Job summary
The post is an exciting opportunity to join the Acute Mental Health Service and be part of the psychology team working on the three acute wards and male only Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit at Hammersmith and Fulham Mental Health Unit. The post will be based on a male PICU.
The post-holder will work collaboratively and proactively with the multi-disciplinary team to manage risk robustly and to provide a psychological perspective to the care provided. Along with providing assessment, formulation and brief interventions to service users and their families. Reflective practice, team formulation, consultation, and post incident support are an integral part of the psychology service. The provision of team formulation and consultation will support the ward team to provide formulation driven care
The post holder will be part of a welcoming psychology team, consisting of clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists and psychotherapists. The service also offers placements for trainee clinical psychologists.
Main duties of the job
- Providing a full and comprehensive psychology service to the acute ward providing assessments, formulation, and brief interventions (group and individual). Along with transition sessions and recommendations for psychological therapy to support safe discharge from the ward
- Developing the multi-disciplinary team's psychological understanding of the service user's needs through teaching, training, team formulation, consultation, and supervision.
- Facilitating reflective practice for one of the wards on the unit.
- Line management and provision of clinical supervision to psychological therapists or other professionals.
- Opportunity for service development and research related to the service needs.
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
The postholder will be responsible for providing a comprehensive psychology service on a male psychiatric intensive care unit/female acute ward. Service users are experiencing a mental health crisis and present with complex psychological needs, that require intensive treatment in a hospital setting. The psychology service provided will include direct and indirect interventions to service users and their families, developing the psychological thinking and skills of MDT colleagues underpinned by these guiding principles:
Trauma-informed care
Recovery focused
Job description
Job responsibilities
The postholder will be responsible for providing a comprehensive psychology service on a male psychiatric intensive care unit/female acute ward. Service users are experiencing a mental health crisis and present with complex psychological needs, that require intensive treatment in a hospital setting. The psychology service provided will include direct and indirect interventions to service users and their families, developing the psychological thinking and skills of MDT colleagues underpinned by these guiding principles:
Trauma-informed care
Recovery focused
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical / counselling psychology or its equivalent, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS or an accredited psychological practitioner with extensive experience of working at a Band 8a level.
- OR/AND Professional registration as a practitioner psychologist with the Health and Social Care Professions Council or professional registration with UKCP/BABCP (Accred.)
- Formal training in the supervision of psychological therapies
Desirable
- Post-Doctoral training in clinical approaches relevant to work with complex and severe mental health difficulties such a 3rd wave cognitive behavioural therapies or systemic work.
Experience
Essential
- Substantial post qualification experience of working in mental health settings, including specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings, adult and older adult.
- Experience of working in acute mental health settings, working with a range of age ranges, cultures and clinical groups.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
Desirable
- Experience of service development / change leadership
- Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological interventions with carers and/or families.
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
Knowledge/Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- Knowledge of racial and other diversity issues and factors impacting access to mental health care.
Desirable
- Knowledge of Culture of Care
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, e.g. complex psychometric testing and specialist neuropsychological testing
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical / counselling psychology or its equivalent, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS or an accredited psychological practitioner with extensive experience of working at a Band 8a level.
- OR/AND Professional registration as a practitioner psychologist with the Health and Social Care Professions Council or professional registration with UKCP/BABCP (Accred.)
- Formal training in the supervision of psychological therapies
Desirable
- Post-Doctoral training in clinical approaches relevant to work with complex and severe mental health difficulties such a 3rd wave cognitive behavioural therapies or systemic work.
Experience
Essential
- Substantial post qualification experience of working in mental health settings, including specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings, adult and older adult.
- Experience of working in acute mental health settings, working with a range of age ranges, cultures and clinical groups.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
Desirable
- Experience of service development / change leadership
- Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological interventions with carers and/or families.
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
Knowledge/Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- Knowledge of racial and other diversity issues and factors impacting access to mental health care.
Desirable
- Knowledge of Culture of Care
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, e.g. complex psychometric testing and specialist neuropsychological testing
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).
