Clinical Psychologist

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. Role Summary

To work as part of the Clinical Health Psychology Service to provide psychological support to people with acute and chronic health needs and their families (where appropriate). To provide highly specialist psychological assessment and therapy at the same time as offering advice and consultation on the psychological care of patients and families to non-psychologist colleagues in health and other agencies. This will involve being clinically responsible for complex therapeutic, and risk management work with clients who may be highly vulnerable, at risk, suicidal or aggressive. This work to be undertaken autonomously within the professional guidelines and overall framework of the policies and procedures of the service and Trust. To be regularly responsible for providing training placements for Trainee Clinical Psychologists. To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the service. To collaboratively identify service priorities and take the lead on agreed elements of service development and delivery.

2. Main Duties and Responsibilities

Clinical;

· To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of people referred to Clinical Health Psychology, 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 observations and semi-structured interviews with patients, family members and others involved in the care of adults with psychological difficulties or emotional distress relating to physical health problems.

· To make judgements involving highly complex facts which require analysis, interpretation and comparison to a range of options. To formulate and implement plans of specialist psychological treatment and/or management of people’s mental health problems, based on an appropriate multi-factorial and multi-theoretical psychological understanding of the individual or system and employing methods based upon current evidence-based practice, across the full range of care settings.

· To be responsible for undertaking a range of psychological therapeutic interventions employed individually and in synthesis with individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

· To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors regarding historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

· To exercise autonomous professional judgement and responsibility for the psychological management of adults referred to Clinical Health Psychology including assessment, formulation, intervention, discharge and effective communication of these plans with referrers and other multi-agency professionals involved in the care of the person on a regular basis.

· To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to the multi-disciplinary formulation of appropriate therapeutic approaches or intervention plans, and be involved in, or oversee and co-ordinate specialist psychological aspects of their implementation in collaboration with other staff.

· To undertake psychologically based risk assessment and management and to provide advice and consultation on the psychological aspects of risk assessment and management to other professions.

· To provide and receive in a skilled and sensitive manner, highly complex, sensitive and sometimes contentious information concerning assessment, formulation and treatment plans in an empathic and supportive way, using the highest levels of

interpersonal skills in situations which could be highly emotive and sometimes antagonistic or physically challenging.

· To effectively monitor the progress of both uni- and multi-disciplinary interventions

· To take the clinical psychology lead in specialist MDT clinics and aspects of service provision as agreed or directed by the consultant or principal clinical psychologist to whom the post holder is accountable.

Policy and Service Development;

· To contribute to the development, implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the use of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

· To participate in multi-disciplinary and multi-agency meetings and contribute to the writing of protocols and policies concerned with the delivery and development of clinical services, providing a psychological perspective as appropriate following evidence-based practice.

· To share responsibility with other team members for implementing service developments. To take the lead in developing an agreed specific area of service development, using a needs analysis to identify priorities, plan, implement, delivery and evaluate.

· To advise service, operational and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing, including proposing changes to team and professional practices and protocols.

3. Research and Development / Service Evaluation

· To remain informed of and critically evaluate relevant current research. To promote this perspective within the MDT, by maintaining and promoting a research ethos particularly with regard to evidence–based practice and rigorous methodology for audit and evaluation.

· To undertake appropriate service relevant research, as agreed with the Head of psychology, and to provide research advice to other staff undertaking research where relevant.

· To undertake project management including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within physical health services to help develop service provision both within and beyond psychology.

· To use professional journals and conferences (national and where appropriate, international) in order to disseminate own and collaborative research and reviews of service developments.

· To support the medical teams to develop and promote research within the MDT.

4. Professional and Advisory

· To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the professional and operational line manager and within the KSF, BPS, HPCP and CPD best practice guidance and requirements.

· To prepare for and attend an Annual Review / Personal Development Plan (PDP) with the Clinical Psychologist line manager. To provide evidence of CPD undertaken e.g. in the form of a CPD log book. To collaboratively set aims and objectives and systemically monitor progress.

· To maintain the highest standards of record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society, HPCP, and Trust policies and procedures.

· To be aware of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to specialist area of function and mental health.

· To attend Clinical Psychology meetings and contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the specialist area of physical health appointed to, or across areas of the Trust as directed by the head of clinical health psychology. To do this by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines.

5. Teaching, Training and Supervision

· In common with all clinical psychologists to receive regular clinical supervision and professional management, according to good practice guidelines, from a more senior clinical psychologist and where appropriate clinical or peer supervision from other professional colleagues.

· To develop further skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision of the psychological work of other MDT members, as appropriate.

· To provide professional and clinical supervision of trainee and assistant psychologists including holding clinical responsibility for the caseload of trainee clinical psychologists.

· To contribute to the pre and post qualification teaching of clinical psychology, as appropriate.

· To provide highly specialist advice, consultation and training to staff working with patients/carers across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

· To develop skills in the area of professional pre- and post-graduate training and further develop skills in clinical supervision.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from a HCPC accredited postgraduate training course.
• Registered with the HCPC.

Desirable

• Prequalification training and qualifications in research methodology staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.

Experience

Essential

• Doctoral knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, neuropsychology, and two or more distinct psychological therapies.
• Doctoral knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex data analysis as practiced within the clinical field of psychology.
• Demonstrable experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of people with physical health conditions across the full range of care settings.
• Demonstrable experience of working with a wide variety of client groups across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and possible physical aggression.
• Experience of working clinically to address psychological issues arising from physical health conditions and/or their treatment.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the British Psychological Society and HPCP.
• Experience of teaching, training and / or supervision of Assistants or other professionals.
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to people, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation and training to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to work productively and autonomously with appropriate guidance.
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• 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

Desirable

• Experience of highly specialist working with people with highly such as cystic fibrosis, cardiac or respiratory conditions. Experience of working with cognitive deficit as a result of physical health presentations.
• Record of having published in peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to people with physical health conditions and mental health.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in those groups with complex presentations e.g. dual diagnoses, specific health conditions such as CF, Cardiac or respiratory conditions.
• Attendance at a formal training programme in supervision of Trainee Clinical Psychologists.
• Ability to travel efficiently and cost-effectively between work locations as required by role.
• Experience of working within a multi-cultural framework.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital

Address

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital

Thomas Drive

Liverpool

Merseyside

L14 3PE

Employer's website

https://www.lhch.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)