Job summary
Livewell serves a population of approximately 262,000 in
Plymouth. This is a new post and will support qualified psychologists within
the complex needs and substance use service.
As well as carrying an appropriate case load under supervision, the post
holder will support development of the psychology service, including group
interventions, staff support, research, and multi-agency links.
The Livewell service consists of a multi-disciplinary team
of medical doctors, non-medical prescribers, mental health nurses, social
workers, assistant practitioners and senior drug and alcohol practitioners,
offering a range of services, such as Opiate Substitute Treatments (OST)
prescribing, case work for clients with co-occurring mental health and
substance use problems, hostel outreach work, alcohol detox and MHTR services.
The aim of the Complex Needs Team is to promote and inspire
Recovery through offering specialist assessments, evidence-based interventions,
treatment and care co-ordination to clients open to Harbour Drug & Alcohol
Services who have complex mental health and substance misuse issues and which
require an integrated treatment approach.
Substance misuse services nationally are in a process of
expansion with additional funding opportunities over the next 5 years, to
improve the effectiveness of treatment and to help more people recover from
dependence.
Main duties of the job
We are keen to embed trauma-informed care
principles into our substance use services and this post will help drive this
forward by contributing to the development of this new psychology service in
line with Good Practice guidance.
To undertake clinically supervised psychologically
informed interventions with clients with problem substance use, complex trauma,
psychosis, and other significant mental health problems as well as offending
histories.
To use psychological formulations and treatment
plans to support multi-disciplinary colleagues in their work with clients and
carers
"please note that this role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route, please refer to the Direct Gov website for more information with regards to eligibility"
All Livewell Southwest staff are expected to able and
willing to work across a 7 day service.
Job Share(s) Considered
About us
Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise providing integrated health & social care services for people across Plymouth, South Hams & West Devon, as well as some specialist services for people living in parts of Devon & Cornwall. With teams in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, health & wellbeing hubs.
As an organisation with a strong social conscience, we always value being kind, respectful, inclusive, ambitious, responsible and collaborative. Transforming services to make them sustainable, ensuring that we value, support & empower each other.
We are committed to involving the people we care for, families & carers in everything that we do, working towards co-production where we can. Helping us to deliver the right care for people, in the right place & at the right time. By putting people at the centre of what we do, we ensure to support people to lead, healthy independent lives & be the very best at helping people to live well.
Valuing our employees making an investment in their development a priority. We offer:
Protected CPD time for registered staff
Various development pathways and ongoing regular training packages for all staff
Leadership & mentoring programmes
Access & funding for training including Care Certificate, Assistant Practitioners Course & Scholarship Into Nurse Training
A Robust Preceptorship
A bespoke induction programme
Existing members of the NHS Pension Scheme can continue their membership when they join the organisation.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will work principally from the citywide
Complex Needs Team (CNT) base at Hyde Park House (Harbour Centre). Referrals
are received to the CNT primarily from The Harbour Centre, and the psychology
team provide psychological input for clients within the CNT as part of the
multidisciplinary team (MDT).
The post holder will support provision of a range of
psychological interventions, including risk assessments and in supporting
multidisciplinary colleagues, all of which will be carried out either jointly
or individually, when appropriate, supervised by a Registered Psychologist.
The post holder will also provide support to
both quantitative and qualitative research projects alongside clinical audit.
Please see attached job description.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will work principally from the citywide
Complex Needs Team (CNT) base at Hyde Park House (Harbour Centre). Referrals
are received to the CNT primarily from The Harbour Centre, and the psychology
team provide psychological input for clients within the CNT as part of the
multidisciplinary team (MDT).
The post holder will support provision of a range of
psychological interventions, including risk assessments and in supporting
multidisciplinary colleagues, all of which will be carried out either jointly
or individually, when appropriate, supervised by a Registered Psychologist.
The post holder will also provide support to
both quantitative and qualitative research projects alongside clinical audit.
Please see attached job description.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree with Graduate Basis for Registration with the British Psychological Society.
- Evidence of short courses relevant to psychological models or working with a vulnerable population.
Desirable
- Other related academic qualifications to Masters or Doctoral level
- Other relevant short courses such a Compassion Focused therapy/CBT training
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Effective team and co-working skills
- Ability to reflect on and critically appraise own performance
- Planning and decision making skills
- Computer literacy including use of Excel, patient record systems such as Systm1
- Ability to work within a highly emotive environment and with highly sensitive information
- Ability to apply psychological theories and research methods to practice
- Ability to interact effectively with multidisciplinary colleagues
- Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and management at regular intervals
- Ability to convey, both verbal and written, psychological formulations and conclusions about intervention
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people in distress and with health difficulties
- Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately
- Understanding of risk assessment
- mental health difficulties
- needs and difficulties of people in distress and with mental health difficulties
- Ability to effectively manage demands on your time, work under pressure and set priorities.
Desirable
- Ability to train or teach others
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge around one or more psychological theories applicable to this client group (e.g. cognitive behavioural therapy and its application
- To have conducted psychological assessments with vulnerable client/patient groups
- An ability to complete psychologically relevant observations of clients and report to a multi-disciplinary team meeting
- High standard of report writing
- Skills in assessment of risk
- Research and evaluation skills
- Understanding of current NICE guidelines/ health and social care polices relating to substance use and mental health services
- High level skills in the collection and analysis of complex data and data collection protocols
- Ability to develop formulations under supervision
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working as an Assistant psychologist/Research assistant/relevant clinical role not inclusive of any placements for 8months to 1year
- Experience of applying psychology in direct work with others
- Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
- Ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health & substance use context.
- Relevant and substantive experience working with vulnerable client group in a health/care setting, at least one year
- Experience of applying psychological models practically with people in a care or health setting
Desirable
- Experience of working with adults with mental health difficulties
- Experience of working with people with significant substance use difficulties
- Experience of receiving clinical supervision
- Experience of working or being with vulnerable client groups
- Experience of designing and/or conducting audit and service evaluation
- Experience of running therapeutic groups
- Experience of lone working
Personal
Essential
- Able to sit and concentrate for prolonged periods during assessments, patient interviews, case conferences
- Ability to deal with patients who may be distressed, angry, confrontational
- Able to recognise and act appropriately with personal stress
- Ability to hold a non-judgemental stance
- Confident and approachable
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Degree with Graduate Basis for Registration with the British Psychological Society.
- Evidence of short courses relevant to psychological models or working with a vulnerable population.
Desirable
- Other related academic qualifications to Masters or Doctoral level
- Other relevant short courses such a Compassion Focused therapy/CBT training
Knowledge and Skills
Essential
- Effective team and co-working skills
- Ability to reflect on and critically appraise own performance
- Planning and decision making skills
- Computer literacy including use of Excel, patient record systems such as Systm1
- Ability to work within a highly emotive environment and with highly sensitive information
- Ability to apply psychological theories and research methods to practice
- Ability to interact effectively with multidisciplinary colleagues
- Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with work agreed and management at regular intervals
- Ability to convey, both verbal and written, psychological formulations and conclusions about intervention
- An understanding of the needs and difficulties of people in distress and with health difficulties
- Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately
- Understanding of risk assessment
- mental health difficulties
- needs and difficulties of people in distress and with mental health difficulties
- Ability to effectively manage demands on your time, work under pressure and set priorities.
Desirable
- Ability to train or teach others
- Demonstrate a basic knowledge around one or more psychological theories applicable to this client group (e.g. cognitive behavioural therapy and its application
- To have conducted psychological assessments with vulnerable client/patient groups
- An ability to complete psychologically relevant observations of clients and report to a multi-disciplinary team meeting
- High standard of report writing
- Skills in assessment of risk
- Research and evaluation skills
- Understanding of current NICE guidelines/ health and social care polices relating to substance use and mental health services
- High level skills in the collection and analysis of complex data and data collection protocols
- Ability to develop formulations under supervision
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working as an Assistant psychologist/Research assistant/relevant clinical role not inclusive of any placements for 8months to 1year
- Experience of applying psychology in direct work with others
- Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
- Ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health & substance use context.
- Relevant and substantive experience working with vulnerable client group in a health/care setting, at least one year
- Experience of applying psychological models practically with people in a care or health setting
Desirable
- Experience of working with adults with mental health difficulties
- Experience of working with people with significant substance use difficulties
- Experience of receiving clinical supervision
- Experience of working or being with vulnerable client groups
- Experience of designing and/or conducting audit and service evaluation
- Experience of running therapeutic groups
- Experience of lone working
Personal
Essential
- Able to sit and concentrate for prolonged periods during assessments, patient interviews, case conferences
- Ability to deal with patients who may be distressed, angry, confrontational
- Able to recognise and act appropriately with personal stress
- Ability to hold a non-judgemental stance
- Confident and approachable
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
