Highly Specialist Family and Systemic Psychotherapist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care

To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients (individuals, couples, families and social networks where the identified client has complex mental health needs).

To provide culturally appropriate psychological or psychotherapeutic interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.

To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

To provide reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers and, where appropriate, service users and their families.

To select and deliver evidence-based specialist therapeutic interventions, drawing from a spectrum of ideas and models, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions as necessary, based on the highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, couple, family or group.

To promote psychological support for carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients.

KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

To contribute to the effective working of the Psychology & Psychotherapy Service for Older Adults and to a psychologically/psychotherapeutically 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.

To liaise with the service/s MDT and other professionals.

KR 3 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.

KR 4 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.

To ensure the cleanliness and safe functioning and use of equipment that will be used by clients or other persons.

To monitor and advise clients on the safe use of materials and processes.

To ensure adequate confidential and safe storage for artefacts produced during the therapy process in line with professional guidelines.

To be responsible for obtaining, storing and maintaining all materials and equipment for the provision of therapy in work setting within budgetary constraints.

KR 5 Management and supervision

To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of a paid assistant if required, under supervision from a more senior therapist.

To supervise trainees within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Supervision Training.

KR 6 Teaching and Training

To provide occasional specialist training in psychological/psychotherapeutic approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.

To disseminate research/service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

KR 7 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.

KR 8 Research and development

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

KR 9 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior therapist according to discipline, professional body and Trust guidelines.

To maintain own Continuing Professional Development in line with professional body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and professional 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 professional body Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics/Standards of Proficiency.

KR10 General

To travel to .(e.g. home visits, community placements, 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.

[Delete where not relevant to the post] To work flexibly which may include offering some regular commitment to late clinics or Saturday working, within the overall Job Plan.

To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations (such as challenging behaviour, abuse etc) and to support others involved in such situations through Trust-wide approaches including Critical Incident Staff Support and Reflect-Support-Resolve.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Recognised qualification in one of the core mental health professions, e.g. psychiatric nursing, clinical psychology, medicine, social work and occupational therapy OR to have equivalent relevant experience and demonstrable competence to work in the mental health field in the NHS.
• Post-graduate qualification in relevant mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field
• Masters level qualification in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy or equivalent qualification, accredited by UKCP
• Registered with the UKCP as Systemic Psychotherapist and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the UKCP. (A/I)

Desirable

• Completed training course in clinical supervision and/or Accredited by AFT to supervise qualified Systemic and Family Psychotherapists (A/I)

Experience

Essential

• Experience of receiving clinical supervision across a range of client needs.
• Experience of assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature.
• Experience 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
• Experience of developing and carrying out audit/research projects.
• Significant post-qualification/graduation experience including experience of individual and group therapy with people with complex mental health needs.

Desirable

• Experience of working with Older Adults
• Experience of working in Secondary Health Care

Knowledge

Essential

• Theoretical knowledge of Mental Health presentations and the evidence base for relevant interventions with individuals, families and networks.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of family and systemic psychotherapy, psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for a range of diagnostic groups and Mental Health presentations.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to older adult mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
• Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care.
• To deliver psychological/psychotherapeutic therapy across cultural and other differences.

Skills

Essential

• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
• To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers .
• Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups.
• Consultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other professional groups and sensitively managing, a number of people's needs simultaneously within the context of therapeutic work/consultation
• Specialist practitioner skills in Family Therapy

Abilities

Essential

• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate
• Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
• Ability to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during observations, assessments and psychological interventions, and to deal with unexpected interruptions or changes during these.
• Ability 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.

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).

Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Psychology & Psychotherapy MHOA

91 Granville Park

London

SE13 7DW

Employer's website

https://www.slam.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)