Job summary
This is an exciting development opportunity for a suitable qualified and experienced Band 8a - 8b to take on the role of Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist Development Post within Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) CAMHS.
HPFT CAMHS is an innovative and dynamic service, being a lead service for New Care Models, first wave for CYP-IAPT, accelerator site for i-Thrive and a trailblazer site for Mental Health Support Teams in schools which are now established across Hertfordshire.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for an innovative and forward-thinking Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to continue the exciting growth and expansion of the discipline across the Trust. Clinical Psychology is highly valued in HPFT CAMHS. You will be an integral part of the team for the South Quadrant (Watford and Borehamwood clinics) whilst being part of a lively psychological community that meets regularly.
You will be the Service Supervisor of trainees, assistant psychologist, CBT therapists and band 7 clinical psychologists based in the team, as well as contribute more widely, through consultations and supervisions, to the development of clinical practice and expertise in the Quadrant.
As well as being responsible for overseeing the specialist psychological assessment of children and adolescents who present with a range of highly complex emotional, psychological and behavioural problems, the post holder will also be fundamental in the formulation of their presentation and for overseeing the delivery of a high standard of evidence-based psychological interventions to these young people.
About us
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.
Our family of over 3500 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.
The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
Our Trust values are:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.
These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!
Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?
Then please read on...
Job description
Job responsibilities
This role will also include leadership and organisational expectations including supporting the development and improvement processes that are currently taking place within the service. The post holder will need to develop key working relationships with colleagues within the team, with CAMHS services across HPFT Trust, and with other local external agencies and our valued partners
For a fuller description of duties, please consult the Job Description and Personal Specification.
Job description
Job responsibilities
This role will also include leadership and organisational expectations including supporting the development and improvement processes that are currently taking place within the service. The post holder will need to develop key working relationships with colleagues within the team, with CAMHS services across HPFT Trust, and with other local external agencies and our valued partners
For a fuller description of duties, please consult the Job Description and Personal Specification.
Person Specification
Knowledge, Training and Experience
Essential
- Post-graduate doctorate in clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, or fully completed training as a Counselling Psychologist
- At least four years full-time post-registration experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment with clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature
- Full registration with Health Professions Council under the Clinical or Counselling modality
- Related academic qualifications to masters or doctorate level
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- Experience of independent administration and interpretation in cognitive assessment
- Training in supervision of clinical / counselling psychologists
- Experience of research, service development and audit
Desirable
- Chartered status with the British Psychological Society
Areas of Experience and Knowledge
Essential
- Assessed experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children/adolescents with a wide range of presentations of varying severity. Typically this would involve a minimum of four years' experience with 2 years at highly specialist level, or its equivalent demonstrated through application and interview
- Experience of working with moderate to severe mental health problems with a wide range of client groups across the whole life course with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity
- Demonstrate further specialist clinical experience and training, through a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a specialist clinical psychologist over a minimum of 18 months, or an agreed alternative
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for client's psychological care and treatment
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision, including supervision of clinical psychology trainee(s)
- Experience working within a multidisciplinary therapy service
- Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, child and adolescent mental health and a range of therapeutic models
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management with clients with complex problems, including specialised psychological interventions for difficult to treat groups (eg multiple mental health and/or physical health problems).
- Ability to demonstrate an area of special interest/skill in assessment, therapeutic intervention or research/evaluation
- Experience of providing a specific model of evidence-based therapy within Specialist CAMHS as a Specialist/Specific intervention
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively and well, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Able to plan own workload; and coordinate with other relevant staff in the delivery of clinical service
- Able to work at a high level of professional autonomy and responsibility, in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment
- Full UK driving licence (subject to Disability Discrimination legislation)
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology
- Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for clinical practice in relation to children and young people
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Experience of working within a multi-cultural framework
- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups within CAMHS
- Good presentation and teaching skills and ability to use multi-media materials for formal presentations to large groups
- Familiarity with computing technology, including keyboard skills, and use of wordprocessing, e-mail, and internet software
- Experience and knowledge of CAPA and CYP-IAPT
- Experience of working as a senior member of a multi-disciplinary team and/or Herts-wide CAMHS service and/or with wider professional networks and agencies
Desirable
- Experience of having published in either peer reviewed academic or professional journals and/or books
- Experience of leading the development and provision of a psychological therapy service within a CAMHS MDT
Communication Skills
Essential
- Able to work at a high level of professional autonomy and responsibility, in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment and also as a lone worker in circumstances where there may be exposure to verbal and sometimes physical aggression
- Ability to work and communicate highly sensitive, contentious information effectively in a highly emotive or hostile atmosphere, and to overcome barriers to acceptance/psychological resistance to potentially threatening information
- Ability to work face to face with patients in isolated potentially hostile settings without other team members being nearby
- Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations
- Ability to work with children and young people whose behaviour is personally challenging
- Ability to establish and maintain professional relationships and boundaries with young people
- Ability to provide a therapeutic environment which contributes to young people's healthy development (including sexual)
Analytical Skills
Essential
- Able to prioritise work, to operate a waiting list, meet short deadlines and an unpredictable work pattern which requires regular revision of plans.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
Person Specification
Knowledge, Training and Experience
Essential
- Post-graduate doctorate in clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, or fully completed training as a Counselling Psychologist
- At least four years full-time post-registration experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment with clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature
- Full registration with Health Professions Council under the Clinical or Counselling modality
- Related academic qualifications to masters or doctorate level
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- Experience of independent administration and interpretation in cognitive assessment
- Training in supervision of clinical / counselling psychologists
- Experience of research, service development and audit
Desirable
- Chartered status with the British Psychological Society
Areas of Experience and Knowledge
Essential
- Assessed experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children/adolescents with a wide range of presentations of varying severity. Typically this would involve a minimum of four years' experience with 2 years at highly specialist level, or its equivalent demonstrated through application and interview
- Experience of working with moderate to severe mental health problems with a wide range of client groups across the whole life course with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity
- Demonstrate further specialist clinical experience and training, through a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a specialist clinical psychologist over a minimum of 18 months, or an agreed alternative
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for client's psychological care and treatment
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision, including supervision of clinical psychology trainee(s)
- Experience working within a multidisciplinary therapy service
- Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, child and adolescent mental health and a range of therapeutic models
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management with clients with complex problems, including specialised psychological interventions for difficult to treat groups (eg multiple mental health and/or physical health problems).
- Ability to demonstrate an area of special interest/skill in assessment, therapeutic intervention or research/evaluation
- Experience of providing a specific model of evidence-based therapy within Specialist CAMHS as a Specialist/Specific intervention
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively and well, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Able to plan own workload; and coordinate with other relevant staff in the delivery of clinical service
- Able to work at a high level of professional autonomy and responsibility, in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment
- Full UK driving licence (subject to Disability Discrimination legislation)
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology
- Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for clinical practice in relation to children and young people
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Experience of working within a multi-cultural framework
- Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups within CAMHS
- Good presentation and teaching skills and ability to use multi-media materials for formal presentations to large groups
- Familiarity with computing technology, including keyboard skills, and use of wordprocessing, e-mail, and internet software
- Experience and knowledge of CAPA and CYP-IAPT
- Experience of working as a senior member of a multi-disciplinary team and/or Herts-wide CAMHS service and/or with wider professional networks and agencies
Desirable
- Experience of having published in either peer reviewed academic or professional journals and/or books
- Experience of leading the development and provision of a psychological therapy service within a CAMHS MDT
Communication Skills
Essential
- Able to work at a high level of professional autonomy and responsibility, in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment and also as a lone worker in circumstances where there may be exposure to verbal and sometimes physical aggression
- Ability to work and communicate highly sensitive, contentious information effectively in a highly emotive or hostile atmosphere, and to overcome barriers to acceptance/psychological resistance to potentially threatening information
- Ability to work face to face with patients in isolated potentially hostile settings without other team members being nearby
- Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations
- Ability to work with children and young people whose behaviour is personally challenging
- Ability to establish and maintain professional relationships and boundaries with young people
- Ability to provide a therapeutic environment which contributes to young people's healthy development (including sexual)
Analytical Skills
Essential
- Able to prioritise work, to operate a waiting list, meet short deadlines and an unpredictable work pattern which requires regular revision of plans.
- Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
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).
