Senior Clinical / Counselling Psychologist

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 cognitive 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.

1. 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.
2. 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
3. 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
4. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans
5. To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan
6. 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
7. 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 according to Trust Policy
8. To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care
9. 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
10. To ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the clients of diverse community backgrounds.

Teaching, training, and supervision

1. To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues
2. To gain additional highly specialist experience and skills relevant to clinical psychology and/or the service as agreed with the professional psychology manager
3. To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work as appropriate
4. To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant/graduate psychologists and, as appropriate, to contribute to the supervision of individual cases for trainee clinical psychologists
5. To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical and/or counselling psychology, as appropriate
6. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

Management, recruitment, policy and service development

1. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service valuation and audit
2. To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
3. To manage the workloads of assistant psychologists, within the framework of the team/services policies and procedures
4. To be involved, as appropriate, in the short listing and interviewing of assistant / graduate psychologists

Research and service evaluation

1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members
2. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research
3. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision
4. To familiarise themselves with, and to comply with, the Trusts requirements on research governance.

IT responsibilities (other than those used for research)

1. The post holder will input and maintain, appropriate computer and manual statistical data and provide this to the service manager/Head of speciality when necessary.

General

1. 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, in consultation with the post holders professional and service manager(s)
2. 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 field of clinical psychology and related disciplines.
3. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self governance in accordance with HPC standards, professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society, and Trust policies and procedures.

1. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.

To be noted:

• This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties which fall within the grade of the job, in

discussion with the manager.

• This job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing servicerequirements and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder
• The post holder is expected to comply with all relevant Trust policies, proceduresand guidelines, including those relating to Equal Opportunities, Health and Safetyand Confidentiality of Information, clinical governance including research governance

Training and Qualifications

Essential

• Doctoral level training in clinical Psychology, or BPS Chartered Status for counselling psychologists, including specifically models of psychopathology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, as accredited by the BPS; or equivalent psychotherapy training.
• To hold current registration with the HPC as a practitioner psychologist or psychotherapist.

Desirable

• Training in clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology.
• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients in inpatient 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.

Desirable

• Experience of working with people in later life and the challenges presented to them.
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or 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, 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 nonprofessional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS.

Desirable

• 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). 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.
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.

Other

Essential

• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multimedia materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability 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
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework

Desirable

• Hold a current full driving license and have access to a car or other suitable transport for use at work.

Attitude, Aptitudes and Personal Characteristics

Essential

• Ability to treat service users with respect and dignity at all times, adopting a culturally sensitive approach, which considers the needs of the whole person.
• Able to build constructive relationships and warmth and empathy, using good communication skills
• Ability to identify and articulate own training needs
• Self-motivated with ability to work independently and influence others
• Excellent Team Player with proven ability to work well in a team
• Ability to make decisions and problem solve when dealing in both routine and complex situations
• Ability to organise own work and caseload
• Ability to work in a stressful environment and concentrate in conditions requiring emotional demands
• Ability to recognise own limitations and have a willingness to share and learn skills from others
• Ability to prioritise own and others caseloads
• Demonstrates positive attitude and behaviours
• Excellent Time Management skills
• Ability to communicate effectively with people with complex difficulties and in difficult situations
• Recognises own limitations and have willingness to share and learn from others
• Ability to concentrate and work in conditions requiring emotional demands
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multimedia materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability 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 behaviour that challenges.

Desirable

• Understanding of particular needs of older adults
• Experience 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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).