Job summary
We are looking for an excellent clinician who wishes to continue their clinical practice whilst also developing knowledge and skills in service development in a genuinely friendly and supportive team. The clinical teams are small and the expertise of psychologists is highly valued. The service has consistently achieved 'outstanding' for caring in CQC inspections and this forms the basis of our approach to working with service users and their carers.
This is a new 8b Clinical Psychologist post created to support in our expanding Older People's Mental Health Service (OPMHS) and will be based in Ealing. The post will be mainly clinical (0.7) with some service development work (0.3) based in the Specialist Older Adults Mental Health Service (SOAHMS) which is a newly established community service for older people with complex mental health problems.
Main duties of the job
Within the Ealing SOAMHS MDT, the post holder will be responsible for the provision of psychological assessment and treatment to individuals with complex mental health needs who may also have co-existing physical and social needs. They will be responsible for developing psychological provision within these new teams. The post holder will supervise qualified psychologists and help develop skills in the team to increase understanding of the psychological needs of service users and their carers.
Alongside the Lead Psychologist for OPMHS the post holder will contribute to the development of the new Older People's Mental Health Integrated Teams which aim to provide a seamless service between primary and secondary mental health care for older people. These teams are being developed around a psychosocial model and focus on the holistic wellbeing of people with mild to moderate mental health problems.
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.
Covid-19 vaccination is a condition of employment for this role, unless an exemption applies. The successful applicant may have contact with vulnerable service users and we will therefore seek proof of being fully vaccinated during the recruitment process.
Job description
Job responsibilities
West London is one of the most culturally diverse communities in the UK and the post holder will play an important role helping services become integrated into their local communities and strengthening relationships with other community providers. We encourage applicants from a range of backgrounds and would be keen to hear about how you could bring experience of diversity to your clinical practice.
The psychology team have a strong focus on meeting the needs of the local population and reducing inequalities in health care for all older people. 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. The post may suit psychologists with an interest in Community Psychology.
Together, were committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.
Please refer to the JD
Job description
Job responsibilities
West London is one of the most culturally diverse communities in the UK and the post holder will play an important role helping services become integrated into their local communities and strengthening relationships with other community providers. We encourage applicants from a range of backgrounds and would be keen to hear about how you could bring experience of diversity to your clinical practice.
The psychology team have a strong focus on meeting the needs of the local population and reducing inequalities in health care for all older people. 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. The post may suit psychologists with an interest in Community Psychology.
Together, were committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.
Please refer to the JD
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Good honors degree (2:1 minimum) in Psychology. Eligibility for graduate membership of BPS.
- Post-graduate doctorate in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 or those in lateral transfer) as accredited by the BPS.
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council.
- Training in clinical supervision for Doctoral and equivalent, trainees.
Desirable
- Other related academic qualifications.
- Evidence of post-doctoral training in systemic therapy and/or other psychological therapy techniques
- Evidence of training in Community Psychology
Experience
Essential
- Experience working as a qualified (highly specialist) psychologist within a clinical psychology setting (or equivalent).
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience of working with older people
Desirable
- Experience of service development
- Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy with families.
- Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy groups.
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
Knowledge
Essential
- Advanced specialist knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of psychology applied to clinical practice.
- 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 highly 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), where expert opinions may differ.
- Able to plan, prioritise and organise own service user caseload, treatment programmes (individual or group) involving other staff and other aspects of the work such as research activity.
- 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.
- 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
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of a wide range of mental health conditions.
Desirable
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of a wide range of mental health conditions.
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of assessment and intervention with families.
- Practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of behaviours that challenge.
- Experience of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Able to adapt to rapidly changing service demands
- Able to maintain intense concentration frequently and for prolonged periods with unpredictable patients (e.g., in the assessment and treatment of patients with very complex difficulties).
- Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g., in dealing with patients with serious mental illness, histories of homicide and serious violence, self- harm, sexual abuse).
- Able to work in a contained environment with service users who are disturbed and sometimes violent and where the awareness of the risk of assault must always be maintained.
Person Specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential
- Good honors degree (2:1 minimum) in Psychology. Eligibility for graduate membership of BPS.
- Post-graduate doctorate in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 or those in lateral transfer) as accredited by the BPS.
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council.
- Training in clinical supervision for Doctoral and equivalent, trainees.
Desirable
- Other related academic qualifications.
- Evidence of post-doctoral training in systemic therapy and/or other psychological therapy techniques
- Evidence of training in Community Psychology
Experience
Essential
- Experience working as a qualified (highly specialist) psychologist within a clinical psychology setting (or equivalent).
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience of working with older people
Desirable
- Experience of service development
- Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy with families.
- Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy groups.
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
Knowledge
Essential
- Advanced specialist knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of psychology applied to clinical practice.
- 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 highly 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), where expert opinions may differ.
- Able to plan, prioritise and organise own service user caseload, treatment programmes (individual or group) involving other staff and other aspects of the work such as research activity.
- 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.
- 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
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of a wide range of mental health conditions.
Desirable
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of a wide range of mental health conditions.
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of assessment and intervention with families.
- Practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of behaviours that challenge.
- Experience of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.
Personal Qualities
Essential
- Able to adapt to rapidly changing service demands
- Able to maintain intense concentration frequently and for prolonged periods with unpredictable patients (e.g., in the assessment and treatment of patients with very complex difficulties).
- Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g., in dealing with patients with serious mental illness, histories of homicide and serious violence, self- harm, sexual abuse).
- Able to work in a contained environment with service users who are disturbed and sometimes violent and where the awareness of the risk of assault must always be maintained.
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
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).
