Job summary
We are recruiting High intensity therapists to join our Liverpool Talking Therapies service.
This is an exciting time to join our services; we are growing our service so that we are able to reach more people across the City and engage them in therapeutic support.
Come and join our team of High Intensity Therapists (HIT) and be apart of an exciting growing service.
Main duties of the job
High intensity therapists equip people with the tools and techniques they need to overcome complex problems related to anxiety and depression. You'll make a difference to people's quality of life by providing a range of evidence-based interventions. You'll be based in an NHS Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression service, working with adults from a variety of backgrounds.
You'll work with people with depression and anxiety disorders, such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This work will take place face to face (with some remote working) and sometimes in therapeutic groups. A large part of your role will be to assess a service user's suitability for evidence-based psychological interventions, formulating and implementing treatment and evaluating progress. Once treatment begins, you'll meet with service users regularly, usually weekly, to measure and review progress and tailor treatment accordingly. A clinical supervisor will support you in your work to help you engage in self-reflection, seek and respond to feedback, and develop your professional knowledge and skills.
You will have already completed the appropriate formal training in the therapy or therapies that you deliver in NHS Talking Therapies. Accreditation by the relevant professional body is an expectation of the role.
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 work as a qualified high intensity therapist, you need to have undertaken training in a one of the high intensity therapies such as:
Cognitive behavioural therapy
Interpersonal psychotherapy for depression
Couples therapy for depression
Brief dynamic interpersonal therapy
Counselling for depression
Behavioural couples therapy
PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILTIES
Clinical1. Accept referrals via agreed protocols within the service.2. Assess clients for suitability for psychological interventions.3. Make decisions on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the departments referral protocols, andrefer unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent, as necessary.4. Formulate, implement and evaluate therapy programmes for clients.5. Use highly developed communication skills in working with people to understand their personaland often very sensitive difficulties.6. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment and treatment of clients inline with the service.7. Educate and involve family members and others in treatment as necessary, conveying CBT andother psychological formulations with sensitivity in easily understood language.8. Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinicalsessions carried out per week in order to minimise waiting times and ensure treatment deliveryremains accessible and convenient.9. Attend multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or clients in treatment, where appropriate.10. Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.11. Keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.12. Work closely with other members of the team ensuring appropriate step-up and step-downarrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach.13. Assess and integrate issues surrounding work and employment into the overall therapy process.14. Carry out clinical audits of service performance, including service user surveys and evaluations, andhelp to collate and disseminate the results for feedback.15. Liaise with other health and social care staff from a range of agencies in the care provided clients.16. Provide specialist advice and consultation to other professionals/ individuals/ groups/ committeesacross Mental Health Trusts, Primary Care Trusts and other voluntary agencies regarding servicematters related to the practice and delivery of specific agreed therapeutic modalities and serviceprovision.
Training and Supervision17. Attend and fulfil all the requirements of the Talking Therapies approved supervision training.18. Contribute to the teaching and training of mental health professionals and other staff working inthe service.19. After completion of supervision training, supervise staff in the service.Professional20. Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating,professional and accrediting bodies (e.g., BABCP, BACP), and keep up to date on newrecommendations/ guidelines set by the Department of Health (e.g., NHS plan, National ServiceFramework, National Institute for Clinical Excellence).21. Ensure that client confidentiality is protected at all times.22. Be aware of and keep up to date with advances in the spheres of CBT and other psychologicaltherapies (CBT / CfD / IPT / DIT / EMDR).23. Ensure clear professional objectives are identified, discussed and reviewed with senior therapists ona regular basis as part of continuing professional development (CPD).24. Attend clinical/managerial supervision on a regular basis as agreed with Manager.25. Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives.26. Keep up to date all records in relation to CPD and ensure personal development plan maintains upto date specialist knowledge of latest theoretical and service delivery models/ developments.27. Attend relevant conferences/ workshops in line with identified professional objectives.28. Participate in service improvement by highlighting issues and implementing changes in practice.Advisor/ Liaison29. Provide an advisory service on matters related to the practice and delivery of Cognitive BehaviouralTherapy to individuals/ groups/ committees across the Mental Health Trust, Primary Care Trust andother voluntary agencies.30. Promote and maintain links with Primary Care and Secondary Care Staff to help co-ordinate theprovision of an effective Psychological Therapies Service.
General31. To contribute to the development of best practice within the service.32. To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and procedures inrelation to Mental Health and Primary Care Services.33. All employees have a duty and responsibility for their own health and safety and the health of safetyof colleagues, patients and the general public.34. All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed forboth patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the Data ProtectionAct (1998) and Security and Confidentiality Policies.35. It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for personal gain, toseek advantage of further private business or other interests in the course of their official duties.
Applicants need to be accredited with the relevant professional body, or able to achieve accreditation within a year of their employment start date.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To work as a qualified high intensity therapist, you need to have undertaken training in a one of the high intensity therapies such as:
Cognitive behavioural therapy
Interpersonal psychotherapy for depression
Couples therapy for depression
Brief dynamic interpersonal therapy
Counselling for depression
Behavioural couples therapy
PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILTIES
Clinical1. Accept referrals via agreed protocols within the service.2. Assess clients for suitability for psychological interventions.3. Make decisions on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the departments referral protocols, andrefer unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent, as necessary.4. Formulate, implement and evaluate therapy programmes for clients.5. Use highly developed communication skills in working with people to understand their personaland often very sensitive difficulties.6. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment and treatment of clients inline with the service.7. Educate and involve family members and others in treatment as necessary, conveying CBT andother psychological formulations with sensitivity in easily understood language.8. Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinicalsessions carried out per week in order to minimise waiting times and ensure treatment deliveryremains accessible and convenient.9. Attend multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or clients in treatment, where appropriate.10. Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.11. Keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.12. Work closely with other members of the team ensuring appropriate step-up and step-downarrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach.13. Assess and integrate issues surrounding work and employment into the overall therapy process.14. Carry out clinical audits of service performance, including service user surveys and evaluations, andhelp to collate and disseminate the results for feedback.15. Liaise with other health and social care staff from a range of agencies in the care provided clients.16. Provide specialist advice and consultation to other professionals/ individuals/ groups/ committeesacross Mental Health Trusts, Primary Care Trusts and other voluntary agencies regarding servicematters related to the practice and delivery of specific agreed therapeutic modalities and serviceprovision.
Training and Supervision17. Attend and fulfil all the requirements of the Talking Therapies approved supervision training.18. Contribute to the teaching and training of mental health professionals and other staff working inthe service.19. After completion of supervision training, supervise staff in the service.Professional20. Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating,professional and accrediting bodies (e.g., BABCP, BACP), and keep up to date on newrecommendations/ guidelines set by the Department of Health (e.g., NHS plan, National ServiceFramework, National Institute for Clinical Excellence).21. Ensure that client confidentiality is protected at all times.22. Be aware of and keep up to date with advances in the spheres of CBT and other psychologicaltherapies (CBT / CfD / IPT / DIT / EMDR).23. Ensure clear professional objectives are identified, discussed and reviewed with senior therapists ona regular basis as part of continuing professional development (CPD).24. Attend clinical/managerial supervision on a regular basis as agreed with Manager.25. Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives.26. Keep up to date all records in relation to CPD and ensure personal development plan maintains upto date specialist knowledge of latest theoretical and service delivery models/ developments.27. Attend relevant conferences/ workshops in line with identified professional objectives.28. Participate in service improvement by highlighting issues and implementing changes in practice.Advisor/ Liaison29. Provide an advisory service on matters related to the practice and delivery of Cognitive BehaviouralTherapy to individuals/ groups/ committees across the Mental Health Trust, Primary Care Trust andother voluntary agencies.30. Promote and maintain links with Primary Care and Secondary Care Staff to help co-ordinate theprovision of an effective Psychological Therapies Service.
General31. To contribute to the development of best practice within the service.32. To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and procedures inrelation to Mental Health and Primary Care Services.33. All employees have a duty and responsibility for their own health and safety and the health of safetyof colleagues, patients and the general public.34. All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed forboth patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the Data ProtectionAct (1998) and Security and Confidentiality Policies.35. It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for personal gain, toseek advantage of further private business or other interests in the course of their official duties.
Applicants need to be accredited with the relevant professional body, or able to achieve accreditation within a year of their employment start date.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- For CBT posts: Post Graduate Diploma, or equivalent Post Graduate level CBT Training certificate which confers eligibility for BABCP accreditation
- For Counselling posts: Diploma in Counselling from a recognised course which meets the requirements for BACP Accreditation AND having completed the IAPT/Talking Therapies Counselling for Depression (CfD) course
- For IPT / DIT / EMDR posts: Completed qualification in an IAPT/Talking Therapies recognised course which meets the requirements for relevant Accreditation AND
- Holds Accreditation by the appropriate body OR be able to achieve Provisional Accreditation within one year
- Significant experience working as a psychological therapy practitioner and can demonstrates the competences as required
Desirable
- Additional qualifications in an IAPT/Talking Therapies recognised modality - CBT, EMDR, Mindfulness etc.
- Long Term Health Conditions Trained
- Supervision qualification
Knowledge
Essential
- Demonstrable experience of working in mental health services
- Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets
- Ability to manage own caseload and time
- Demonstrates high standards in written communication
- Able to write clear reports and letters to referrers
- Experience with routine outcome monitoring
- Experience of teaching and liaising with other professional groups
- Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression and how it may present in Primary Care
- Demonstrates knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health/ benefits & employment systems
- Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems
- Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
- Knowledge of child protection issues and other relevant legislation
- Able to attend supervision training if not already trained, and other training as the post develop
- Good record of Continuing Professional Development and willingness to continue this
Desirable
- Experience of working in Primary Care Services
- Worked in a service where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
- Relevant experience in Primary Care treating anxiety and depression
Skills
Essential
- Full range of skills and competencies as laid out in the competence framework for CBT posts (Roth and Pilling 2007)
- Computer literate
- Well developed skills in the ability 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
- Has received training (either formal of through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice
- Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients
- High level of enthusiasm and motivation
- Advanced communication skills
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
- Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively
- Ability to work under pressure
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
- Ability to be self reflective, whilst working with service users, & in own personal and professional development and in supervision
- The ability and skills to act as an advocate for a new service, to engage and foster good professional relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of this service with the wider health care system
Desirable
- Trained in provision of supervision for an IAPT/Talking Therapies High Intensity Therapy (CBT/CfD/IPT/DIT/EMDR)
- Accredited with a professional psychological therapy organisation
- Completed clinical audits within a service
- Ability and willingness to travel to locations throughout the organisation
- Fluent in languages other than English
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
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- For CBT posts: Post Graduate Diploma, or equivalent Post Graduate level CBT Training certificate which confers eligibility for BABCP accreditation
- For Counselling posts: Diploma in Counselling from a recognised course which meets the requirements for BACP Accreditation AND having completed the IAPT/Talking Therapies Counselling for Depression (CfD) course
- For IPT / DIT / EMDR posts: Completed qualification in an IAPT/Talking Therapies recognised course which meets the requirements for relevant Accreditation AND
- Holds Accreditation by the appropriate body OR be able to achieve Provisional Accreditation within one year
- Significant experience working as a psychological therapy practitioner and can demonstrates the competences as required
Desirable
- Additional qualifications in an IAPT/Talking Therapies recognised modality - CBT, EMDR, Mindfulness etc.
- Long Term Health Conditions Trained
- Supervision qualification
Knowledge
Essential
- Demonstrable experience of working in mental health services
- Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets
- Ability to manage own caseload and time
- Demonstrates high standards in written communication
- Able to write clear reports and letters to referrers
- Experience with routine outcome monitoring
- Experience of teaching and liaising with other professional groups
- Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression and how it may present in Primary Care
- Demonstrates knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health/ benefits & employment systems
- Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems
- Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
- Knowledge of child protection issues and other relevant legislation
- Able to attend supervision training if not already trained, and other training as the post develop
- Good record of Continuing Professional Development and willingness to continue this
Desirable
- Experience of working in Primary Care Services
- Worked in a service where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
- Relevant experience in Primary Care treating anxiety and depression
Skills
Essential
- Full range of skills and competencies as laid out in the competence framework for CBT posts (Roth and Pilling 2007)
- Computer literate
- Well developed skills in the ability 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
- Has received training (either formal of through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice
- Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients
- High level of enthusiasm and motivation
- Advanced communication skills
- Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
- Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively
- Ability to work under pressure
- Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
- Ability to be self reflective, whilst working with service users, & in own personal and professional development and in supervision
- The ability and skills to act as an advocate for a new service, to engage and foster good professional relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of this service with the wider health care system
Desirable
- Trained in provision of supervision for an IAPT/Talking Therapies High Intensity Therapy (CBT/CfD/IPT/DIT/EMDR)
- Accredited with a professional psychological therapy organisation
- Completed clinical audits within a service
- Ability and willingness to travel to locations throughout the organisation
- Fluent in languages other than English
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
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
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).
