Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Result Areas & Performance:

Clinical:

• To provide screening assessments, case management and treatment at Low Intensity/Step 2, following agreed protocols
• To take personal responsibility for achieving agreed clinical activity relating to the number of agreed contact hours per week.
• To assist patients in the use of computer therapy programmes as part of their clinical care, and evaluating their use.
• To assist specific psychological clinical work with adult patients for example going out with patients in exposure work and relaxation training, and going through self-help manuals with patients, under the supervision of a qualified member of the IAPT team as part of their clinical care.
• To assist in the coordination and running of therapeutic groups.
• To assist in the development of a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings where care takes place.
• To attend and contribute to appropriate multi-disciplinary meetings.

• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
• The majority of referrals to the Hounslow IAPT service come via GPs. Other referral sources are self-referrals or via other agencies.

• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care. To assess and deliver highly complex, sensitive and contentious information in a hostile, antagonistic and emotional atmosphere, e.g. deciding whether clients are suitable for particular services, or explaining that a service is not available for a client, or having to break confidentiality and refer them to Social Services because of concerns about harm to children.

• To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties
• To contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care.
• To support other Hounslow IAPT clinicians in the delivery of individual and group CBT

• To support the clinical lead/senior team in the operational running of Step 2 relevant aspects of the service.
• To assist in the design and implementation of service development projects as required.
• To attend meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed.
• To liaise with General Practitioners and GP Practice Managers outside of the Trust and attend GP practice meetings.

• To create or format databases or spreadsheets using computerised systems where appropriate, such as SPSS, Excel spreadsheets and other packages.
• To enter and retrieve data using the IAPTus system.

• Under the supervision of senior members of the team, assist in the design and implementation of audit and service evaluation projects.
• To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research to assist qualified members of the IAPT team

• To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holders professional and team/operational manager(s).
• To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.
• To undertake specific administrative duties as required.
• To perform other duties of a similar kind appropriate to the grade, which may be required from time to time by the Clinical Lead.

To maintain and update psychological treatment and materials.

• The post holder must ensure that personal information for patients, members of staff and all other individuals is accurate,up-to-date,kept secure and confidential at all times in compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998,the Caldicott principles and the common law duty of confidentiality. The post holder must follow the record keeping guidelines established by theTrust to ensure compliancewith the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

• All staff who contribute to patients care records are expected to be familiar with, and adhere to, the Trusts Standards of Records Keeping. Staff should be aware that patients care records throughout the Trust will be subject to regular audit.
• All staff who have access to patients care records have a responsibility to ensure that these are maintained efficiently and that confidentiality is protected in line with the Trusts Code of Confidentiality.
• All staff have an obligation to ensure that care records are maintained efficiently and that confidentiality is protected. Staff are also subject to this obligation both on an implied basis and also on the basis that, on accepting their job description, they agree to maintain both patient / client and staff confidentiality.
• In addition, all health professionals are advised to compile records on the assumption that they are accessible to patients in line with the Data Protection Act.

• The Trust has adopted a strategy for Continuous Improvement and all members of staff employed by the Trust are expected to play an active role in development and improving services to the benefit of service users.
• All employees are required to participate in the annual Personal Development Review activities and any associated training and/or learning opportunities.

• All Trust staff needs to have the essential IT skills in order to use the Trust Clinical Information System as well as other required IT related applications in their jobs. Initial and on-going IT applications and IT skills training will be provided to underpin this requirement.

• All staff must comply with all Trust Health & Safety Policies and Procedures. Staff must be aware of the responsibilities placed on them under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), and to ensure that agreed safety procedures are carried out to maintain a safe environment for employees, patients and visitors.
• Employees must contribute to a healthy and safe working environment by adhering to health and safety regulations and Trust policies. Employees must act in a responsible manner to ensure the care of their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their omissions at work.
• Employees must co-operate with the employer insofar as is necessary to enable Health and Safety duties or requirements to be performed and complied with. Employees must not intentionally or recklessly interfere with, or misuse anything that is provided in the interest of the health, safety and welfare of staff, patients and the general public.

• If you are employed in an area of work which requires membership of a professional body in order to practice (e.g. Nursing & Midwifery Council for nurses), it is a condition precedent of your employment to maintain membership of such a professional body. It is also your responsibility to comply with the relevant bodys code of practice. Your manager will be able to advise you on which, if any, professional body of which you must be a member.
• You are required to advise the Trust if your professional body in any way limits or changes the terms of your registration.
• Failure to remain registered or to comply with the relevant code of practice may result in temporary downgrading, suspension from duty and/or disciplinary action, which may result in the termination of your employment.
• If you are required to have registration with a particular professional body or to have specific qualifications you must notify your manager on appointment of such fact and provide him or her with documentary evidence of them before your employment commences or, at the latest, on your first day of employment. Furthermore, throughout your employment with the Trust, you are required on demand by your manager to provide him or her with documentary evidence of your registration with any particular professional body or in respect of any required qualifications.

• All Trust employees are accountable, through the terms and conditions of their employment, professional regulations, clinical governance and statutory health and safety regulations, and are responsible for reporting incidents, being aware of the risk management strategy and emergency procedures and attendance at training as required.
• All staff has a responsibility to manage risk within their sphere of responsibility. It is a statutory duty to take reasonable care of their own safety and the safety of others who may be affected by acts or omissions.
• All managers throughout the organisation have a responsibility to ensure that policies and procedures are followed, that staff receives appropriate training that a local risk register is developed and monitored on a quarterly basis and any changes reported to the Clinical Risk Management Group and Strategic Risk Management Committee.
• Managers are responsible for implementing and monitoring any identified risk management control measures within their designated area/s and scope of responsibility. In situations where significant risks have been identified and where local control measures are considered to be potentially inadequate, managers are responsible for bringing these risks to the attention of the Clinical Risk Management Group and Strategic Risk Management Committee if resolution has not been satisfactorily achieved.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential

• IAPT Low Intensity worker/Psychological wellbeing Practitioner qualification

Desirable

• A second class honours degree or higher in Psychology.
• Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society.
• Further post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.

Experience

Essential

• Experience with people with mental health problems and/or other disabilities.
• Experience of paid post graduate work with people with mental health problems with supervision from an applied Psychologist.
• Ability to demonstrate a range of post-qualification experiences in offering and delivering the range of evidence based IAPT low Intensity interventions such as CCBT, guided self-help and group psycho-education.

Desirable

• Experience of paid work as Graduate Mental Health worker, with supervision from an applied Psychologist.
• Experience of paid direct care work.
• Experience of working with clients who present with risk to themselves.
• Experience of working with individuals whose children are subject to Child Protection legislation.
• Experience of co-working with staff in other agencies (e.g. health visitors or staff in drug and alcohol services).
• Experience of audit and research.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Knowledge of different models of mental health/mental illness.
• Knowledge of NHS Policies, procedures and guidelines.
• Knowledge of working sensitively with diversity (including working with black & minority ethnic groups).
• Evidence based practice/clinical governance.
• Models of assessment (including clinical risk assessment) record keeping and evidence based brief psychological intervention.
• Knowledge of outcome measures and their use in clinical and audit purposes.
• High level of communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to communicate and work in settings in which the atmosphere may be highly emotive.
• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context.
• Experience using computers for databases or data-analysis, especially Excel and SPSS for Windows.
• High standard of report writing.

Desirable

• An awareness of severe and enduring mental health presentations (including psychosis, bi-polar).
• Ability to carry out a range of evaluation and monitoring techniques.
• Ability to work effectively with interpreters.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• An ability to work well within a team and foster good working relationships with staff from all disciplines.
• An ability to develop positive therapeutic relationships with people with mental health difficulties.
• Ability to work independently, reliably and consistently with a busy workload agreed and managed at regular intervals.
• Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in context of supervision.

Other

Essential

• Ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively.

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).

Employer details

Employer name

West London NHS Trust

Address

Hounslow 2122 MHIS LTP IAPT

Hounslow

UB2 4SA

Employer's website

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