Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000

Job description

Job summary

We are excited to be recruiting a clinical/counselling psychologist in our Sutton integrated recovery hub service. Sutton adult mental health services are comprised of two multidisciplinary mental health teams within an Integrated Recovery Hub which is closely linked to Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises in the borough. Psychologists are highly valued in the service and you will work closely alongside other Psychologists at the same level and at Principal and Consultant level. You will also work with Psychiatrists, CPNs, Mental Health & Wellbeing Practitioners, Recovery & Support Workers and Specialist Employment Advisors to provide high quality treatment and recovery options for service users with severe mental health conditions, including psychosis & bipolar affective disorder, personality disorder, and severe mood & anxiety disorders.

This post is an established at 8a level but we welcome applications from final year Clinical / Counselling Psychologists Trainee Clinical Psychologists, and from Psychologists with less than 18 months post qualification experience, who could progress from a Band 7 preceptorship to a Band 8a in this post. We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with experience in CBT for psychosis and DBT.

Main duties of the job

The role focuses on providing evidence-based psychological therapies for severe and enduring mental health conditions, including psychosis & bipolar affective disorder, personality disorder, and complex mood, anxiety disorders & PTSD. This post offers a number of opportunities for further training and development.

The Trust supports staff to attend Health Education England funded training in interventions such as CBT for psychosis & bipolar disorder, and Family interventions for psychosis & bipolar disorder. There may also be opportunities to train in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and to co-facilitate DBT Skills Groups and to be trained in EMDR therapy.

The Trust also provides an additional programme of regular CPD covering a wide range of clinical topics. The role includes regular opportunities for individual and group supervision to support your development. At Band 8a, there will be opportunities to attend supervision skills training, and supervise doctoral clinical psychology trainees, through strong links with the University of Surrey Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy) Training Scheme.

About us

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.

This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Job responsibilities

1. To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex 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 care plans.
6. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals 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 this client group of people with severe and enduring mental health problems.
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 act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.
10. 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, integrating the contribution of other professionals on the basis of client need.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience of assessment and treatment of people with mental health problems, of varying severity and complexity, using evidence based psychological therapies, particularly CBT
• Demonstrate further specialist training/experience through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a specialist clinical or counselling psychologist over a minimum of 18 months, or an alternative agreed by the Head of Psychology and Psychotherapies
• Experience with routine outcome monitoring
• Experience in establishing diagnosis/psychological formulation

Desirable

• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework
• Experience of meeting agreed/specified service targets

Training and Qualifications

Essential

• Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and (for Clinical Psychologists) neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology ; OR alternative training outside of the UK that is recognised by the Health & Care Professions Council leading to registration in the UK as a Clinical or Counselling psychologist
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists
• To be registered with the Health & Care Professions Council under the appropriate domain specific title

Desirable

• Eligible for accreditation for as a CBT therapist with BABCP and prepared to seek accreditation. This would include evidence of formal training in CBT such as a Post graduate Diploma/Masters in CBT
• BABCP Accreditation as CBT practitioner
• Trained in EMDR therapy

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Skilled in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to adults with mental health problems
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups working in primary care
• Leadership skills
• Knowledge of our business and how it supports patient care

Desirable

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. dual diagnosis including people experiencing psychosis with personality disorder, substance misuse, learning disability, neurological dysfunction, additional disabilities etc)
• Knowledge of the academic literature concerning common mental disorders in general practice

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration.