Specialist Clinical Psychologist

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Thames Valley Integrated OPD Pathway Service is based in Oxford but provides a service across the Thames Valley Region (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire).

There are opportunities in this post to develop leadership, consultation and liaison and training skills, and clinical expertise and experience under the supervision of senior Clinical and Forensic Psychologists. The post holder will work closely with the wider Forensic Psychological Therapies Team at the Oxford Clinic and will have additional opportunities to develop complementary community skills and experience. In addition, the successful candidate will be given the opportunity to develop special interests and expertise in evidence-based interventions in line with their professional development needs and service objectives. This is an excellent opportunity to develop professionally within a committed and supportive community forensic mental health setting, as well as playing an important role in helping to shape the service.

Undertake highly specialist psychological assessments of complex cases, assessing trauma, personality, beliefs, attitudes, behaviour, emotional function, and other relevant psychological characteristics and dimensions and factors relevant to the development, maintenance and understanding of the clients difficulties as appropriate, using standardised psychometric instruments, protocol based assessment tools, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and structured and semi-structured interviews as required. Utilises assessment techniques directly with clients and collects information from family members and others involved in the clients care as appropriate.

Develops complex formulations of the clients difficulties, drawing upon the findings of psychological assessments, relevant aspects of the case history and relevant psychological models, concepts and theory.

Develops and implements complex plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of the clients presenting problems, that are based upon highly specialist knowledge and an appropriate conceptual framework, that employ psychological procedures and practices having an evidence base for their efficacy and/or an established theoretical basis for their use and that are provided across the full range of care settings.

Maintains a case load of clients for therapy, the size of which is determined in the light of service needs and objectives and delivers psychological treatments and therapeutic/management interventions to fidelity, protocol guidelines or appropriate professional standards.

Plans, develops, co-ordinates and delivers therapeutic groups as appropriate, including for example group approaches to the management of stress, anxiety and depression and the enhancement of self esteem and social skills, psycho-educational group approaches to the understanding and self-management of symptoms and problems, and other protocol based or semi structured group interventions. Acts as therapist or co-therapist / assessor (with other qualified psychologists, Assistant Practitioners, or other designated clinicians) as appropriate.

Directly and indirectly promotes and supports a psychologically informed and evidence-based approach to the understanding and management of the problems and needs of all clients across all settings within the service area covered.

Identifies learning needs based on team and service priorities and delivers in-service training workshops, seminars and lectures on psychological topics for members of the MDT or other professionals within the Trust. As required, plans and organises lectures and workshops, prepares teaching content, materials (including handouts) and aids (including computer assisted), directly provides presentations and evaluates teaching initiatives using appropriate measures.

Provides professional and clinical supervision to unqualified Clinical Psychology Practitioners graduate volunteers and undergraduates on attachment from the University of Oxford and elsewhere as agreed with line manager.

Provides highly specialist psychological advice, consultancy, guidance and where appropriate supervision to other members of the MDT (e.g. Probation colleagues) who are involved in client assessment and who provide direct intervention in individual cases and with groups of clients. Supports and enables the development of other members of the MDT in the appropriate identification and use of psychologically informed assessment methodologies and treatment interventions.

Contributes to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams operational policies and services, by attendance at meetings at which service developments are planned and discussed and through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

Contributes to service development initiatives and to the design, implementation and evaluation of service development and governance projects within the psychology service or MDT.

Regularly undertakes R&D activity of benefit to the team and service as a whole, including where appropriate work evaluating current psychological practice, work related to the development of innovative psychological assessment and intervention procedures and work related to the better care of people within existing care systems. Designs, implements and evaluates research and projects as agreed.

Person Specification

Knowledge

Essential

• Well developed theoretical and practical knowledge of the field of clinical psychology, consistent with doctoral level professional training
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment commensurate with doctoral level training, including specialist clinical interviewing, behavioural observation, complex psychometric testing and specialist neuropsychological testing.
• Skills commensurate with doctoral level training in the formulation of problems from a psychological perspective and in the implementation of highly specialist psychological therapies, interventions and management techniques that are appropriate for use with complex presenting problems.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology

Desirable

• Post training experience of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific 'difficult to treat' groups (e.g. personality disorder, challenging behaviour, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).

Qualifications

Essential

• Satisfactory completion of a British Psychological Society accredited Doctoral Level postgraduate professional training course in clinical psychology (the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology)
• Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the HCPC

Experience

Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and individual and/or group-based treatment of clients across the full range of care settings
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, with clients of all ages across the lifespan and of wide-ranging presenting problems that reflect the full spectrum of clinical complexity and severity
• Evidence of continuing professional development consistent with expected standards of the HCPC, British Psychological Society and relevant subdivisions (Divisions of Clinical, Forensic and Counselling Psychology)
• Skills in providing consultation and advice from a psychological perspective to members of other professional and non-professional groups

Skills

Essential

• Awareness and understanding of the purpose and mechanisms of clinical governance and an ability to employ such mechanisms to maintain and improve standards of clinical practice
• Highly developed interpersonal and communication skills (written and verbal) including the ability to empathically, sensitively and effectively communicate clinical and condition related information to clients, their families, carers and professional colleagues (within and outside the NHS) that is extremely complicated or technical; extremely sensitive and potentially distressing to the recipient; or that is extremely contentious or challenging
• When communicating with patients, carers and colleagues, has the high-level interpersonal skills necessary to obtain and convey highly complex, sensitive or contentious information in emotionally charged and extremely emotive settings, in a manner that addresses and overcomes psychological resistance, hostility, antagonism, and problems of motivation and engagement, as well as barriers to understanding arising from cognitive, cultural or linguistic factors

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Oxford Health NHS Trust

Address

Thames Valley Forensic Mental Health Services

Manzil Resource Centre

Oxford

OX4 1XE

Employer's website

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