Consultant Psychologist

Job responsibilities

To ensure the systematic provision of a high quality specialist clinical psychology service for the service. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service and in liaison with the Service Trio to ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical and professional supervision and support of all other psychologists within the service for which the post holder has designated professional responsibility, including clear systems for effective recruitment, professional appraisal, and the identification of CPD needs.

As a major requirement of the job to lead and/or participate in service related research, audit and evaluation activities and/or programmes. To propose and participate in the implementation of policy and service development changes within the service.

This job description is an outline of the main duties of the post. The post holder will be required to undertake other duties commensurate with the grade as directed.

The content of this post will be reviewed in consultation with the post holder when necessary and in line with service developments.

To provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the service, 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 service users, family members and others involved in the persons care.

To formulate plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a service users emotional well being and mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for service users, carers, families and groups (as appropriate), 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 make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning psycho-social, historical and developmental processes.

To exercise full responsibility and autonomy for the treatment of and discharge of service users whose problems are managed as a psychologically based care plan, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and interventions, communicating with the referral agent and others involved with their care on a regular basis.

To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to the formulation of the service users psychological difficulty, diagnosis and treatment plan.

To ensure that all members of the multidisciplinary clinical team have access to a psychologically based framework for the understanding and care of users of the service, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological knowledge, research and theory.

To undertake risk assessment and risk management for relevant individual clients and to provide both general and specialist advice for psychologists and other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.

To act as care co-ordinator, when appropriate, to ensure the provision of a care package appropriate for the clients needs, co-ordinating the work of others involved with care, arranging clients care reviews as required and communicating effectively with the client, his/her family and all others involved in care; and to monitor progress during the course of multi-disciplinary interventions.

To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of both uni and multi-disciplinary care.

Experience

Essential

• Assessed substantial experience of working as a HCPC Registered clinical psychologist within the service area.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, inpatient and residential care settings including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
• Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability to articulate and interpret clearly the role of the profession of clinical psychology based upon a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy.

Desirable

• Experience of professional management of qualified and pre qualified clinical psychologists.
• Experience of multi-professional management of teams or services within the designated specialty.
• Experience of representing the profession in Trust and Local fora.
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Record of having published in peer reviewed ,academic or professional journals and/or books.

Special Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, and two or more distinct psychological therapies.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• A high level ability to communicate effectively at both a written and oral level complex, highly technical and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and a wide range of lay and professional persons within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.
• Knowledge of legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the client group and mental health.
• Evidence of continuing professional development in line with HCPC requirements.
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.
• Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.

Desirable

• Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat group (eg personality disorder dual diagnosis, people with additional disabilities and severely challenging behaviours etc).
• Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of highly specialised psychological therapies.

Physical Attributes

Essential

• Ability to undertake the duties and demands of the post.
• A satisfactory sickness record over the previous 2 years.

Qualifications

Essential

• Doctorate of clinical psychology or recognised equivalent as accredited by HCPC .
• HCPC Registration as a Clinical Psychologist.

Desirable

• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Training

Essential

• Postgraduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology or recognised equivalent as accredited by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometric and neuropsychology;
• Competence in two or more distinct psychological approaches to assessment, formulation and treatment.

Desirable

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

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Enthusiasm for a broad range of psychological phenomena, and interest in models of service delivery, and an ability to articulate the value added by clinical psychology services within the context of multi-disciplinary mental health services.
• Ability to travel around the Trust as appropriate to the role.

Desirable

• A commitment to the evaluation of services, enthusiasm for both multi-professional and uni-professional audit, and a wish to continue to develop expertise in the service area.
• Ability to demonstrate leadership and management skills.

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).