Job summary
A fantastic opportunity has arisen for a clinical/counselling psychologist (0.6wte 22hrs, 12 months fixed term) to join our thriving Macmillan Psychology Service. The post holder will join an effective, creative and highly valued service of 6 other specialist cancer and palliative care psychology colleagues. The team has a good range of level 3 and 4 practitioners, ranging from Clinical Psychologists, Counselling psychologists, Couples and Family Therapists and a CBT specialist therapist.
We provide a county wide service across Luton and Bedfordshire, caring for people with cancer and palliative care needs and their families/carers.
The service is regionally recognised as being at the forefront of the provision of psychological care in line with national guidance. The service provides both direct assessment and intervention services, along with indirect support to other teams and agencies through training, consultation and supervision. We work closely with Macmillan Cancer Support, hospital cancer services and local hospices, Cancer and End of Life Commissioners as well working strategically within the regional and national networks.
Main duties of the job
The successful applicant will demonstrate a passion for psychological approaches to the understanding and management of physical health conditions and end of life care, and have a creativity to work with the team to innovate to continually improve our services. The Cancer and Palliative Care Psychology Service forms part of our award winning Clinical Health Psychology department in Luton and Bedfordshire.
About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will be well supported by colleagues within the service, which is led by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, and have strong links with our wider mental health systems working across both physical health and mental health service settings. To hear more about this position, please call for an informal chat.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will be well supported by colleagues within the service, which is led by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, and have strong links with our wider mental health systems working across both physical health and mental health service settings. To hear more about this position, please call for an informal chat.
Person Specification
Training Qualification
Essential
- Competent in two or more distinct psychological therapies. Newly or soonto-qualify candidates will need to know the date they are to be awarded their degree.
- Formal training and accreditation to Doctoral level in Clinical Psychology, or its equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996. Eligible for Chartered Status. Training should include models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology.
- Willingness to participate in a CPD programme relevant to the requirements of the post
- Evidence of Continuing Professional Development as recommended by the BPS.
- HCPC Registered (or registration pending if qualifying)
Desirable
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology
- Training in supervision of psychology trainees
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with people with cancer and palliative care needs or with other health psychology patients and an understanding of psychological models and therapies applied to these client groups, in previous posts or on training placement
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups across the whole life course, presenting problems that include the full range of clinical severity
- Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Demonstrates an understanding of the challenges of working with this client group
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. Ability to choose most appropriate mode of intervention for clients, families and carers
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS, in highly emotional situations.
- Experience of working with families and carers
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Ability to carry out specialist psychological assessment, including psychometric and neuropsychological
- Knowledge of legislation, NSF guidelines, NICE guidance and other national policies for the area of speciality and their implications for clinical practice
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, design and data analysis as practiced within the field of psychology
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts and awareness of the significance of cultural and ethnic issues in delivery of psychological services within this specialism
- IT skills, ability to complete data entry for standard collection, word processing and communication
Personal
Essential
- Accountable for own professional actions and ability to work autonomously, including planning and organising own workload.
- Demonstrates ability to work both collaboratively and autonomously taking on responsibility for the care of patients
- Ability to maintain accurate case records and an awareness of the importance of confidentiality.
- Positive attitude to collaborative team work and ability to form good working relationships with others.
- Evidence of being able to reflect actively on the professional role and professional accountability to users of the service
- Ability to carry out delicate negotiations with patients and their carers, when there may be high levels of expressed hostility towards the service being offered yet a need to maintain a highly professional and ethical stance
- Ability to hold the stress of colleagues and other relevant persons .
- Ability to cope with continual exposure to distressing and highly emotive clinical material.
Person Specification
Training Qualification
Essential
- Competent in two or more distinct psychological therapies. Newly or soonto-qualify candidates will need to know the date they are to be awarded their degree.
- Formal training and accreditation to Doctoral level in Clinical Psychology, or its equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996. Eligible for Chartered Status. Training should include models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology.
- Willingness to participate in a CPD programme relevant to the requirements of the post
- Evidence of Continuing Professional Development as recommended by the BPS.
- HCPC Registered (or registration pending if qualifying)
Desirable
- Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology
- Training in supervision of psychology trainees
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with people with cancer and palliative care needs or with other health psychology patients and an understanding of psychological models and therapies applied to these client groups, in previous posts or on training placement
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups across the whole life course, presenting problems that include the full range of clinical severity
- Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Demonstrates an understanding of the challenges of working with this client group
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. Ability to choose most appropriate mode of intervention for clients, families and carers
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS, in highly emotional situations.
- Experience of working with families and carers
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Ability to carry out specialist psychological assessment, including psychometric and neuropsychological
- Knowledge of legislation, NSF guidelines, NICE guidance and other national policies for the area of speciality and their implications for clinical practice
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, design and data analysis as practiced within the field of psychology
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts and awareness of the significance of cultural and ethnic issues in delivery of psychological services within this specialism
- IT skills, ability to complete data entry for standard collection, word processing and communication
Personal
Essential
- Accountable for own professional actions and ability to work autonomously, including planning and organising own workload.
- Demonstrates ability to work both collaboratively and autonomously taking on responsibility for the care of patients
- Ability to maintain accurate case records and an awareness of the importance of confidentiality.
- Positive attitude to collaborative team work and ability to form good working relationships with others.
- Evidence of being able to reflect actively on the professional role and professional accountability to users of the service
- Ability to carry out delicate negotiations with patients and their carers, when there may be high levels of expressed hostility towards the service being offered yet a need to maintain a highly professional and ethical stance
- Ability to hold the stress of colleagues and other relevant persons .
- Ability to cope with continual exposure to distressing and highly emotive clinical material.
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.
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).
Additional information
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).
