Job summary
West London NHS Trust is launching a national psychology service for terrorism trauma care. The service will offer specialist psychological treatment for people affected by acts of terrorism in the UK and abroad, including survivors, bereaved families, witnesses and others directly or indirectly impacted. The service will be delivered with Victim Support and Peace Collective as part of a coordinated national model.
We are seeking a Clinical Lead with expertise in trauma and terrorism or major incident responses, strong operational and clinical leadership, and experience across child and adult pathways. The role involves service development, governance, supervision and partnership working with voluntary and statutory agencies.
Informal enquiries are strongly encouraged, please contact:Dr Idit Albert - idit.albert@nhs.netDr Ruth Dennis - ruth.dennis@nhs.net
Main duties of the job
As Clinical Lead, you will:
- Provide strategic and clinical leadership for a national multiagency service (children and adults)
- Work in partnership with Victim Support and Peace Collective to build seamless pathways
- Develop pathways for assessment, formulation, and evidence based treatment, ensuring the model reflects the full range of psychological responses
- Support coordination of the rapid psychological response following terrorist incidents, ensuring unified communication and planning with Victim Support and Peace Collective teams
- Deploy to locations across the UK to support the response to future incidents
- Provide clinical supervision and consultation
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We welcome applications from all sections of the community and are committed to building a workforce that reflects the people we serve--particularly in relation to ethnicity, gender, disability, and lived experience of mental health difficulties.
About us
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as 'Good' overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS including two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC)
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- Accredited as a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist by the British Association of Cognitive & Behavioural Psychotherapies (BABCP) for a minimum period of 5 years.
- Training and/or accredited in more than one evidence-based psychological therapy used to treat trauma (e.g.EMDR, trauma focussed CBT, Narrative Exposure Therapy)
Experience
Essential
- Experience working with patients following traumatic events. Ability to assess and treat the full range of psychological responses to trauma.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of clinical presentations. This will include a wide variety of severity across different care settings including outpatient, community and primary care.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both including within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan
- Experience of teaching, training, professional and clinical supervision.
- The ability to meet agreed service targets.
- A proven ability to communicate clearly in difficult and complex situation.
- Experience of developing and implementing service policies and procedures
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment and intervention/ management. This will frequently require sustained and intense concentration.
- Experience of service development.
- Experience of the application of psychological therapy in different cultural contexts.
Desirable
- Experience of working with children, adolescents and families as a qualified practitioner
- Experience of line management of psychologists and oversight of support staff, including administrators
- Experience of training others in psychological therapies
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge and skills of the application of CBT within adult populations.
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- The ability to demonstrate leadership and management skills including knowledge and skills gained in managing qualified and unqualified psychological therapists
- Ability to manage, supervise and co-ordinate the work of psychological therapists and other staff within the service.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC.
- Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.
- Enthusiasm for developing psychological therapy in a broad range of settings and addressing the opportunities of integration.
Desirable
- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialized psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.
- Knowledge of child and adult pathways
Other Requirements
Essential
- An interest in models of service delivery and an ability to articulate the value added by psychological therapy services within the context of multi-disciplinary primary care mental health services.
- Flexibility to travel at short notice to support with response to future acts of terrorism
- Good organizational skills and an ability to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognizing when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
- Ability to lead and interact effectively within a multi-disciplinary team to foster good working relationships. To have regard for others and respect of individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
- Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
- Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings
Desirable
- Fluent in languages other than English
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS including two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC)
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- Accredited as a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist by the British Association of Cognitive & Behavioural Psychotherapies (BABCP) for a minimum period of 5 years.
- Training and/or accredited in more than one evidence-based psychological therapy used to treat trauma (e.g.EMDR, trauma focussed CBT, Narrative Exposure Therapy)
Experience
Essential
- Experience working with patients following traumatic events. Ability to assess and treat the full range of psychological responses to trauma.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of clinical presentations. This will include a wide variety of severity across different care settings including outpatient, community and primary care.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both including within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan
- Experience of teaching, training, professional and clinical supervision.
- The ability to meet agreed service targets.
- A proven ability to communicate clearly in difficult and complex situation.
- Experience of developing and implementing service policies and procedures
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment and intervention/ management. This will frequently require sustained and intense concentration.
- Experience of service development.
- Experience of the application of psychological therapy in different cultural contexts.
Desirable
- Experience of working with children, adolescents and families as a qualified practitioner
- Experience of line management of psychologists and oversight of support staff, including administrators
- Experience of training others in psychological therapies
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge and skills of the application of CBT within adult populations.
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- The ability to demonstrate leadership and management skills including knowledge and skills gained in managing qualified and unqualified psychological therapists
- Ability to manage, supervise and co-ordinate the work of psychological therapists and other staff within the service.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC.
- Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.
- Enthusiasm for developing psychological therapy in a broad range of settings and addressing the opportunities of integration.
Desirable
- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialized psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.
- Knowledge of child and adult pathways
Other Requirements
Essential
- An interest in models of service delivery and an ability to articulate the value added by psychological therapy services within the context of multi-disciplinary primary care mental health services.
- Flexibility to travel at short notice to support with response to future acts of terrorism
- Good organizational skills and an ability to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognizing when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
- Ability to lead and interact effectively within a multi-disciplinary team to foster good working relationships. To have regard for others and respect of individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
- Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
- Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings
Desirable
- Fluent in languages other than English
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).
