Clinical / Counselling / Forensic Psychologist

ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job overview

London Pathways Partnership (LPP) is a consortium of five NHS Trusts delivering services in London and across three prisons as part of the National Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway programme. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a specialist clinical/counselling or forensic psychologist with an interest in personality disorder and/or complex care to take a lead role in the continuing development of the service.

The Forensic psychology department has close links with regional Clinical Psychology training courses and other academic institutions. There are many teaching and training opportunities, and excellent CPD opportunities, and a wide range of specialist supervision.

We actively encourage applicants from backgrounds representative of the diverse communities we serve.

Main duties of the job

The role is based in HMP Brixton on the London Pathways Unit (LPU), which is a treatment and progression service for 'high risk high harm' men with personality difficulties who are approaching release. The LPU role involves assessment, formulation, psychological and psycho-social interventions, the development of an 'enabling' and psychologically and trauma-informed environment, staff training and supervision.

This is an innovative role which aims to enhance the development of appropriate pathways through custody and into the community for service users. It is open to clinical/counselling and forensic psychologists with a demonstrated interest in working with complex personality disorder, ideally including experience of working in a prison setting. The post provides numerous opportunities to develop leadership, consultation and liaison and training skills and clinical expertise and experience. As well as jointly delivering a service with prison and probation colleagues, the postholder will work closely with the wider forensic psychological therapies team, and will have additional opportunities to develop skills and experience.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please kindly refer to the job description and person specification attached to this vacancy. This job description is intended as a guide to the main duties of the post and is not intended to be a prescriptive document. Duties and base of work may change to meet the needs of the service or because of the introduction of new technology. This job description may be reviewed from time to time and changed, after consultation with the postholder.

Person specification

Education/ Qualification/ Training

Essential criteria

1. Post Graduate Doctoral level training in Clinical, Forensic or Counselling Psychology or equivalent accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
2. Evidence of CPD in accordance with BPS recommendations.
3. Either: Recognized qualification or training in psychotherapy supervision or Clinical supervision training for doctoral clinical /counselling psychology trainees.
4. Registered as a practitioner psychologist by the HCPC.

Desirable criteria

1. Additional training in intellectual disability or Autism Spectrum Disorders.
2. Post Qualification Training in a Psychotherapy Modality: e.g. DBT, CFT, EMDR, CBTp, CBT for trauma or Schema Therapy.

Experience

Essential criteria

1. Experience of working with service users with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Intellectual Disability and of assessing for Autistic Spectrum Disorder or Intellectual Disability.
2. Experience of providing specialist psychological assessments and treatment interventions to patients with complex problems, including severe mental illness, personality disorder, substance misuse, offending behaviour and/or dual diagnosis.
3. Providing specialist psychological assessment and intervention across a range of care settings including community and inpatient.
4. Exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
5. Representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary and inter agency care.
6. Facilitating therapeutic groups.
7. Providing teaching, training and clinical supervision.
8. The application of psychologically informed interventions in different cultural contexts including working with interpreters.
9. Experience of providing clinical supervision.
10. Providing management supervision.
11. Co-produced clinical care, including goal setting, using a Recovery approach.

Desirable criteria

1. Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team.
2. Experience of representing psychology in various teams and working groups.
3. Experience of recruitment and selection and other HR processes. Leading audit and research project.
4. The operational delivery of Integrated care pathways.
5. The use of QI or other improvement methodology in clinical settings.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria

1. Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, including the use of theoretical models to analyse information and develop formulations upon which to base choice of treatment.
2. Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies when working with people with autism or learning disabilities.
3. Skills in delivering psychological interventions in individual and group formats, adapted to meet the needs of the individual or group.
4. Ability to identify risk relevant to forensic work. Skills in risk assessment and risk management.
5. Knowledge of the evidence base for psychological interventions with a (forensic) learning disability or autism client group.
6. Ability to adapt psychological therapies to client's needs, taking into account specific communication difficulties.
7. Knowledge of theories underpinning Positive Behaviour Support and experience of carrying out functional assessments, designing and implementing Positive Behaviour Support plans.
8. Additional relevant clinical and/or managerial knowledge and skills acquired through formal training, long or short courses, formal supervision (individual and/or group), structured self-study, or experience - or a combination of these - to an appropriate level approved by the Head of Psychology and demonstrated by certification, documented supervision logs, management appraisal documentation and/or assessment at interview.
9. Knowledge and understanding of guidance around equal opportunities and diversity as it relates to both staff and service users and their carers.
10. Ability to plan and deliver teaching and training of psychology and non-psychology staff.
11. Knowledge of the evidence base for psychological interventions with the forensic client group.
12. Skills in effective oral and written communication of complex and/or clinically sensitive information to a wide range of recipients both within and outside the NHS, including the ability to produce letters, reports, and associated documentation appropriate to its readership, and to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
13. Skills in providing advice and consultation to other professionals and carers.
14. Ability to plan, organise and prioritise own work.
15. Basic computing skills: word processing, email, Internet.
16. Knowledge of the legal framework in which forensic services operate, and of other agencies and systems involved in the treatment/management and care of mentally disordered offenders.
17. Postgraduate level knowledge of research methodology, including research design, and complex statistical analysis: audit skills.
18. Ability to plan and deliver teaching and training sessions; high level presentation skills.
19. Ability to produce high quality professional results to specified deadlines and other time constraints.
20. Ability to effectively manage verbal aggression and the risk of physical aggression from patients or carers.
21. Ability to effectively manage frequent exposure to highly distressing/ emotional circumstances.

Desirable criteria

1. Knowledge of team and organisational dynamics.
2. Ability to use advanced IT packages.
3. Ability to use multi-media presentation materials.
4. Knowledge of National and Government directives relevant to the development and delivery of forensic mental health services.
5. Understanding of the principles of integrated care.
6. Understanding of the principles of co-production and service user/ care involvement and demonstrable skills in involving service users in service development and delivery.
7. Training in Quality Improvement (QI) methodology.
8. Knowledge of recent legislation/ guidance relevant to service users with a learning disability.

Other

Essential criteria

1. Ability to recognise, contain and work with organisational and personal stress.
2. Ability to work creatively, co-operatively, reliably and consistently both as an independent practitioner and in multi-disciplinary and team settings.
3. Respectful approach to patients, carers, colleagues, and others.
4. Willingness to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively.

Making Things Better

Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don't stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.

We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.

Our Community

We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We also provide psychological therapy services to the London Borough of Richmond, and provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London. We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.

Aiming High

We were rated 'Outstanding' by the CQC in 2016, were proud to be rated 'Outstanding' again in 2018 and continue to be rate 'Outstanding' in 2021. We were named in the HSJ's Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.

Staff and Service Users United

We strive to ensure that staff feel valued by the Trust and as they are truly pivotal in delivering better outcomes for our patients and service users. Our aspiration is to help to make ELFT the best place to work. This Trust is clinician-led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services. We pride ourselves on our service user involvement. A service user will be on your assessment centre and interview panel if you are invited to meet us.

We especially welcome people with lived experience of health difficulties, with insight and understanding of different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles in our population as we believe that this will equip staff to deliver a high standard of care to our service users and patients.

Diversity

ELFT Is committed to being a diverse organisation and our workforce is reflective of the population and communities we serve. We believe that having colleagues with a range of backgrounds and life experiences enriches and adds value to the outcomes we have set out to achieve. Having partnered and endorsed by organisations who are representative and experts in various areas of equality and diversity, we can ensure we are meeting the pre-set standards all the way from recruitment stage throughout the career journey of our employees by being accessible, having fair inclusive practices and a host of staff networks to support, nurture and celebrate our valued staff in the workplace.

Other reasons to apply

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's job share, part time or another flexible pattern.

As part of the relocation scheme we presently have, the Trust could support you with offering up to £10,000 for removal and associated expenses. This is subject to change and terms and conditions apply.

What Next?

If you like the sound of ELFT, don't waste a moment. We sometimes close adverts early if there is a high response, so apply now!

As part of our recruitment process we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS. We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same.

If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please consider that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion. You must provide professional email addresses for all referees as we will contact them as soon as an offer has been made. Please note we do not request references prior to interviews. All applications made through NHS Jobs account will be processed by TRAC System. Please note that some emails may go to your spam/junk mailbox so make sure you check this regularly.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Documents to download

• JD (PDF, 264.4KB)
• PS (PDF, 88.7KB)
• ELFT at a glance (PDF, 151.0KB)
• Staff Benefits (PDF, 7.1MB)
• ELFT Strategy (PDF, 153.5KB)
• Trust Demographic Information (PDF, 1.5MB)