Principal Adult CAT Psychotherapist/Psychologist

Principal Adult CAT Psychotherapist/Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 8b

Main area Southwark Grade NHS AfC: Band 8b Contract Permanent Hours Part time - 0.4 sessions per week Job ref 334-CLI-6676536

Site Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, Town London Salary £70,387 - £80,465 per annum Incl. HCAs pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 15/04/2025 23:59

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.

We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.

The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.

As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.

Job overview

The Primary Care Mental Health service supports people with mental health difficulties in the community who do not require long term care coordination. The PCMHT offers a variety of psychological therapy modalities delivered in a stepped care model, meaning that a combination of low and high intensity interventions are offered 1:1 in groups and family support.

Main duties of the job

The main duties of this role are to deliver the systematic provision of a highly specialist Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) psychotherapy service to patients referred to the service and in addition provide management support to the CAT clinicians in the team. Alongside this, to provide, and supervise, psychological therapy assessments to ensure patients are offered the most appropriate treatments within the pathway and to support MDT colleagues in delivering psychologically informed care within the PCMHT.

Working for our organisation

The Trust is a national pilot site for the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) prior to its launch nationwide in the summer of 2023. Southwark is a diverse borough, we welcome applications from people from diverse backgrounds across all of the protected characteristics under the Equality Act (2010).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To deliver the systematic provision of a highly specialist CAT psychotherapy service to patients referred to the service.

To work autonomously as a Principal Adult CAT Psychotherapist within professional guidelines and overall framework of the services policies and procedures.

To manage, supervise and support psychotherapeutic assessment and therapy provided by other Adult/Senior Adult Psychotherapists and other clinicians who work as adult psychotherapists or trainees within the service.

To work as a highly specialist Clinical Lead in the management of a specialist CAT clinical area within the department as required.

To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development.

To propose, implement and consult on policy changes in line with psychotherapy principles.

To offer highly specialist advice and consultation and support to other health professionals.

To implement teaching and training within the service and with other mental health staff, as required.

To ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical and professional supervision and support of all other psychological therapists within CAT team, (including, trainees and honoraries within the service area as appropriate).

To work as an autonomous professional within HCPC/ BPS/ BABCP/ UKCP/ BPC guidelines and guided by principles and policies or procedures, taking full responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Recognised qualification in one of the core mental health professions e.g. psychiatric nursing, clinical or counselling psychology, medicine, social work and occupational therapy or other relevant experience and demonstrable competence to practice in the mental health field in the NHS
• Recognised advanced and highly specialist post-registration training in completed the full 4 year CAT psychotherapy training or completed Practitioner training on top of existing UKCP psychotherapy accreditation at a clinical doctorate level and to the standards of the UKCP. Accreditation with the UKCP and ACAT including as a supervisor with ACAT with current membership with UKCP/ACAT
• Registered with the HCPC as practitioner psychologist or with the UKCP as psychotherapist
• Knowledge and Skills level training in another modality such as systemic or Schema or DBT or EMDR.

Experience

• Experience of specialist CAT assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in Mood, Anxiety and Personality
• Experience of supervising CAT therapists and trainees
• Demonstrable competence and significant experience as a supervisor
• Experience of having offered supervision to multidisciplinary staff groups in both an individual and group format
• Experience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity

Knowledge

• Comprehensive knowledge of the psychodynamic, integrative and CAT theories of human behaviour, development and psychopathology equivalent to the level of a clinical doctorate
• Understanding of the role of CAT in a modern NHS mental health service
• Understanding of organisational and staff team dynamics in an institutional setting
• Awareness of racial diversity issues and factors affecting access to mental health care

Skills & Abilities

• Skills in psychological assessment, formulation and in CAT interventions for working with clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature.
• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, highly technical and sensitive information to clients, families and colleagues.
• Consultation skills to work with the multi-professional Community Mental Health Teams or other relevant services.
• Ability to work as an autonomous practitioner with appropriate level of clinical and managerial supervision
• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning, including the ability to give and receive constructively critical feedback, be non-defensive, use humour/irreverence and be supportive of others

The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:

• Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
• Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
• We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity

Please note:

• That all applications for this post will need to be made online
• That you read and understand the Job Description and Personal Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not been successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That we are a smoke-free Trust

SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion, Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

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.

Name Jessie Emilion Job title Lead Psychological Therapist MAP services Email address jessie.emilion@slam.nhs.uk Additional information

Jessie Emilion, Consultant Psychotherapist