Highly Specialist Practitioner Psychologist

Job responsibilities

To provide specialist psychological assessments interventions for families accessing the BABS Service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-report measures, ratingscales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with the individual and others involved in the families care.

To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of an individuals psychological needs, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of their needs, 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.

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, family or group.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, triage, treatment, signposting or referral and discharge of individuals whose problems are managed by psychologically based care plans.

To proactively outreach and provide targeted support to families who would benefit from the BABS Service and deliver accredited screening tools to assess needs, triage and signpost people to the most appropriate service for them.

To provide specialist parent-infant psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to an individuals 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 individuals, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.

To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individuals 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 individuals 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 care.

To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care.

To provide clinical leadership within the BABS Service that serves families and the population of staff employed by health, social care, primary care and emergency services to bolster the health and wellbeing offer and provide specialist training, supervision, consultation and reflective practice when required, including supporting the development of workforce resilience.

To support the development of clinical pathways within the BABS Service including mapping the current psychological offer across Cheshire & Merseyside, developing online resources and resources to be used within the BABS Service that are clinically sound.

Qualifications

Essential

• Doctoral level training in relevant area of psychological practice accredited by the BPS or its approved equivalent
• Registration with Health and Care Professions Council as a Practitioner Psychologist

Desirable

• Post-graduate training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

• Assessed experience of working as a HCPC registered practitioner psychologist at a specialist level for a significant period
• Significant experience of representing psychology within the context of multidisciplinary care
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for individuals psychological care and treatment
• Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision
• Expertise in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within psychology
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health

Desirable

• Experience of assessing and treating individuals 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 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

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

• 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 individuals, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Skills in providing consultation, reflective practice and clinical supervision to other professional and nonprofessional groups
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists
• Knowledge of IT systems including word processing, email and local electronic patient information system

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).