Job responsibilities
Eating Disorders are extraordinarily complex illnesses that present with abnormalities in physical and psychological functioning. The physical complications have the potential to cause permanent damage and in some cases are life threatening. The causes are complex and multi-factorial, including genetic, neurodevelopmental and environmental influences. They require a comprehensive treatment programme including medical, psychiatric, psychological, social and educational interventions.
Ellern Mede offers two treatment programmes, a Recovery Unit and a High Dependency Unit (HDU). We aim to stabilise patients physical and psychological states as rapidly as possible for transfer to step down service. The HDU admits patients whose illness requires more intense levels of clinical involvement and nursing. The service is able to admit patients requiring treatment under mental health legislation. The aims of the services are to improve the patients health and dependency needs sufficiently for transfer to a regular eating disorder unit or to the community.
Main Clinical Roles
To participate in the assessment clinic, Providing initial assessment and diagnosis of people referred to the service.
To provide family based treatment on the initial pathway including engaging in Key-working and running a parents psycho education group.
To provide evidenced based psychological treatments to young people with eating disorders Both Individual and group. To undertake high quality direct (assessment & therapeutic) and indirect (consultative, advisory and evaluative) specialist psychological interventions making autonomous clinical decisions about own professional practice.
Provide specialist psychological assessment of children with moderate to severe eating disorders, often complex in presentation undertake the assessment utilising information from a broad range of structured psychometric and semi structured clinical methods.
To formulate and implement plans of specialist psychological treatment or management of clients mental health problems based on a multi-factorial psychological understanding and current evidence based best practise taking into account the current nice guidelines , and recommend specialist treatment protocols for eating disorders.
To undertake a range of psychological therapeutic interventions, drawing on a range of psychological models and employing a range of modalities (individual, family /systemic and group) adapted and tailored to the need of the individual and the context, and to undertake on going evaluation of the outcome of the interventions.
Responsible for providing a specialist psychological perspective in the multidisciplinary assessment of service users and their families of carers.
To undertake psychologically based risk assessment and risk management for relevant clients and provide advice on the psychological aspects of risk to the multi disciplinary team.
To have knowledge and understanding of the principles of the CPA and to support and contribute to the CPA care planning process for clients on CPA.
Take responsibility for initiating, planning and reviewing care plans and, if appropriate in agreement with the line manager take on the care co-ordination role for clients on CPA.
To consult with and provide specialist psychological guidance to careers and families of service users.
Training and supervision of staff in respect of management of eating disorders.
Preparation of reports and assessments. Liaison with families, commissioners, medical professionals and suppliers in respect of the provision of services.
To participate in research initiatives as appropriate.
To participate in regular psychological and eating disorder audits and become involved in Clinical Governance.
To ensure that all patients are safeguarded from potential harm and to conduct activities in a manner which is consistent with professional practice, policy and legislation