Job summary
Senior Psychologist Women's Offender Personality Disorder Service-PIPE
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is a Top Employer Award Winner and works in partnership to provide responsive and dependable primary care, mental health, intellectual disability and substance misuse services to the diverse and culturally rich communities we serve.
In our quest to deliver patient-focused quality care we are looking to recruit a highly motivated, innovative and enthusiastic Senior Psychologist to join our forward thinking, friendly and expanding PIPE team at HMP Send. By joining our Surrey Prisons Health Care Team, you will not only look after the healthcare needs of the prisoners, but who also have the opportunity to have a real impact on promoting health and well-being.
Working in partnership with the criminal justice system and other agencies, we provide responsive, dependable and high-quality primary care and mental health services to existing offenders (and those at risk of offending) in the communities we serve, to improve their health status and to encourage social inclusion.
PLEASE NOTE ANY CANDIDATE WISHING TO APPLY FOR ANY OF OUR ROLES IN SURREY WILL BE SUBJECT TO VETTING CLEARANCE. WHICH REQUIRES YOU TO HAVE BEEN A RESIDENT IN THE UK FOR A MINIMUM OF 3 YEARS. CANDIDATES WHO DO NOT MEET THIS CRITERIA NEED NOT APPLY.
Main duties of the job
- Work as a senior psychological practitioner with women in prison presenting with complex & challenging needs who are resident on the Psychologically Informed Planned Environment unit, engaging in the PIPE Outreach Service & those where referral to PIPE may be considered.
- Work within a multidisciplinary team to provide a comprehensive service to women with personality disorder resident on the PIPE units & to contribute to ensuring the PIPE is a successful environment. Also to work as part of the team supporting the women in their own location at MHP Send through the PIPE Outreach Service.
- Provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation & clinical support for service users as well as offering advice & consultation on psychological care to other members of the clinical & operational team.
- Ensure robust pathway planning for all clients involved in the PIPE service at differing transition points.
- Contribute to the planning & delivery of enrichment activities, the therapeutic social setting for the PIPEs & to the Enabling Environment as defined by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
- Contribute to the planning, delivery & review of individually tailored programmes of intervention using individual & group work approaches.
- Utilise research skills for audit, policy & service development & research within the Health & Justice Directorate.
- Provide clinical supervision to other members of the team when appropriate.
About us
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust offers its staff ongoing career progression through:
- Monthly supervision
- Annual personal development plans/appraisals
- Access to exciting internal and external training opportunities.
Excellent progression through various career pathway opportunities such as but not limited to:
- Preceptorship Programme
- Support and guidance with Revalidation
- Hidden Gem and annual award ceremonies
Excellent staff benefits, our benefit packages are amongst the best in London and include:
- Childcare vouchers
- Health and wellbeing services
- Season ticket loans
- Cycle to work scheme
- Relocation package
The trust alsovalues its staff and you are entitled to become a member of MyTrustBenefits. MyTrustBenefits is an online portal for all CNWL staff, as well as their family and friends. It offers over 1400 discounts at hundreds of retailers nationwide. Save money on your weekly food shops, toiletries, cosmetics, cinema, meals out, holidays, travel and entertainment. You can also access free online courses on a variety of topics, professional and personal, ranging from business management, languages, law and teaching.
All of our sites in Surrey offer free use of the onsite leisure facilities and free parking for staff.
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
Job description
Job responsibilities
Main Clinical Responsibilities:
- To provide specialist psychological assessments to women in the PIPE Service 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 others involved in the patients care.
- To develop individual psychological formulations and provide guidance and support to the team on their understanding and management of the service users in accordance with the formulation.
- To formulate and implement plans for the psychological treatment and/or management of a service users mental health and personality problems, taking into account an appropriate conceptual framework of the patients problems, theoretical and therapeutic models and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, psychological support and review of OPD prisoners within PIPE services.
- To liaise closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team, giving authoritative specialist advice on psychological aspects of care, contributing directly to formulation, diagnosis and pathway planning.
- To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of those using PIPE services.
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual service users and to provide advice and training to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
- To communicate in a skilled, persuasive and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment formulation and treatment plans of service users, and to monitor progress during the course of their multidisciplinary input.
- To develop networks and contacts to support professional practice and enhance functioning within the service.
- To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes.
- To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the fields of clinical and forensic psychology and related disciplines.
- To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic data entry and recording, and report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance, in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.
- To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific patient group and mental health.
- To ensure that in all aspects of professional activity (e.g. communication with patients, relatives, colleagues as well as in the assessment, development/delivery of interventions) issues of diversity such as race, culture, identity, gender and sexuality are sensitively considered and incorporated to reflect individual differences appropriately.
- To ensure that service users are appropriately consulted about relevant aspects of their care and are empowered to express their views in a responsive environment enabling such views to be assimilated / incorporated into continued service development and improvement.
Communication:
- To provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information in an atmosphere where service users can be hostile, antagonistic and highly emotional, where adherence to detail and accuracy must be meticulous since the strands of communication can be conflicting, and where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills.
- To act in an appropriate dignified and responsible manner with patients, relatives, colleagues, using appropriate language and communication skills which acknowledge cultural differences.
Training, Teaching & Supervision:
- To receive regular clinical supervision from a suitably qualified and experienced psychologist and, where appropriate, other professional colleagues.
- To ensure own professional development and registration are maintained.
- To contribute to Health & Justice Services wide training, liaison and consultation, offering education and support to prison staff and others on psychological understanding and interventions.
- To provide professional and clinical supervision of trainee and assistant psychologists.
- To develop skills in the area of professional postgraduate teaching, training and supervision, particularly of clinical staff.
- To provide teaching, training and supervision to staff and colleagues in the multidisciplinary team, and other psychologists.
Policy and Procedures:
- The duties and responsibilities of this post will be undertaken in accordance with the policies, procedures and practices of CNWL / Health & Justice Services Directorate and with the Code of Conduct and Guidance on Professional Practice issued by the British Psychological Society. It is the post-holders responsibility to ensure that they keep up-to-date with these policies and other policy documents.
- To work in accordance with Health & Justice Services Directorate procedures, and with those of local prison sites, in particular security and health and safety.
- To obtain and maintain prison security clearance and work in accordance with security directives from the prison.
- To apply equal opportunities principles at all times and participate in training activities and Individual Performance and Development Reviews.
Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development:
- To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services through the development of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit particularly when tendering.
- To identify and to advise service managers on those aspects of the service where psychological or organisation matters need addressing.
- To contribute to service developments and improvements, taking a lead on those which are specifically related to quality of provision of psychological care.
- To help manage the workloads of junior and trainee psychologists.
- To conduct individual performance reviews of junior staff when appropriate.
- To be involved, as appropriate, in the short-listing and interviewing of psychology and other staff.
Research and Development:
- To use theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other colleagues in the multidisciplinary team.
- To devise and undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to others undertaking research, to develop service and knowledge base and inform national policy relating to Health & Justice Services.
- To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation.
IT responsibilities (other than those used for research):
- The post holder will input and maintain, appropriate computer and manual clinical records and statistical data and provide this to the Service Manager/ Consultant Clinical Psychologist when necessary.
- The postholder will engage in relevant computer and IT training as required.
- The postholder will be responsible for ensuring that those psychologists they are responsible for/supervise engage in relevant computer and IT training as required and will input and maintain, appropriate computer and manual clinical records and statistical data.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Main Clinical Responsibilities:
- To provide specialist psychological assessments to women in the PIPE Service 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 others involved in the patients care.
- To develop individual psychological formulations and provide guidance and support to the team on their understanding and management of the service users in accordance with the formulation.
- To formulate and implement plans for the psychological treatment and/or management of a service users mental health and personality problems, taking into account an appropriate conceptual framework of the patients problems, theoretical and therapeutic models and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, psychological support and review of OPD prisoners within PIPE services.
- To liaise closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team, giving authoritative specialist advice on psychological aspects of care, contributing directly to formulation, diagnosis and pathway planning.
- To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of those using PIPE services.
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual service users and to provide advice and training to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
- To communicate in a skilled, persuasive and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment formulation and treatment plans of service users, and to monitor progress during the course of their multidisciplinary input.
- To develop networks and contacts to support professional practice and enhance functioning within the service.
- To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes.
- To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the fields of clinical and forensic psychology and related disciplines.
- To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic data entry and recording, and report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance, in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.
- To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific patient group and mental health.
- To ensure that in all aspects of professional activity (e.g. communication with patients, relatives, colleagues as well as in the assessment, development/delivery of interventions) issues of diversity such as race, culture, identity, gender and sexuality are sensitively considered and incorporated to reflect individual differences appropriately.
- To ensure that service users are appropriately consulted about relevant aspects of their care and are empowered to express their views in a responsive environment enabling such views to be assimilated / incorporated into continued service development and improvement.
Communication:
- To provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information in an atmosphere where service users can be hostile, antagonistic and highly emotional, where adherence to detail and accuracy must be meticulous since the strands of communication can be conflicting, and where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills.
- To act in an appropriate dignified and responsible manner with patients, relatives, colleagues, using appropriate language and communication skills which acknowledge cultural differences.
Training, Teaching & Supervision:
- To receive regular clinical supervision from a suitably qualified and experienced psychologist and, where appropriate, other professional colleagues.
- To ensure own professional development and registration are maintained.
- To contribute to Health & Justice Services wide training, liaison and consultation, offering education and support to prison staff and others on psychological understanding and interventions.
- To provide professional and clinical supervision of trainee and assistant psychologists.
- To develop skills in the area of professional postgraduate teaching, training and supervision, particularly of clinical staff.
- To provide teaching, training and supervision to staff and colleagues in the multidisciplinary team, and other psychologists.
Policy and Procedures:
- The duties and responsibilities of this post will be undertaken in accordance with the policies, procedures and practices of CNWL / Health & Justice Services Directorate and with the Code of Conduct and Guidance on Professional Practice issued by the British Psychological Society. It is the post-holders responsibility to ensure that they keep up-to-date with these policies and other policy documents.
- To work in accordance with Health & Justice Services Directorate procedures, and with those of local prison sites, in particular security and health and safety.
- To obtain and maintain prison security clearance and work in accordance with security directives from the prison.
- To apply equal opportunities principles at all times and participate in training activities and Individual Performance and Development Reviews.
Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development:
- To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services through the development of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit particularly when tendering.
- To identify and to advise service managers on those aspects of the service where psychological or organisation matters need addressing.
- To contribute to service developments and improvements, taking a lead on those which are specifically related to quality of provision of psychological care.
- To help manage the workloads of junior and trainee psychologists.
- To conduct individual performance reviews of junior staff when appropriate.
- To be involved, as appropriate, in the short-listing and interviewing of psychology and other staff.
Research and Development:
- To use theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other colleagues in the multidisciplinary team.
- To devise and undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to others undertaking research, to develop service and knowledge base and inform national policy relating to Health & Justice Services.
- To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation.
IT responsibilities (other than those used for research):
- The post holder will input and maintain, appropriate computer and manual clinical records and statistical data and provide this to the Service Manager/ Consultant Clinical Psychologist when necessary.
- The postholder will engage in relevant computer and IT training as required.
- The postholder will be responsible for ensuring that those psychologists they are responsible for/supervise engage in relevant computer and IT training as required and will input and maintain, appropriate computer and manual clinical records and statistical data.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- oEvidence of post-qualification specialist training, experience and developing expertise in a specialist area of clinical practice.
- oDoctoral level training in clinical, forensic or clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, equivalent to that accredited by the BPS.
- oHCPC Registered as a practitioner psychologist
Desirable
- oPre- or Post-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
Previous Experience
Essential
- oDemonstrate significant assessed further specialist training / experience of working as a specialist clinical psychologist (or equivalent) through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision
- 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 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 working effectively in multidisciplinary settings and representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care
- oAdvanced knowledge, experience and expertise in at least one specialist area of clinical practice gained through specialist training and supervised practice (e.g. psychotherapy, neuropsychology, risk assessment, clinical supervision).
- oExperience of working with women with complex presentations, including trauma.
Desirable
- oExperience of teaching and training
- oExperience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care
- oExperience of working in secure environments and/or forensic mental health
Abilities
Essential
- oSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- oWell 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.
- oSkills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- oPossesses range of clinical knowledge, skills & information technology expertise relevant to post.
- oCan demonstrate competence in supervision of junior qualified psychology and MDT staff and professional psychology trainees.
- oAbility to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- oAbility to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- oBroad knowledge of models of assessment, management and treatment of mentally disordered and PD offenders.
- oAbility to work intensively with people who present challenges in the complexity of their problems and needs, including sexual and violent offending and self-harming and suicidal behaviours
- oHigh level of ability to plan and organise clinical service provision to meet service demands, and to maintain high quality professional practice.
- oContinually develop specialist knowledge and skills by engaging in relevant study and Continuing Professional Development relevant to the forensic population.
- oDoctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- oExcellent IT skills.
Desirable
- oKnowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult-to-treat groups (e.g. people with additional disabilities).
- oCan apply psychological knowledge creatively in developing new initiatives.
- oAbility to write reports for varied audiences, including courts and purchasers of services.
ATTITUDES, APTITUDES PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Essential
- oExcellent interpersonal skills
- oTeam player
- oAppreciation of the interface between our personal and professional lives, high level of self awareness and knowledge of principles of self care.
OTHER
Essential
- Sickness (or attendance) record that is acceptable to the Trust: to be checked at interview. Declared medically fit by the Occupational Health Department to perform the duties of the post.
- Ability to work in a secure environment, in line with- Must be able to obtain and maintain prison security clearance and work in accordance with HMPS policies and procedures.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
- oEvidence of post-qualification specialist training, experience and developing expertise in a specialist area of clinical practice.
- oDoctoral level training in clinical, forensic or clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, equivalent to that accredited by the BPS.
- oHCPC Registered as a practitioner psychologist
Desirable
- oPre- or Post-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
Previous Experience
Essential
- oDemonstrate significant assessed further specialist training / experience of working as a specialist clinical psychologist (or equivalent) through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision
- 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 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 working effectively in multidisciplinary settings and representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care
- oAdvanced knowledge, experience and expertise in at least one specialist area of clinical practice gained through specialist training and supervised practice (e.g. psychotherapy, neuropsychology, risk assessment, clinical supervision).
- oExperience of working with women with complex presentations, including trauma.
Desirable
- oExperience of teaching and training
- oExperience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care
- oExperience of working in secure environments and/or forensic mental health
Abilities
Essential
- oSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- oWell 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.
- oSkills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- oPossesses range of clinical knowledge, skills & information technology expertise relevant to post.
- oCan demonstrate competence in supervision of junior qualified psychology and MDT staff and professional psychology trainees.
- oAbility to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- oAbility to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- oBroad knowledge of models of assessment, management and treatment of mentally disordered and PD offenders.
- oAbility to work intensively with people who present challenges in the complexity of their problems and needs, including sexual and violent offending and self-harming and suicidal behaviours
- oHigh level of ability to plan and organise clinical service provision to meet service demands, and to maintain high quality professional practice.
- oContinually develop specialist knowledge and skills by engaging in relevant study and Continuing Professional Development relevant to the forensic population.
- oDoctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- oExcellent IT skills.
Desirable
- oKnowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult-to-treat groups (e.g. people with additional disabilities).
- oCan apply psychological knowledge creatively in developing new initiatives.
- oAbility to write reports for varied audiences, including courts and purchasers of services.
ATTITUDES, APTITUDES PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Essential
- oExcellent interpersonal skills
- oTeam player
- oAppreciation of the interface between our personal and professional lives, high level of self awareness and knowledge of principles of self care.
OTHER
Essential
- Sickness (or attendance) record that is acceptable to the Trust: to be checked at interview. Declared medically fit by the Occupational Health Department to perform the duties of the post.
- Ability to work in a secure environment, in line with- Must be able to obtain and maintain prison security clearance and work in accordance with HMPS policies and procedures.
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).
