Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical

1. To provide specialist psychological assessments of patients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological 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 clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
2. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients 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.
3. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, 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.
4. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
6. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals both within the outpatient team and other eating disorder service teams/ CMHTs, contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
7. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.
8. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
9. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

1. To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical/counselling psychologist or CBT therapist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
2. To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work as appropriate.
3. To provide professional and clinical supervision of doctoral trainee clinical/counselling psychologists/ CBT therapist trainees and assistant/graduate psychologists where appropriate, having been trained in their clinical supervision.
4. To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical and/or counselling psychology / CBT therapy, as appropriate.
5. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.
6. To agree through a personal development plan continuing education to maintain and develop skills.

1. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
2. To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
3. To manage the workloads of doctoral trainee clinical/counselling psychologists/ CBT therapy trainees and assistant and graduate psychologists where appropriate, within the framework of the team/services policies and procedures.
4. To be involved, as appropriate, in the short listing and interviewing of assistant/graduate psychologists and qualified staff at Band 7 and below.
5. To work as a member of organisational groups, working parties etc within the team, as requested.
6. To contribute to the development of user and carer involvement within the team.
7. To manage own workload effectively and efficiently, taking into account the needs of the team and the flexibility required to sustain client engagement.

1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
2. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.
3. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision

1. 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 postholders professional and service manager(s).
2. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, 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/counselling psychology / CBT and related disciplines.
3. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the HCPC, British Psychological Society or the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies and Trust policies and procedures.
4. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.

Person Specification

TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

• oSuccessful completion of post-graduate doctoral level training in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS prior to July 2009, or approved by the HCPC from July 2009 OR completion of BABCP approved cognitive behaviour therapy training
• oRegistered with the Health Care Professions Council OR with the British Association of Behaviour & Cognitive Psychotherapy (BABCP) as a Behaviouoral & Cognitive Psychotherapist in CBT.
• oEvidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the HCPC /BABCP

Desirable

• oPre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology
• oAdvanced training in Behavioural Cognitive Psychotherapy.
• oAccredited supervisor with the BABCP

EXPERIENCE

Essential

• oExperience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings
• oExperience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect 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 the threat of physical abuse
• oDemonstrate further specialist training/experience through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision while working as a specialist clinical/counselling psychologist (significant demonstrable experience) or an alternative agreed by the Trust Head of Psychology and Psychotherapies

Desirable

• oExperience of working with clients with eating disorders, delivering psychological assessment and treatment, including cognitive-behavioural therapy, on an individual and group basis
• oExperience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• oExperience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
• oExperience of working as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• oExperience of working within a multicultural 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 .

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 .

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website .

Employer details

Employer name

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust

Address

Springfield Hospital

Tooting

SW17 7DJ