Job summary
The NHS Long Term Plan set out, as part of the Perinatal ambition, to establish Maternal Mental Health Services (MMHS), which will integrate maternity, reproductive health and psychological therapy for women experiencing mental health difficulties directly arising from, or related to, the maternity experience, in all areas of England by 2023/24.
MMHS provides specialist support and treatment to women and pregnant people, those who have experienced pregnancy or birth, their families and support network who are affected by birth trauma or baby loss. South West London and St Georges MH NHS Trust are the designated Lead Providers, working in partnership with the three SWL maternity (acute) Trusts.
The service has been developed in conjunction with Experts by Experience drawing on the invaluable input of women and families locally who have faced maternity trauma and loss. It is intended to provide targeted care and support to those whose needs would not be well met in other services (e.g. Perinatal Mental Health Services or IAPT) but have significant emotional and mental health difficulties related to the maternity experience.
The role involves providing individual and systemic support to women and their families within the community. The focus will be on mental health difficulties during the perinatal period around trauma and loss, attachment difficulties, and mood and anxiety presentations.
Main duties of the job
This post offers an opportunity to join the Perinatal Mental Health Service and be involved in the development of a new Maternal Health Service within the Perinatal Service. The opening is for a Band 8b (0.4 WTE) Highly Specialist Team Clinical or Counselling Psychologist.
If appointed, you will join a passionate and experienced MDT and lead the provision of our community based specialist clinical psychology services for women who are pregnant, postnatal, or have experienced a loss and are presenting with a wide range of complex and severe mental health problems, as well as systemic support for their partners. The role involves helping to formalise referral pathways, outcome measures, assessment and treatment protocols as well as attending ward and community MDT meetings, triaging referrals, assessing and signposting to other services, and liaising with midwifes, obstetricians, and primary, secondary and third sector care providers.
There will be a strong focus on supporting the continued development of a psychologically informed trauma focus of care within maternity services, providing supervision training, and utilising research skills for audits, evaluations, and service development. All candidates should be registered with the HCPC, eligible for BPS Chartered Status, meet the travel requirements, and have an interest in trauma, grief work and perinatal psychology.
A diverse and welcoming team awaits.
About us
The community services are in the process of being accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, highlighting the excellent and specialised care provided by the service. The MMHS sits within the perinatal service with its operational base as Springfield Hospital and has close links with maternity services.
The team includes psychiatrists, psychologists, CPNs, nursery nurses, OTs, team leads, specialist midwives, a social worker, and a service manager, who all possess great enthusiasm and a strong passion for working with women and their families during the perinatal period.
The psychology department facilitates departmental meetings and specialized supervision (EMDR), supports CPD, and has good links with university training courses in terms of teaching opportunities, trainee selection and placements. SWLSTG goes above and beyond to ensure staff are looked after and feel supported.
About our locations:
Tooting (Wandsworth)
Our Trust headquarters is located within the impressive grounds of Springfield University Hospital in Tooting and we also operate in nearly 100 other locations throughout the UK. This is easily accessible via the Northern Line (Tooting Bec Station) and via private transport. The Trust provides subsidised parking fares for all our substantive staff. Our main site is located immediately next to Tooting High Street where staff can easily access a range of shops, cafs and restaurants.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To take a lead role in the provision of highly specialist psychological interventions for service users under the care of the Maternal Mental Health Service. This includes managing the Psychology and Psychotherapies staff in the Maternal Mental Health Service, ensuring there are systems of clinical and professional governance in place to provide safe and effective psychological treatments, psychologically informed care and trauma informed care for all service users under the care of the Maternal Mental Health Service.
- To supervise and support the psychological assessment and therapy provided by other qualified and trainee psychologists and other clinical members of the team who provide psychologically based care and treatment and be responsible for the governance of psychological care across the service.
- To provide a highly specialist clinical or counselling psychology service to clients of the Maternal Mental Health Service, providing psychological assessment and treatment to service users with mental health needs arising related to traumatic experiences and loss. and to work autonomously within professional guidelines.
- To contribute to the on-going development and evaluation of the service.
- To take a lead in managing and organising the psychological interventions in the boroughs that the post is based, in conjunction with the Consultant Psychologist /Clinical Lead.
- To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams performance (against defined key performance indicators), operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
- To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To take a lead role in the provision of highly specialist psychological interventions for service users under the care of the Maternal Mental Health Service. This includes managing the Psychology and Psychotherapies staff in the Maternal Mental Health Service, ensuring there are systems of clinical and professional governance in place to provide safe and effective psychological treatments, psychologically informed care and trauma informed care for all service users under the care of the Maternal Mental Health Service.
- To supervise and support the psychological assessment and therapy provided by other qualified and trainee psychologists and other clinical members of the team who provide psychologically based care and treatment and be responsible for the governance of psychological care across the service.
- To provide a highly specialist clinical or counselling psychology service to clients of the Maternal Mental Health Service, providing psychological assessment and treatment to service users with mental health needs arising related to traumatic experiences and loss. and to work autonomously within professional guidelines.
- To contribute to the on-going development and evaluation of the service.
- To take a lead in managing and organising the psychological interventions in the boroughs that the post is based, in conjunction with the Consultant Psychologist /Clinical Lead.
- To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams performance (against defined key performance indicators), operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
- To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- oPost-graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS
- oRegistration with the Health Professions Council (HPC)
- oEvidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS
- oFormal training in supervision of trainee applied psychologists and related personnel
Desirable
- oPre-qualification training and qualifications in, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology
- oPost-doctoral training in CBT
- oBABCP Accreditation as practitioner and supervisor
- oEMDR Training
Experience
Essential
- oAssessed experience of working as a qualified clinical or counselling psychologist for a significant period with experience of working at a highly specialist level with clients with mental health needs related to the perinatal period, loss and trauma
- oExperience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in-patient settings
- oExperience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity
- oExperience of using evidence based psychological therapies to treat clients with mental health problems
Desirable
- oExperience of working through interpreters
- oExperience of teaching, training and/or supervision
- oExperience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
- oExperience of working within a multicultural framework
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- oPost-graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS
- oRegistration with the Health Professions Council (HPC)
- oEvidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS
- oFormal training in supervision of trainee applied psychologists and related personnel
Desirable
- oPre-qualification training and qualifications in, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology
- oPost-doctoral training in CBT
- oBABCP Accreditation as practitioner and supervisor
- oEMDR Training
Experience
Essential
- oAssessed experience of working as a qualified clinical or counselling psychologist for a significant period with experience of working at a highly specialist level with clients with mental health needs related to the perinatal period, loss and trauma
- oExperience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in-patient settings
- oExperience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity
- oExperience of using evidence based psychological therapies to treat clients with mental health problems
Desirable
- oExperience of working through interpreters
- oExperience of teaching, training and/or supervision
- oExperience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
- oExperience of working within a multicultural framework
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).