Job summary
We are looking for an enthusiastic and innovative Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to work in the North and South Kensington & Chelsea Community Mental Health Hubs as part of an integrated multi-disciplinary service designed to deliver a new model of care, working closely with Primary Care Networks and other community services.
The team works with clients with severe and enduring mental health problems including psychosis, bipolar-affective disorder, complex emotional needs, and complex PTSD. The post holder will be responsible for providing psychology services to service users experiencing problems associated with these complex mental health problems.
Preference will be given to applicants with specialist skills in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) but we are also interested in candidates with interests in other specialist psychotherapies such as CBTp, Family Interventions (FI), DBT, ACT, EMDR, or Schema Therapy.
Vaccination
As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will have a strong commitment to the recovery model, multi-disciplinary working, service user and carer involvement. Experience of working with diversity in a multicultural setting is important.
You will be part of a supportive team, with good supervision structures. The service is supportive of continuing professional development and has close links with regional Clinical Psychology Training Courses.
The post-holder will be expected to provide specialist psychological assessment and therapy (1:1 and group) for clients with complex and enduring mental health problems. The psychologists will be expected to offer advice, training, and consultation to other members of the team and support to other non-professional carers.
You will also contribute to the ongoing development of effective Recovery-oriented treatment models, in particular considering the range of psychological interventions that the team should aim to provide. They will also play an active role in initiatives to optimise psychological therapy resources for clients within the Hub so that these are widely accessible and clients receive high-quality interventions in a timely manner.
About us
To support the team in assessing the psychological and social needs of patients referred to the service, ensuring that psychological needs and factors are given due consideration in the care planning process.
To liaise closely with relevant local mental health services, such as the Inpatient Services, the Early Intervention in Psychosis Team, the Home Treatment Team and The Waterview Centre, to ensure efficient and seamless patient care pathways and shared understanding of service treatment models and provision.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical:1. 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 interviewswith clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
Method of deliverymay be face-to-face or via remote/teletherapy platforms.2. 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.3. 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.4. 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.5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.6. To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
7. 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.8. 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.10. 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- and multi-disciplinary care.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Clinical:1. 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 interviewswith clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
Method of deliverymay be face-to-face or via remote/teletherapy platforms.2. 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.3. 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.4. 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.5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.6. To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
7. 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.8. 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.10. 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- and multi-disciplinary care.
Person Specification
Training and Qualification
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counseling psychology as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist.
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more areas of specialised clinical practice
Experience
Essential
- Assessed experience of working as a trainee/qualified psychologist in a CMHT or similar complex care service working with patients with complexity and co-morbidity.
- Relevant experience of exercising clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
Desirable
- Experience of representing Psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
- Experience of supervising other mental health staff.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision
Knowledge and 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.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.
- Knowledge of legislation and policy in relation to the client group and mental health.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS.
Desirable
- Clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Substantial experience of CBT or other evidence-based psychological therapies.
Other
Essential
- Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviour.
- 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.
Desirable
- Experience of working with diversity in a multi-cultural framework
- Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
Person Specification
Training and Qualification
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counseling psychology as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist.
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more areas of specialised clinical practice
Experience
Essential
- Assessed experience of working as a trainee/qualified psychologist in a CMHT or similar complex care service working with patients with complexity and co-morbidity.
- Relevant experience of exercising clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
Desirable
- Experience of representing Psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
- Experience of supervising other mental health staff.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision
Knowledge and 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.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and nonprofessional groups.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.
- Knowledge of legislation and policy in relation to the client group and mental health.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS.
Desirable
- Clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Substantial experience of CBT or other evidence-based psychological therapies.
Other
Essential
- Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviour.
- 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.
Desirable
- Experience of working with diversity in a multi-cultural framework
- Ability 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
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).
