CBT Therapist/ Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

CBT Therapist/ Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Growing Together: Support for parents and young children is a unique early intervention, primary care mental health service, embedded in the Islington community. It is a partnership between Islington CAMHS and Islington Talking Therapies for Anxiety and Depression. Growing Together provides therapeutic support to parents and children aged 1-5 experiencing emotional distress and difficulties in relationships.

The Band 7 clinician will offer high-quality CBT, and other evidence-based clinical interventions to parents and carers experiencing mild to moderate depression, anxiety, and stress. The post holder will place high value on reaching out to service users in community settings, e.g. Children's Centres, Community Health Centres to ensure just and equitable access to services. Mentoring, further professional development, and learning will be provided to ensure the clinician can confidently offer therapy that attends to the emotional and mental health needs of both adults and children seen within the service.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to contribute to the development of a highly innovative NHS service within a supportive and creative environment.

Main duties of the job

The post involves doing outreach work in the community and linking with partnership agencies to provide consultation and training. The clinician will link to some specific Children's Centres and need to build positive relationships with staff to facilitate joint working. This post would suit someone dynamic, confident, flexible and tenacious with interest in the mental health of adults as parents and the impact of their emotional difficulties on their children's wellbeing and development.

We especially welcome applications from candidates with Adult mental health experience within an IAPT service and an interest in developing expertise in working with young children.

Job responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES

1. CLINICAL

1. To provide specialist, generic and discipline-specific treatments for referred clients. For adults, this could include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Person-Centred Psychotherapy, Schema Focused Therapy. This work requires holding the child in mind throughout interventions, and the possibility of parent-child work.
2. To conduct risk assessments and manage clinical risk in line with service protocols.
3. To formulate, implement, and evaluate therapy programmes for clients, adapting interventions to meet individual needs.
4. To maintain accurate and timely clinical records in accordance with professional and service standards.
5. To facilitate CBT groups for adults/parents with mental health difficulties (eg. Growing Together Mindskills group).
6. To provide psychoeducation and support to clients and their families/carers where appropriate.
7. To provide specialist mental health advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals/agencies to assist in the formulation, diagnosis and treatment of clients.
8. To work autonomously providing treatment sessions based within the community.
9. To screen referrals within an allocated geographical area.
10. To collect and make use of Routine Outcome Measures for both parents and children, to monitor and evaluate clinical interventions.
11. To provide reports and communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner concerning the assessment, formulation, treatment plans and needs of clients.
12. To liaise with other health, social care and education staff, from a range of agencies, in the care provided to clients from each service.
13. To carry out clinical work in health and education settings, to best meet the clients' needs and in line with service practice.

2. TRAINING AND SUPERVISION

1. To participate in the delivery of training and workshops for staff and external stakeholders.
2. To provide advice and consultation where appropriate, to other health, social care, voluntary sector and education staff working with the client groups.
3. To ensure the development and maintenance of the highest personal standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder's professional and service managers.

3. PROFESSIONAL

1. Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating, professional and accrediting bodies (e.g., BABCP, HCPC, UKCP, BPS), and keep up to date on new recommendations/guidelines set by the Department of Health.
2. Demonstrate a commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion in all aspects of work.
3. For CBT therapist applicants - be aware of, and keep up to date with advances in the spheres of CBT and CBT for LTC as appropriate.
4. Ensure clear professional objectives are identified, discussed and reviewed with senior therapists on a regular basis as part of continuing professional development.
5. Attend clinical/managerial supervision on a regular basis as agreed with Manager.

4. SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

1. To contribute to the ongoing development and evaluation of the service, including participation in audits, research, and service improvement initiatives.
2. To work collaboratively with colleagues to ensure the service meets its performance targets and delivers high-quality care.
3. To promote the service within the local community and build effective working relationships with other healthcare providers.
4. To contribute to the development, evaluation, implementation and monitoring of the operational policies of Growing Together.

5. GENERAL

1. To work flexibly and with initiative to meet the core aims of service delivery to clients.
2. 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 Service and Trust policies and procedures.
3. All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed for both patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR (2018) and trust security and confidentiality policies.

Person Specification

Education /Qualifications

• Postgraduate qualification in Clinical Psychology (Doctorate level) accredited by the BPS, OR - Postgraduate qualification in Counselling Psychology accredited by the BPS, OR - Accreditation as a CBT Therapist with BABCP or in High Intensity (IAPT Pathway) or equivalent.
• Current registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist, OR - Accreditation with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). Appropriate registration (e.g. HCP/ UKCP/ ACP).

Skills & Abilities

• Knowledge and skills in the assessment and treatment of adult mental health difficulties.
• Knowledge and skills in effective communication, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Has received training in, and carried out, risk assessments within scope of practice.
• Ability to engage and develop good therapeutic relationships with clients and families.
• Knowledge and skills in the assessment and treatment of child mental health/relational difficulties.
• Knowledge and skills in collaborative consultation.
• Knowledge of models and practices relevant to parent-child mental health.

Knowledge & Experience

• Post-graduate experience of working in adult and/or child mental health services.
• Experience of providing direct clinical intervention, including assessment, formulation and treatment, to adults and/or parents with complex (IAPT+) mental health difficulties.
• Commitment to meet agreed/specified service targets through clinical outcomes.
• Knowledge and skills in effective communication, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Ability and experience of providing evidence-based psychological interventions (in particular CBT).
• Experience of network working and liaising with other professionals involved with the care of the family to ensure a high standard of care.
• Demonstrates an understanding (and formal training) of anxiety and depression and how it may present in Primary Care.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to adult and child mental health, education, the Children Act and child protection.
• Knowledge of the relevant clinical research literature and ability to apply it to field of child and adult mental health.
• Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence-based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post.
• Experience of working in Primary Care Services.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of psychological interventions and the role of early caregiver relationship in child development.
• Experience in teaching and offering consultations to other professionals.
• Experience to deliver workshop about wellbeing/mental health/parenting to the universal public.
• Knowledge and experience of child development, and formulation and treatment with under 5 year olds.
• Experience of using the patient management system, IAPTUS and RIO.

Personal Qualities

• Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships.
• Interest and ability to contribute to service development.
• Experience of providing a culturally sensitive service while working with diverse communities and within a multi-cultural setting.
• High level of enthusiasm and motivation.
• Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
• Ability to be self-reflective, whilst working with service users, in own personal and professional development and in supervision.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice.
• Advanced communication 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.

Clinical Psychologist, GT Joint Team Lead

£54,320 to £60,981 a year Inclusive of Inner London HCAS pro rata, per annum