Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

West London NHS Trust

Information:

This job is now closed

Job summary

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced, enthusiastic and talented Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to further develop their clinical and leadership skills by joining our West London Community Eating Disorders Service.

This is an exciting time to join the service as the service is going through significant developments and expansion. You will play an active role in supporting the development and delivery of an innovative offer for people with mild eating disorders which is integrated within the core community mental health transformation model. You will also support the implementation of our First Episode Rapid Early Intervention for Eating Disorders (FREED) service.

Apart from having your own caseload, you will take a key role in service developments and in the supervision and training of Band 7 psychologists, trainees and assistant psychologists. The post is an excellent opportunity to gain the necessary experience to progress further in your career.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all service users of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.

The post-holder will be responsible, as a member of the adult eating disorders service, for the provision of a full and comprehensive specialist service to culturally diverse outpatient service users with severe and enduring mental health disorders. The post-holder will be responsible, as a member of the adult eating disorders service, for provision of a full and comprehensive specialist clinical/ counselling psychology service to outpatient service users with eating disorders as the primary diagnosis. Responsibilities will include provision of specialist psychological assessments and therapies, the provision of specialist risk assessment (including physical risk management) and advice on risk management, and the provision of psychological advice and consultation to others involved in service user's care.

The post holder will work as a clinical member of a multi-disciplinary team, including appropriate attendance at team and other service user related meetings. The post holder will utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the team/service.

About us

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.

Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.

We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.

We'rerated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Together, we're committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.

We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.

Date posted

25 July 2022

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£47,126 to £53,219 a year pa plus HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

222-LS-CARMHS-204

Job locations

Eating Disorder Central

Eating Disorder Central

Hanwell

UB2 4SD


Job description

Job responsibilities

The Eating Disorders Service is a psychology-led MDT and is a well-established, enthusiastic and committed team. You will work under the Clinical Lead/Principal Clinical Psychologist of the service and will have regular access to clinical supervision.

We are a compassionate and dynamic team that embraces innovation. We are passionate about improving access to meaningful interventions and create an accessible, inclusive and effective service. We are enthusiastic about employing quality improvement (QI) techniques, audit and research to drive and sustain the care and quality of services we deliver. The team offers plenty of opportunities for team members to develop clinically and professionally. Team members are encouraged to build leadership skills irrespective of the role they hold in the service.

Please refer to the JD for further details

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Eating Disorders Service is a psychology-led MDT and is a well-established, enthusiastic and committed team. You will work under the Clinical Lead/Principal Clinical Psychologist of the service and will have regular access to clinical supervision.

We are a compassionate and dynamic team that embraces innovation. We are passionate about improving access to meaningful interventions and create an accessible, inclusive and effective service. We are enthusiastic about employing quality improvement (QI) techniques, audit and research to drive and sustain the care and quality of services we deliver. The team offers plenty of opportunities for team members to develop clinically and professionally. Team members are encouraged to build leadership skills irrespective of the role they hold in the service.

Please refer to the JD for further details

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Honours degree (2:i minimum) in Psychology
  • Full registration with the Health Professionals Council
  • Post-graduate doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996)
  • Qualification level that would allow acceptance as a BPS chartered clinical psychologist status
  • Training in clinical supervision for Doctoral, and equivalent, trainees

Desirable

  • Advanced keyboard skills
  • Other related academic qualifications
  • Evidence of post-doctoral training in psychological therapy techniques

Experience

Essential

  • Relevant experience working as a qualified psychologist including post qualification experience as a qualified psychologist within a setting that provides direct clinical experience with eating disorders.
  • To have an interest in working with people who have an Eating Disorder and their families/carers.
  • Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
  • Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy groups
  • Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.

Desirable

  • Experience in delivering DBT.
  • Quality improvement training and implementation

Knowledge and skills

Essential

  • Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of psychology, including eating disorders and personality disorders
  • Able to provide and receive highly complex, highly sensitive or highly contentious information, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere
  • Able to make judgements involving complex facts or situations, which require the evaluation of a range of options (e.g. the assessment of specialist clinical conditions and the determination of treatment options)
  • Able to plan, prioritise and organise own service user caseload, treatment programmes involving other staff, and other aspects of the work such as research activity
  • Knowledge of SPSS
  • Keyboard skills
  • Psychomotor skills necessary to administer complex psychological tests and video equipment
  • Able to use database, word processing and test administration/scoring software
  • Post-graduate level knowledge of research design and methodology
  • Evidence of continuing professional development
  • Able to sit for lengthy periods of time while demonstrating active listening skills
  • Able to maintain light physical effort for short periods
  • Able to maintain intense concentration frequently and for prolonged periods
  • Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g. in dealing with service users with serious mental illness, self-harm, histories of sexual abuse)
  • Able to provide services in an environment with service users who may be challenging and where the awareness of risk must always be maintained
  • Able to respond adaptably to rapidly changing service demands
  • Knowledge of the professional code of conduct of the BPS
  • Must be capable of being guided by precedent, clearly defined policies, procedures and codes of conduct
  • Able to reflect on own professional practice through the clinical supervision process
  • Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Honours degree (2:i minimum) in Psychology
  • Full registration with the Health Professionals Council
  • Post-graduate doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996)
  • Qualification level that would allow acceptance as a BPS chartered clinical psychologist status
  • Training in clinical supervision for Doctoral, and equivalent, trainees

Desirable

  • Advanced keyboard skills
  • Other related academic qualifications
  • Evidence of post-doctoral training in psychological therapy techniques

Experience

Essential

  • Relevant experience working as a qualified psychologist including post qualification experience as a qualified psychologist within a setting that provides direct clinical experience with eating disorders.
  • To have an interest in working with people who have an Eating Disorder and their families/carers.
  • Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
  • Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy groups
  • Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.

Desirable

  • Experience in delivering DBT.
  • Quality improvement training and implementation

Knowledge and skills

Essential

  • Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of psychology, including eating disorders and personality disorders
  • Able to provide and receive highly complex, highly sensitive or highly contentious information, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere
  • Able to make judgements involving complex facts or situations, which require the evaluation of a range of options (e.g. the assessment of specialist clinical conditions and the determination of treatment options)
  • Able to plan, prioritise and organise own service user caseload, treatment programmes involving other staff, and other aspects of the work such as research activity
  • Knowledge of SPSS
  • Keyboard skills
  • Psychomotor skills necessary to administer complex psychological tests and video equipment
  • Able to use database, word processing and test administration/scoring software
  • Post-graduate level knowledge of research design and methodology
  • Evidence of continuing professional development
  • Able to sit for lengthy periods of time while demonstrating active listening skills
  • Able to maintain light physical effort for short periods
  • Able to maintain intense concentration frequently and for prolonged periods
  • Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g. in dealing with service users with serious mental illness, self-harm, histories of sexual abuse)
  • Able to provide services in an environment with service users who may be challenging and where the awareness of risk must always be maintained
  • Able to respond adaptably to rapidly changing service demands
  • Knowledge of the professional code of conduct of the BPS
  • Must be capable of being guided by precedent, clearly defined policies, procedures and codes of conduct
  • Able to reflect on own professional practice through the clinical supervision process
  • Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

West London NHS Trust

Address

Eating Disorder Central

Eating Disorder Central

Hanwell

UB2 4SD


Employer's website

https://www.westlondon.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

West London NHS Trust

Address

Eating Disorder Central

Eating Disorder Central

Hanwell

UB2 4SD


Employer's website

https://www.westlondon.nhs.uk (Opens in a new tab)

For questions about the job, contact:

Principal Clinical Psychologist

Tracy Teng

Tracy.Teng@westlondon.nhs.uk

Date posted

25 July 2022

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£47,126 to £53,219 a year pa plus HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

222-LS-CARMHS-204

Job locations

Eating Disorder Central

Eating Disorder Central

Hanwell

UB2 4SD


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

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