Job summary
We are looking to recruit a clinical/counselling psychologist or CBT therapist who will work within our Neuropsychiatry Service.
The Neuropsychiatry Service is an outpatient regional service at St George's Hospital that provides assessment and treatment for adults over the age of 18 with neurological illness or head injuries who have associated psychiatric problems. The service is closely allied to the regional neuroscience centre based at the Atkinson Morley Wing of St. George's Hospital, serving South West London, Surrey and parts of West Sussex. The team includes consultant neuropsychiatrists, neuropsychiatry and neurology trainees, a specialty doctor, a specialist nurse, and clinical psychologists.
This service offers assessment and treatment for patients with:
- Psychiatric and psychological consequences of neurological conditions, e.g. stroke, head injury, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis or movement disorders.
- Functional neurological disorders including somatoform and dissociative or conversion disorders, e.g. functional seizures, functional movement disorders.
- Organic psychiatric illness, e.g. early onset dementia, schizophreniform disorders with organic brain changes.
- "Grey zone" disorders which straddle neurology and psychiatry, difficult to diagnose or various rare syndromes.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for a clinical or counselling psychologist or CBT therapist interested in offering specialist psychological therapy for patients diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND); as well as to patients diagnosed with a neurological condition who are experiencing associated mental health difficulties. The main therapies offered are CBT and and EMDR. Other modalities are also used less frequently. Experience of working with patients who present with these difficulties is desirable, but not essential. Specialist clinical supervision would be provided.
About the location:
The service is based at St. George's Hospital, Tooting. The hospital is accessible via public transport (nearest train station is Tooting, nearest tube station is Tooting Broadway, multiple bus routes). The service also operates remotely.
About us
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.
This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services.
We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety ofbenefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
If you are relocating from outside London for this post, we can offer financial support with relocation costs.
Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
- To work with neuropsychiatry team to formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
- To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
- To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
- To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
- To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
- To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary care.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
- To work with neuropsychiatry team to formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
- To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
- To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
- To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
- To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
- To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary care.
Person Specification
Training & Qualification
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology as accredited by the BPS, and HPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist under the relevant domain or Eligible for accreditation for as a CBT Therapist with the BABCP and prepared to seek accreditation. This would include evidence of formal training in CBT such as a Post graduate Diploma or Masters in CBT
- A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following - psychology, nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy and registration with the appropriate body for that profession
Desirable
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology
- BABCP accredited CBT practitioner or eligibility for provisional registration of the BABCP as a CBT therapist
- Completed EMDR training (Parts 1-3)
Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
- 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
- Experience of delivering NICE adherent interventions especially CBT for psychological problems
- Demonstrate further specialist training/experience through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a specialist clinical or counselling psychologist or CBT Therapist over a minimum of 18 months, or an alternative agreed by the Trust Head of Psychology
Desirable
- Experience of treating functional neurological disorders including functional seizures; and/or other functional "medically unexplained" presentations
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
- Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework
KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Ability to demonstrate excellence in CBT competencies and practice
Desirable
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. Functional neurological disorders, non-epileptic attacks etc)
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
Person Specification
Training & Qualification
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology as accredited by the BPS, and HPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist under the relevant domain or Eligible for accreditation for as a CBT Therapist with the BABCP and prepared to seek accreditation. This would include evidence of formal training in CBT such as a Post graduate Diploma or Masters in CBT
- A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following - psychology, nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy and registration with the appropriate body for that profession
Desirable
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology
- BABCP accredited CBT practitioner or eligibility for provisional registration of the BABCP as a CBT therapist
- Completed EMDR training (Parts 1-3)
Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
- 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
- Experience of delivering NICE adherent interventions especially CBT for psychological problems
- Demonstrate further specialist training/experience through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a specialist clinical or counselling psychologist or CBT Therapist over a minimum of 18 months, or an alternative agreed by the Trust Head of Psychology
Desirable
- Experience of treating functional neurological disorders including functional seizures; and/or other functional "medically unexplained" presentations
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
- Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework
KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Ability to demonstrate excellence in CBT competencies and practice
Desirable
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. Functional neurological disorders, non-epileptic attacks etc)
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
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).
