Clinical/Forensic/Counselling Psychologist

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

This job is now closed

Job summary

An exciting opportunity to join the psychology & psychotherapy forensic mental health team at River House, Medium Secure Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital. We have a vacancy for a Band 7 post, based on a male admission ward at River House.

The post holder will work with the Thames Ward clinical team to deliver ward-based specialist clinical assessments and interventions, while contributing to the wider forensic psychology & psychological therapies programme across the inpatient secure services. The post holder will join a team of psychologists, assistant psychologists and therapists, who work closely with the multi-professional teams in these inpatient services, under the leadership of an MSU inpatient lead psychologist.

Main duties of the job

To provide a specialist psychology service to Thames Ward, Medium Secure Service, including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate.
To undertake service evaluation, audit and research.
To work as an autonomous professional within BPS / HCPC / APC / BPC / UKCP / BACP / BABCP / ADMP-UK guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by the policies and procedures of the service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions with support of clinical supervisor.

About us

Working for your organisation

We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family. We want you to feel like you are part of a close-knit team at SLaM. It's important to us that you feel valued and appreciated and that is why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offer.

Generous pay, pensions and leave,we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package, which is dependent on the role and length of service.
Work life balance,flexible working and a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
Career development,there are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through several programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes.
Car lease,our staff benefit from competitive deals to lease cars.
Accommodation,our staff benefit from keyworker housing which is available on selected sites.
NHS discounts,with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands through the Health Service Discounts website.

Other benefits include:

Counselling services
Wellbeing events
Long service awards
Cycle to work scheme
Season ticket load
Childcare vouchers
Staff restaurants

Date posted

16 September 2022

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 7

Salary

£46,836 to £52,849 a year Per Annum inc HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

334-CRY-4505974-HM

Job locations

River House MSU, Bethlem Royal hospital

Monks Orchard Road

Beckenham

BR33BX

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical and Client Care

To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for male clients in the Forensic Mental Health In-patient Service detained in conditions of medium security.
To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.
To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
To act as team psychologist taking responsibility for provision of a range of psychological services appropriate to the client group and clinical setting.

Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

To contribute to the effective working of the Forensic Mental Health In-patient Service and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.
To contribute to the team or services delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.
To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.
To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.

Policy and service development

To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.
To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

Care or management of resources

To take care of, and use carefully, the Trusts equipment and physical resources.
To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

Management and supervision

To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of an assistant psychologist if required, under supervision from the principal psychologist.
To supervise trainee applied psychologists / psychotherapists within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Training Courses Supervision Training.

Teaching and Training

To provide occasional specialist training in psychological approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.
To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

Record-keeping and Information Governance

To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

Research and development

To undertake regular complex service evaluation, audits or research relevant to service needs.

Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist according to HCPC and Trust guidelines.
To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the HCPC Standards for Continuing Professional Development.
To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.
To comply with the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics and Standards of Proficiency, and ensure professional development in line with these.
To adhere to the BPSs Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.

General

To travel to home visits, community placements, psychology meetings as appropriate and across the Trust when required.
To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management.
To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations, such as challenging behaviour, verbal abuse and other behaviours and to support others involved in such situations.
To work flexibly which may include offering some regular commitment to late clinics or Saturday working, within the overall Job Plan.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical and Client Care

To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for male clients in the Forensic Mental Health In-patient Service detained in conditions of medium security.
To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.
To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
To act as team psychologist taking responsibility for provision of a range of psychological services appropriate to the client group and clinical setting.

Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

To contribute to the effective working of the Forensic Mental Health In-patient Service and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.
To contribute to the team or services delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.
To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.
To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.

Policy and service development

To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.
To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

Care or management of resources

To take care of, and use carefully, the Trusts equipment and physical resources.
To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

Management and supervision

To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of an assistant psychologist if required, under supervision from the principal psychologist.
To supervise trainee applied psychologists / psychotherapists within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Training Courses Supervision Training.

Teaching and Training

To provide occasional specialist training in psychological approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.
To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

Record-keeping and Information Governance

To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

Research and development

To undertake regular complex service evaluation, audits or research relevant to service needs.

Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist according to HCPC and Trust guidelines.
To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the HCPC Standards for Continuing Professional Development.
To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.
To comply with the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics and Standards of Proficiency, and ensure professional development in line with these.
To adhere to the BPSs Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.

General

To travel to home visits, community placements, psychology meetings as appropriate and across the Trust when required.
To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management.
To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations, such as challenging behaviour, verbal abuse and other behaviours and to support others involved in such situations.
To work flexibly which may include offering some regular commitment to late clinics or Saturday working, within the overall Job Plan.

Person Specification

Essential

oEntry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration
oAdditional training beyond entry-level qualification in a specialised area of psychological practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses and/an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher
oRegistered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC OR registered with the professional body appropriate to professional training and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the registering body
oExperience of receiving clinical supervision across a range of client needs
oExperience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in a men's secure care service
oExperience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience
oExperience of developing and carrying out research and / or service evaluation projects
oKnowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for the mentally disordered population (A/I)
oTheoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment of clients with mental disorder and challenging behaviour
oKnowledge of psychological assessment, risk assessments and clinical psychometrics
oKnowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities
oDoctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis
oKnowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care
oAbility to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles
oAbility to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour

Desirable

oQualification or accreditation in a specialist assessment and / or intervention with mentally disordered offender population
oExperience of being involved in recruitment
oExperience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects
oKnowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for mental disordered offender population particularly where there is high risk to the public
oSkills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups

Person Specification

Essential

oEntry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration
oAdditional training beyond entry-level qualification in a specialised area of psychological practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses and/an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher
oRegistered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC OR registered with the professional body appropriate to professional training and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the registering body
oExperience of receiving clinical supervision across a range of client needs
oExperience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in a men's secure care service
oExperience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience
oExperience of developing and carrying out research and / or service evaluation projects
oKnowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for the mentally disordered population (A/I)
oTheoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment of clients with mental disorder and challenging behaviour
oKnowledge of psychological assessment, risk assessments and clinical psychometrics
oKnowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities
oDoctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis
oKnowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care
oAbility to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles
oAbility to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour

Desirable

oQualification or accreditation in a specialist assessment and / or intervention with mentally disordered offender population
oExperience of being involved in recruitment
oExperience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects
oKnowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for mental disordered offender population particularly where there is high risk to the public
oSkills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups

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).