Clinical Psychologist

Job responsibilities

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 neuropsychological 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.

To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients psychological problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.

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 where appropriate.

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.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment and treatment of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based enhanced care plans.

To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

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.

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.

To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and reviewing of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.

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.

Qualifications

Essential

• A First or Upper Second honours degree in psychology OR a lower class with a post-graduate qualification, (e.g.: Master's degree)
• ECDL or demonstrable proficiency with Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Publisher and SPSS
• Post-graduate doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology as accredited by the BPS
• Registration with HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist

Desirable

• Further training in relevant areas of professional psychology, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis
• Post-doctoral training in additional specialised areas of psychological practice such as risk assessment and/or specific therapeutic modalities

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable experience of working with children, young people, their families, and systems around them
• Post-qualification experience of working with individuals with histories of problems of complex, multi-factorial origin
• Experience of working with a variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a full range of care settings, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and threats of physical abuse
• Experience of exercising clinical responsibility for service user's psychological care and treatment, both as a profession and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan
• Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision
• Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology in relation to children and young people
• Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology in relation to children and young people
• Knowledge of legislation and the implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the client group and mental health issues in general

Desirable

• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team/ experience of working alongside staff from other disciplines
• Experience of multi-professional management of teams and/or services
• Experience of representing the profession in local policy fora
• Experience of the application of psychological theories within different cultural contexts
• Personal experience of mental health problems

Values

Essential

• Continuous Improvement
• Accountability
• Respectfulness
• Enthusiasm
• Support
• High professional standards
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Strong customer service belief
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet
• Change oriented

Skills

Essential

• Skills in the use of methods of psychological assessment & formulation
• An excellent ability to communicate, both orally and in writing, complex, technical and clinically sensitive information, to service users, their families and a wide range of professionals within and outside of the NHS
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professionals group
• Ability to identify, provide, and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations
• Ability to identify and employ where appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviours
• Ability to develop and use complex multi-media material for presentations to the public, professionals and academic settings
• Ability and willingness to travel Trust Wide for work

Desirable

• An ability to apply existing psychological knowledge within the context of CYP mental health
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological interventions in specific, difficult to treat groups (e.g. autism, CYP in the care of the local authority dual diagnosis issues, additional disabilities and drug/alcohol issues etc.)
• Record of having published in either peer reviewed academic or professional journals and/or books
• Ability to articulate and interpret the role of the profession of clinical psychology based upon an understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy

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).