Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist

Job responsibilities

Role and responsibilities

Focus is on assessment, not treatment.

Main focus would be on providing specialist assessments of clients to the team where there is a need for a psychological assessment.

The psychologists role is likely to involve undertaking a component of a wider family assessment to which they would also be making a contribution.

This is likely to be in relation to the psychological and emotional needs of children.

Impact of the parental issues/needs on the child/children.

A developmental perspective of the needs of the child/children- now and in the future.

KEY RESULT AREAS

Clinical:

1. To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from avariety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-reportmeasures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structuredinterviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
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 of proven 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 ensure that all members of the treating team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of clients of the service, through the provision ofadvice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
8. 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 care plan 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.
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 and evaluate progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
10. To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the treatment team.

Teaching, training and supervision

1. To provide clinical placements for trainee clinical and/or counselling psychologists, ensuring that trainees acquire the necessary skills, competencies and experience to contribute effectively to good mental health care and to contribute to the assessment and evaluation of such competencies.
2. To provide post-qualification training (CPD) and clinical professional supervision to recently qualified clinical and/or counselling psychologists attached to the team.
3. To provide advice, consultation and training and clinical supervision to other members of the team for their provision of psychologically based interventions to help improve clients functioning.
4. To provide pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical and/or counselling psychology as appropriate.
5. To maintain and develop skills in the area of professional pre- and post-graduate training and clinical supervision.
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 participate as a senior clinician in the development of a high quality, responsive andaccessible service including advising both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
2. To exercise delegated responsibility for managing the psychological resources available to a team, whether in the form of additional qualified and unqualified graduate psychology staff, or in the form of psychological materials employed in the assessment and treatment of patients.
3. To exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service/team.
4. To participate as appropriate in staff recruitment, both in the short-listing process and as a member of interview panels for assistant, trainees and qualified clinical psychologists.
5. To take responsibility for the work of community psychologists within the tier 3 CAMHS, managing and supervising their work. To take specific responsibility for developing and implementing procedures of the multi-disciplinary service including referrals team, triage assessments, clinical audit, project evaluation and clinical outcomes.
6. To take responsibility for projects to develop existing and new services being delivered out in the community (eg. Education, Primary Care).

Information technology

1. To use computers and computer software to prepare reports and documents relevant to working duties.
2. When required to enter data into Trust patient administration systems and to work using databases in the course of clinical duties.

Research and service evaluation

1.To take the psychology lead, as a senior clinician, in the evaluation, monitoring anddevelopment of the teams operational policies, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit and ensuring incorporation of psychological frameworks for understanding and provision of high quality care.

2. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

3. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.

4. To initiate project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and across the service to help develop and improve services to clients and their families.

General

1.To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes.

2. To ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology within the service area and contribute across the service by exercising 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 and promulgate 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 professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.

4. 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.

Training and Qualifications

Essential

• Post-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
• Registration with HCPC as Clinical Psychologist or equivalent Practitioner Psychologist
• Training in safeguarding children.

Desirable

• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Formal training in standardised assessment of Attachment: e.g. Story Stem, Child Attachment Interview, Adult Attachment Interview

Experience

Essential

• Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist (or equivalent Practitioner Psychologist).
• Experience of assessing and treating clients across a range of care settings
• Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision
• Knowledge of child safeguarding procedures

Desirable

• Experience of undertaking court assessments within Care Proceedings and of giving evidence at Court
• Experience of working with children and families in care or on the edge of care
• Experience 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.

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, highly technical, and 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 design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology
• Knowledge of the evidence base in relation to psychological functioning in children and adolescents who have experienced neglect and abuse
• Knowledge of the evidence base in relation to parenting capacity and the factors affecting this
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists
• Experience and ability in providing written and verbal assessment reports
• Knowledge of the legal framework surrounding safeguarding children and Looked After Children.

Desirable

• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialized psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc)
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies and assessment methodologies
• Knowledge and skills in writing reports for and giving evidence at Court.

Other

Essential

• Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
• 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
• 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.

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).