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Intensive Psychosis Services 8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

455 North London NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 08 May 2025

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Job summary

The post-holder will lead on psychological provision within Islington Community Rehab Team and Islington Assertive Outreach Team, providing extended assessments, formulations and psychological therapies (individual and group) to those presenting with psychosis and other severe mental health, physical health and social needs. The post-holder will also provide consultation, reflective practice, psychological support and training to colleagues from the MDTs and partner agencies, and supervision and management as required to other psychological staff in the teams.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will act as a fully integrated member of the team, leading on highly specialist psychological provision to service users with psychosis and co-occuring complex needs, and their families, with the aims of supporting recovery, promoting mental and physical wellbeing and optimise independence and social inclusion.

You would work directly with individuals, groups and families from a wide range of diverse backgrounds, providing tailored assessment, formulation, consultation and interventions for psychosis, bipolar and co-occuring psychological difficulties such as trauma. You would work closely with MDT colleagues and other agencies to provide psychologically informed care, through joint working, training, consultation, supervision and reflective practice. You would also have opportunities to work creatively and innovatively and undertake service development, service evaluation, quality improvement (QI) and research. You would be expected to practice as a senior independent clinician and work autonomously within professional guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, supervising and managing other psychological staff in the team as required.

Please contact us to discuss any request in variation to the advertised hours, including the potential of additional sessions to create a full-time role. Please also get in touch with any other enquiries about the role: we welcome hearing from you.

About us

The partnership betweenBarnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust (BEH)andCamden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I)is going from strength to strength since it was originally established in 2021 forming theNorth London Mental Health Partnership.

Why choose to join the Partnership?

  • We believe that by working together, our two Trusts can achieve more for the residents of North Central London and our patients than we can by working apart.
  • Deliver the best care using the most up-to-date practise in supporting those with mental health illnesses.
  • Transforming and creating a positive environment for our service users, staff and visitors.
  • Creating and working together to become a great place to work for all our staff.
  • We offer flexible working, a wide range of health and wellbeing initiatives, NHS Pension and so much more.
  • Generous Annual Leave Allowance
  • NHS Discounts in a large variety of retail stores and services.
  • We have excellent internal staff network support groups..

Date posted

24 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£58,698 to £65,095 a year Pro Rata-inclusive of Inner London HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

455-CANDI-1295

Job locations

North London Mental Health NHS Trust (Islington Borough)

1 Lowther Road

Islington

N7 8US


Job description

Job responsibilities

  1. JOB SUMMARY

The Islington Community Rehabilitation Team (ICRT) and Islington Assertive Outreach Team (IAOT) provide a multidisciplinary mental health service for adults with psychosis and co-occurring complex mental health, physical health and social needs. ICRT works with service users placed in mental health residential services within the borough of Islington, and the service has a strong emphasis on supporting the Rehabilitation Pathway, by facilitating successful discharge of service users to the community, maintaining community placements and supporting transitions to more independent living. IAOT works with service users who may have had difficulties engaging with services and/or multiple hospital admissions, and the team is committed to working with individual recovery goals, enhancing wellbeing and providing additional support in crisis.

The post holder will lead on psychological provision within the ICRT and IAOT. They will provide high quality and highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment, working autonomously as the senior team psychologist, within professional guidelines and to the overall framework of the services policies and procedures. The post holder will offer staff consultation to aid formulation, diagnosis and psychological care planning, including the management of challenging and risk behaviours, to ICRT colleagues within the Trust and to other providers elsewhere. They will provide staff team reflective space and staff support.

The post holder will supervise / manage trainee clinical psychologists and offer supervision and line management where appropriate, to practitioner, associate and assistant psychologists of a lower band. The post holder will utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development/quality improvement.

RELATIONSHIPS/COMMUNICATIONS

The post holder is expected to establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships with other staff members characterised by the NLFT Trust Values and trust, mutual respect, and open, honest communication.

Internal Relationships

The postholder will work closely with the following:

Colleagues and co-workers in the ICRT and IAOT

Colleagues working within mental health services within the Trust and third sector providers

Colleagues working within the Local Authority.

Community Psychosis Psychology colleagues and other psychology colleagues across the North London NHS Foundation Trust

External Relationships

The post holder will work closely with:

University DClinPsy training courses

Other NHS organizations

Local Authorities

  1. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1 Financial responsibility

The post holder will hold no financial responsibilities.

3.2 Responsibility for Human Resources

To provide professional and clinical supervision to trainee psychologists on placement and jointly line manage with the relevant DClinPsy Universities.

To provide professional and clinical supervision to other psychologists of a lower grade including clinical associates in psychology and assistant psychologists where appropriate.

To provide specialist consultation, training and supervision, where appropriate, to other health and social care staff working within NLFT Mental Health services.

To provide teaching and training regarding the psychological needs of the target population to other members of the multi-disciplinary team.

To provide informal and appropriate spaces for staff including treatment planning, case formulation and including management of challenging behaviour and risk behaviour, staff reflective practice and staff consultation

3.3 Responsibility for Administration

To screen psychology referrals from colleagues and community units

To plan and organise their own workload.

To ensure that all clinical and other related records are kept up to date in line with Trust policy.

3.4 Responsibility for IT and Digital Systems/Services

To advise on adaptations needed to support service users making use of remote IT and digital systems used in their care.

  1. CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To work as a senior clinician within the service, providing an advanced level of psychological expertise in assessment advice and treatment of highly complex service users.

To provide highly specialist psychological assessments using interview, formal psychometric and other assessment methods as appropriate.

To formulate and devise psychological treatment and management plans for referred service users with a range of problems of severity and complexity, including those with challenging behaviours.

To provide specialised psychological treatment to relatives and carers when appropriate

To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals, to assist in the formulation, diagnosis and treatment of service users with complex needs

To carry out direct and indirect risk assessments and management plans in line with MDT care planning.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the psychological assessment and treatment in accordance with policies of the service.

To provide reports and communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of service users, who may have highly complex needs and exhibit challenging behaviours.

To liaise with other health and social care staff, from a range of agencies, in the care provided to service users.

  1. OPERATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The postholder will be responsible for the delivery of psychological assessment and treatment, and ensure that safe, evidence based, effective, culturally competent care is delivered in a timely manner to service users.

  1. POLICY / SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

To contribute to the development of the service.

To lead on the development and provision of psychology services

  1. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Utilise evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual, family and group work and work with other team members.

Undertake appropriate research and provide research support to other staff undertaking research.

To lead on, participate in and contribute to clinical audit, QI and service evaluation with colleagues within the service, to help evaluate and improve service provision, proposing changes to working practice and procedures for their own work area as required.

  1. GENERAL

All staff are responsible for their continual compliance with CQC standards and outcomes.

The postholder must be aware of, and work in line with, the Trusts Safeguarding Adults and Children procedures.

Receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical or counselling psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues as indicated and negotiated with line manager.

Participate in an agreed programme of training and continuing professional development and maintain an active engagement with current developments in psychological practice in areas related to the post.

Maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues of relevance to the service and service user group.

To undertake such other duties and responsibilities, appropriate to the grade of the post, as may be agreed with Lead psychologists and other Divisional leads.

  1. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

All staff are required to be appraised by their line managers at least once a year, following the first year in service, at a personal development review meeting where progress made over the last year is discussed and agreed. Focus on the following years departmental and personal objectives will be identified, discussed and agreed. Where necessary, help and support will be provided and development opportunities agreed in line with service provision and knowledge and skills competency framework.

Job description

Job responsibilities

  1. JOB SUMMARY

The Islington Community Rehabilitation Team (ICRT) and Islington Assertive Outreach Team (IAOT) provide a multidisciplinary mental health service for adults with psychosis and co-occurring complex mental health, physical health and social needs. ICRT works with service users placed in mental health residential services within the borough of Islington, and the service has a strong emphasis on supporting the Rehabilitation Pathway, by facilitating successful discharge of service users to the community, maintaining community placements and supporting transitions to more independent living. IAOT works with service users who may have had difficulties engaging with services and/or multiple hospital admissions, and the team is committed to working with individual recovery goals, enhancing wellbeing and providing additional support in crisis.

The post holder will lead on psychological provision within the ICRT and IAOT. They will provide high quality and highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment, working autonomously as the senior team psychologist, within professional guidelines and to the overall framework of the services policies and procedures. The post holder will offer staff consultation to aid formulation, diagnosis and psychological care planning, including the management of challenging and risk behaviours, to ICRT colleagues within the Trust and to other providers elsewhere. They will provide staff team reflective space and staff support.

The post holder will supervise / manage trainee clinical psychologists and offer supervision and line management where appropriate, to practitioner, associate and assistant psychologists of a lower band. The post holder will utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development/quality improvement.

RELATIONSHIPS/COMMUNICATIONS

The post holder is expected to establish and maintain positive interpersonal relationships with other staff members characterised by the NLFT Trust Values and trust, mutual respect, and open, honest communication.

Internal Relationships

The postholder will work closely with the following:

Colleagues and co-workers in the ICRT and IAOT

Colleagues working within mental health services within the Trust and third sector providers

Colleagues working within the Local Authority.

Community Psychosis Psychology colleagues and other psychology colleagues across the North London NHS Foundation Trust

External Relationships

The post holder will work closely with:

University DClinPsy training courses

Other NHS organizations

Local Authorities

  1. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1 Financial responsibility

The post holder will hold no financial responsibilities.

3.2 Responsibility for Human Resources

To provide professional and clinical supervision to trainee psychologists on placement and jointly line manage with the relevant DClinPsy Universities.

To provide professional and clinical supervision to other psychologists of a lower grade including clinical associates in psychology and assistant psychologists where appropriate.

To provide specialist consultation, training and supervision, where appropriate, to other health and social care staff working within NLFT Mental Health services.

To provide teaching and training regarding the psychological needs of the target population to other members of the multi-disciplinary team.

To provide informal and appropriate spaces for staff including treatment planning, case formulation and including management of challenging behaviour and risk behaviour, staff reflective practice and staff consultation

3.3 Responsibility for Administration

To screen psychology referrals from colleagues and community units

To plan and organise their own workload.

To ensure that all clinical and other related records are kept up to date in line with Trust policy.

3.4 Responsibility for IT and Digital Systems/Services

To advise on adaptations needed to support service users making use of remote IT and digital systems used in their care.

  1. CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES

To work as a senior clinician within the service, providing an advanced level of psychological expertise in assessment advice and treatment of highly complex service users.

To provide highly specialist psychological assessments using interview, formal psychometric and other assessment methods as appropriate.

To formulate and devise psychological treatment and management plans for referred service users with a range of problems of severity and complexity, including those with challenging behaviours.

To provide specialised psychological treatment to relatives and carers when appropriate

To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals, to assist in the formulation, diagnosis and treatment of service users with complex needs

To carry out direct and indirect risk assessments and management plans in line with MDT care planning.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the psychological assessment and treatment in accordance with policies of the service.

To provide reports and communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of service users, who may have highly complex needs and exhibit challenging behaviours.

To liaise with other health and social care staff, from a range of agencies, in the care provided to service users.

  1. OPERATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

The postholder will be responsible for the delivery of psychological assessment and treatment, and ensure that safe, evidence based, effective, culturally competent care is delivered in a timely manner to service users.

  1. POLICY / SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

To contribute to the development of the service.

To lead on the development and provision of psychology services

  1. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Utilise evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual, family and group work and work with other team members.

Undertake appropriate research and provide research support to other staff undertaking research.

To lead on, participate in and contribute to clinical audit, QI and service evaluation with colleagues within the service, to help evaluate and improve service provision, proposing changes to working practice and procedures for their own work area as required.

  1. GENERAL

All staff are responsible for their continual compliance with CQC standards and outcomes.

The postholder must be aware of, and work in line with, the Trusts Safeguarding Adults and Children procedures.

Receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical or counselling psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues as indicated and negotiated with line manager.

Participate in an agreed programme of training and continuing professional development and maintain an active engagement with current developments in psychological practice in areas related to the post.

Maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues of relevance to the service and service user group.

To undertake such other duties and responsibilities, appropriate to the grade of the post, as may be agreed with Lead psychologists and other Divisional leads.

  1. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

All staff are required to be appraised by their line managers at least once a year, following the first year in service, at a personal development review meeting where progress made over the last year is discussed and agreed. Focus on the following years departmental and personal objectives will be identified, discussed and agreed. Where necessary, help and support will be provided and development opportunities agreed in line with service provision and knowledge and skills competency framework.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Doctoral level training (or equivalent) in clinical/counselling psychology
  • HCPC registration

Desirable

  • Completion of further post-qualification specialist training in areas of practice relevant to the post

Skills/Abilities

Essential

  • Skills in the use of a range of methods of psychological assessment (including psychometric tests), intervention and management for adults with psychosis and complex mental health problems
  • Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
  • Well-developed skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
  • Ability to form good working relationships with colleagues in a multidisciplinary and supervisory settings.
  • Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of 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.
  • Interest and ability to contribute to service development.

Experience / Knowledge

Essential

  • Significant experience of psychological assessment and treatment of adults with psychosis and complex mental health problems in a range of care settings.
  • Substantial post-qualification experience working with adults with mental health difficulties and with behaviour that challenges families, carers and networks.
  • Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
  • Experience of the application of clinical / counselling psychology in different cultural contexts.
  • Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
  • Knowledge of legislation in relation to adults and mental health
  • Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the Health Care Professions Council and British Psychological Society

Personal Qualities

Essential

  • Strong interest and commitment to working with people with complex mental health needs and their families.
  • Strong interest in promoting the Trust values
  • Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Doctoral level training (or equivalent) in clinical/counselling psychology
  • HCPC registration

Desirable

  • Completion of further post-qualification specialist training in areas of practice relevant to the post

Skills/Abilities

Essential

  • Skills in the use of a range of methods of psychological assessment (including psychometric tests), intervention and management for adults with psychosis and complex mental health problems
  • Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
  • Well-developed skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
  • Ability to form good working relationships with colleagues in a multidisciplinary and supervisory settings.
  • Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of 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.
  • Interest and ability to contribute to service development.

Experience / Knowledge

Essential

  • Significant experience of psychological assessment and treatment of adults with psychosis and complex mental health problems in a range of care settings.
  • Substantial post-qualification experience working with adults with mental health difficulties and with behaviour that challenges families, carers and networks.
  • Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
  • Experience of the application of clinical / counselling psychology in different cultural contexts.
  • Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
  • Knowledge of legislation in relation to adults and mental health
  • Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the Health Care Professions Council and British Psychological Society

Personal Qualities

Essential

  • Strong interest and commitment to working with people with complex mental health needs and their families.
  • Strong interest in promoting the Trust values
  • Commitment to anti-discriminatory practice

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).

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.

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

455 North London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

North London Mental Health NHS Trust (Islington Borough)

1 Lowther Road

Islington

N7 8US


Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

455 North London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

North London Mental Health NHS Trust (Islington Borough)

1 Lowther Road

Islington

N7 8US


Employer's website

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

For questions about the job, contact:

Consultant Psychologist

Dr Lisa Dutheil

l.dutheil@nhs.net

07929655689

Date posted

24 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8a

Salary

£58,698 to £65,095 a year Pro Rata-inclusive of Inner London HCAS

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

455-CANDI-1295

Job locations

North London Mental Health NHS Trust (Islington Borough)

1 Lowther Road

Islington

N7 8US


Supporting documents

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