Job summary
We are currently looking to recruit an enthusiastic and motivated 8b Clinical Psychologist to lead the Persistent Physical Symptoms Team and the Cardiology Team within our Psychological Medicine Service for Children, Young People and their Families, based at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge and employed by CPFT.
This is a 0.6WTE permanent post divided as follows: 0.4WTE leading the Persistent Physical Symptoms Pathway, 0.1 WTE leading the Cardiology service and 0.1WTE general management and supervision time for other 8as in the department. The post will involve leadership and supervision of a small team comprising of other qualified Clinical Psychologists.
The post is part of the wider Paediatric Psychological Medicine Service which is a large team comprised of Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, Counsellor Practitioners, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, Mental Health Practitioners and a Family Therapist.
The post will involve carrying out specialist psychological assessments and providing interventions for patients and their families. The post holder will work closely with a well-established team of Medical Consultants, together with the wider multi-disciplinary team to provide psychological assessment and intervention for young people and their families and to support and develop the MDT's psychological understanding of patients' presenting difficulties through consultation, supervision and training.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will have excellent communication, clinical and team work skills and will have demonstrated their ability to work effectively in teams in an acute care setting.
The ideal candidate will have a strong team work ethic and sense of accountability, accompanied by an ability to work under considerable pressure at times. They will need to prioritise their workload and be prepared to work in a responsive way to the demands of a number of busy teams.
The post holder will be very well supported and the post offers a diverse range of CPD and supervision opportunities. We are keen to support and develop our staff through a clear career pathway and encourage promotional opportunities within the Trust.
About us
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health & social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health & wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting & empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.
Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services not only via inpatient and primary care setting but also with the community. These services include Children, Adult & Older Peoples mental & physical health, Forensic & Specialist mental health, Learning Disabilities, Primary Care & Liaison psychiatry, Substance misuse, Social care, Research & Development.
To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high calibre candidates that share our vision & values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people & members of our ethnic minorities & LGBTQ+ communities.
**Internal CPFT Trust applicants who are currently 'at risk' and who meet the essential criteria will be given prior consideration over any other candidates who may apply for this post. If you are 'at risk' or 'affected by change' please make it clear on your application so that you receive priority consideration*
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities
To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the Paediatric Service, using, interpreting and integrating 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 develop psychological formulations of presenting problems or situations that integrate information from assessments within a coherent framework that draws upon psychological theory and evidence and which incorporates interpersonal, societal, cultural and biological factors To develop 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, 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, carers or group. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients, and manage and maintain a caseload in line with service guidelines. To provide highly 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 in line with Trust and inter-agency policies and procedures. To act as care coordinator, ensuring the provision of a care package appropriate for the clients needs, coordinating the work of others involved with care, tasking responsibility for arranging reviews as required, and communicating effectively with the client, his/her family and all others involved in the network of care, and to monitor progress during the course of multi-disciplinary interventions. To communicate, in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, to clients, family carers and others as appropriate, information that may be contentious or highly distressing concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care To produce reports on clients, in a timely manner, that convey the key findings of psychological assessment and formulation and treatment outcome in a way that does justice to the complexity of the problems described, but that are understandable to the recipients of the reports, including clients and referrers.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities
To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the Paediatric Service, using, interpreting and integrating 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 develop psychological formulations of presenting problems or situations that integrate information from assessments within a coherent framework that draws upon psychological theory and evidence and which incorporates interpersonal, societal, cultural and biological factors To develop 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, 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, carers or group. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients, and manage and maintain a caseload in line with service guidelines. To provide highly 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 in line with Trust and inter-agency policies and procedures. To act as care coordinator, ensuring the provision of a care package appropriate for the clients needs, coordinating the work of others involved with care, tasking responsibility for arranging reviews as required, and communicating effectively with the client, his/her family and all others involved in the network of care, and to monitor progress during the course of multi-disciplinary interventions. To communicate, in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, to clients, family carers and others as appropriate, information that may be contentious or highly distressing concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care To produce reports on clients, in a timely manner, that convey the key findings of psychological assessment and formulation and treatment outcome in a way that does justice to the complexity of the problems described, but that are understandable to the recipients of the reports, including clients and referrers.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- oPost-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, or a BPS Statement of Equivalence.
- oUndertaken training in the supervision of trainee clinical psychologists.
- oRegistered with the Health and Care Professions Council
Desirable
- oUndertaken post-doctoral training in one or more relevant additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- oOther relevant academic qualifications to Master's or doctoral level.
Experience
Essential
- oSignificant assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist at a highly specialist level
- oExperience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings 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.
- oExperience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
- oExperience of the application of psychology in different contexts.
- oExperience working in a hospital setting.
- oExperience working in a multi- disciplinary setting.
- oExperience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
Desirable
- oExperience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- oExperience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
- oExperience of working within a multicultural framework.
- oExperience of managing staff.
- oExperience of working across the lifespan.
Skills and abilities
Essential
- oSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration requiring the use of highly developed analytic skills.
- oSkills in individual and group work and programme planning.
- oExcellent communication skills, able to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information including contentious and highly distressing information to service users, their families carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- oExcellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling formation of networks with professionals within the Trust and from other agencies to promote effective team working with clients.
- oIT skills to fulfil the duties of the job description.
- oAble to contain and work with high levels of distress from clients.
- oAble to contain and work with organisational stress.
- oInterpersonally calm and able to defuse difficult, volatile situations.
- oAble to tolerate ambiguity and to take decisions in situations of incomplete information.
Knowledge and understanding
Essential
- oHigh level of knowledge of paediatric psychology
- oGood understanding of other professionals theoretical perspectives of this client group.
- oDoctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within clinical health psychology.
- oKnowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and setting, and its implication for both clinical practice and professional management.
- oEvidence of Continuing Professional Development.
Desirable
- oWell-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
- oKnowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.
- oHigh level knowledge and skills in working with parents and carers.
Phusical requirements
Essential
- oAble to tolerate prolonged periods of sitting.
Other
Essential
- oAbility to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
- oGood organisational skills
- oMotivated towards personal and professional development with a strong CPD record.
- oAbility to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
- oAbility to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- oPost-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, or a BPS Statement of Equivalence.
- oUndertaken training in the supervision of trainee clinical psychologists.
- oRegistered with the Health and Care Professions Council
Desirable
- oUndertaken post-doctoral training in one or more relevant additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- oOther relevant academic qualifications to Master's or doctoral level.
Experience
Essential
- oSignificant assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist at a highly specialist level
- oExperience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings 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.
- oExperience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
- oExperience of the application of psychology in different contexts.
- oExperience working in a hospital setting.
- oExperience working in a multi- disciplinary setting.
- oExperience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
Desirable
- oExperience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- oExperience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
- oExperience of working within a multicultural framework.
- oExperience of managing staff.
- oExperience of working across the lifespan.
Skills and abilities
Essential
- oSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration requiring the use of highly developed analytic skills.
- oSkills in individual and group work and programme planning.
- oExcellent communication skills, able to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information including contentious and highly distressing information to service users, their families carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- oExcellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling formation of networks with professionals within the Trust and from other agencies to promote effective team working with clients.
- oIT skills to fulfil the duties of the job description.
- oAble to contain and work with high levels of distress from clients.
- oAble to contain and work with organisational stress.
- oInterpersonally calm and able to defuse difficult, volatile situations.
- oAble to tolerate ambiguity and to take decisions in situations of incomplete information.
Knowledge and understanding
Essential
- oHigh level of knowledge of paediatric psychology
- oGood understanding of other professionals theoretical perspectives of this client group.
- oDoctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within clinical health psychology.
- oKnowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and setting, and its implication for both clinical practice and professional management.
- oEvidence of Continuing Professional Development.
Desirable
- oWell-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
- oKnowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies.
- oHigh level knowledge and skills in working with parents and carers.
Phusical requirements
Essential
- oAble to tolerate prolonged periods of sitting.
Other
Essential
- oAbility to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
- oGood organisational skills
- oMotivated towards personal and professional development with a strong CPD record.
- oAbility to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
- oAbility to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings
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).
