Job summary
We have an exciting opportunity for a Clinical Psychologist or Senior Psychotherapist to join us in the Liverpool Step Forward service.We provide a stepped model of Psychological care to those who might previously have 'fallen through the gap' between primary and secondary mental health services, with our intention being to reduce the possibility of longer term deterioration in people's metal health by offering more timely earlier interventions.
The service currently comprises Clinical Psychologists, Psychological Practitioners and Assistant Psychologists. For senior psychological therapists, an interest in and substantial experience working with complexity including attachment trauma (using e.g. EMDR / CAT) models would be welcomed.
The successful candidate(s) will join a passionate and welcoming team and provide trauma-informed interventions to clients and carers aged 18 upwards with a range of difficulties. The successful candidate(s) will be supported with their training aspirations and in developing their leadership skills. There are opportunities to work remotely, and flexible working can also be offered. Whilst the post being advertised is full-time, we would certainly consider part-time candidates.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will supervise and support the highly specialised psychological assessment and therapy provided by other psychological professions and other members of the team who provide psychologically based care and treatment.
The post holder will exercise delegated management responsibilities where appropriate and work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the team.The post holder will utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research and propose and implement policy changes within the area served by the team.
About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide specialist psychological assessments of service users referred to the team 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 semi-structured interviews with service users, and others involved in the service users care.
- To be responsible for the systematic provision of cognitive behaviour therapy, CAT and / or EMDR at a highly specialist level to people experiencing significant and/or severe psychological problems
- To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a service users psychological problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the service users problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.
- To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, 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.
- To evaluate, monitor progress and make highly skilled evaluations and 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, or group.
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of service users whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment and treatment of service users whose problems are managed by psychologically based enhanced care
- To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to service users formulation, diagnosis and treatment plans.
- To ensure that all members of the clinical team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of service users, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual service users and to provide both general and specialist advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
- To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, highly complex information concerning the assessment, formulation, and treatment plans of service users under their care where there may be conflicting views, high emotion and significant barriers to understanding and change, and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of both uni- and multi- disciplinary care.
- To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the treatment team.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide specialist psychological assessments of service users referred to the team 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 semi-structured interviews with service users, and others involved in the service users care.
- To be responsible for the systematic provision of cognitive behaviour therapy, CAT and / or EMDR at a highly specialist level to people experiencing significant and/or severe psychological problems
- To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a service users psychological problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the service users problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.
- To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, 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.
- To evaluate, monitor progress and make highly skilled evaluations and 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, or group.
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of service users whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
- To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment and treatment of service users whose problems are managed by psychologically based enhanced care
- To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to service users formulation, diagnosis and treatment plans.
- To ensure that all members of the clinical team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of service users, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual service users and to provide both general and specialist advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
- To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, highly complex information concerning the assessment, formulation, and treatment plans of service users under their care where there may be conflicting views, high emotion and significant barriers to understanding and change, and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of both uni- and multi- disciplinary care.
- To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the treatment team.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical psychology accredited by the BPS or its approved equivalent and Registration with Health Care Professions Council as Practitioner Psychologist. or
- Core mental health qualification such as mental health nursing, social work, OT (professional registration to be maintained) And Registered with a professional body for their therapy e.g., BACP, BABCP, ACAT or other equivalent accreditation applicable within the UK. or
- Holds recognised qualifications and holds practitioner accreditation for two recognised therapy models (e.g. CAT; EMDR; CBT)
Desirable
- Postgraduate/doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
- Experience of working within secondary mental health services
- Working towards or holding EMDR consultant accreditation
Knowledge
Essential
- Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist or psychotherapist at a specialist level for a significant period
- For Senior Psychotherapists evidence of substantial therapy experience post-qualification, delivering / supervising as an accredited therapist in a recognised therapy model (e.g., EMDR / CAT / CBT)
- Significant experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary 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 multi-disciplinary care plan.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
- Knowledge and skill development to meet KSF factor 2 Level 8 requirements.
- Expertise in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex, multivariate data analysis
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
Desirable
- Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
- Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts
- 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.
Skills
Essential
- Able to evidence well developed and effective communication skills, oral and written, 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.
- Able to evidence skills in providing consultation to other professional and non professional groups.
- Evidence of continuing professional development
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Doctoral level training in clinical psychology accredited by the BPS or its approved equivalent and Registration with Health Care Professions Council as Practitioner Psychologist. or
- Core mental health qualification such as mental health nursing, social work, OT (professional registration to be maintained) And Registered with a professional body for their therapy e.g., BACP, BABCP, ACAT or other equivalent accreditation applicable within the UK. or
- Holds recognised qualifications and holds practitioner accreditation for two recognised therapy models (e.g. CAT; EMDR; CBT)
Desirable
- Postgraduate/doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
- Experience of working within secondary mental health services
- Working towards or holding EMDR consultant accreditation
Knowledge
Essential
- Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist or psychotherapist at a specialist level for a significant period
- For Senior Psychotherapists evidence of substantial therapy experience post-qualification, delivering / supervising as an accredited therapist in a recognised therapy model (e.g., EMDR / CAT / CBT)
- Significant experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary 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 multi-disciplinary care plan.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
- Knowledge and skill development to meet KSF factor 2 Level 8 requirements.
- Expertise in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex, multivariate data analysis
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
Desirable
- Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
- Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts
- 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.
Skills
Essential
- Able to evidence well developed and effective communication skills, oral and written, 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.
- Able to evidence skills in providing consultation to other professional and non professional groups.
- Evidence of continuing professional development
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.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Additional information
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
