, Lead Renal Psychotherapist, King’s College Hospital
  • Amanda Bevin, Lead Renal Counsellor, EKHUFT
  • Jayne Davis, Renal Social Worker, BCUHB
  • Dr Paul Gardner, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, BCUHB
  • Bethan Pettifer, Renal Social Worker, SBUHB
  • Dr Beate Riedel, Principal Clinical Psychologist, York & Scarborough Teaching Hospital Trust

Created in partnership between

UK Kidney Association
The UK Kidney Association is the leading professional body for the UK renal community, dedicated to improving lives by supporting professionals in the delivery of kidney care and research. We have over 2,000 doctors, scientists and multi-professional team members.
Kidney Care UK
Kidney Care UK is the UK's leading kidney patient support charity, which provides practical, emotional and financial support to kidney patients and their families and funds patient-centred projects to help improve kidney care services throughout the UK.
The Renal Psychosocial Working Group
The National Psychosocial Working Group advocates for equitable access to psychological, psychiatric, and social care for kidney patients. We work to integrate psychosocial support into routine kidney care through research, policy, and advocacy.