Psychologist

University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust; Norwich; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

Job Summary

Whilst advertised as Band 8a, we welcome applications from newly qualified candidates to commence at Band 7, with support to complete preceptorship requirements to progress to Band 8a.

NSFT Secure Mental Health Services have been consistently rated "Good" by the CQC and are looking for a Registered Psychologist who will join us on our journey to "Outstanding". Our inpatient secure services form part of a wide and growing body of clinical services operating in a variety of settings linked to criminal justice services. NSFT Secure Services offer low and medium secure mental health services for men, an innovative integrated secure mental health service for women, mental health services in the local prisons, community forensic services, criminal justice liaison and diversion services and Offender Personality Disorder services in partnership with probation services.

Within NSFT Secure Services we employ a diverse and supportive team of psychologists, including clinical, counselling and forensic psychologists, and we are able offer our team members the opportunity to continue to develop their expertise via training and development opportunities in different parts of our service. Opportunities for training could include specific assessments (e.g., risk assessment, personality disorder) and opportunities to train in specific interventions (e.g., DBT, EMDR).

Main Duties of the Job

The post is based at Northside House in Norwich, working with male service users in low secure conditions. The role will predominantly involve psychological assessment, formulation and treatment with the users of the service who have complex mental health and forensic needs. The successful candidate will be supported to develop knowledge and expertise in a range of clinical areas including personality difficulties, trauma, autism spectrum conditions and psychosis, in conjunction with developing knowledge and understanding of the link with violent and offending behaviour.

The role involves working closely within a multidisciplinary team to ensure the best outcomes for our service users. The successful candidate will be supported by a full time Assistant Psychologist also employed within the team. The candidate will have the opportunity to support / supervise colleagues in developing their psychological knowledge and skills and implementing this within a ward environment.

As a team we are passionate about ensuring our services and interventions are evidence based and evaluated for effectiveness, and we encourage our staff to develop and be involved in research and service evaluation projects. We would welcome applications from candidates who have an interest in the ongoing evaluation and development of interventions and services, alongside their clinical casework.

About Us

This advert details an exciting opportunity for career development for Clinical Psychologists or suitably trained and experienced Counselling or Forensic Psychologists to join the NSFT Secure Services Psychology Team.

The post-holder will be part of the wider NSFT Secure Services Psychology Team and would receive clinical supervision, professional and governance support from within the team. Within NSFT Secure Services we employ a diverse and supportive team of psychologists, including clinical, counselling and forensic psychologists, and we are able offer our team members the opportunity to continue to develop their expertise via training and development opportunities in different parts of our service.

Job Responsibilities

The banding offered will reflect the experience of the successful candidate, and we will tailor the support and development package offered as appropriate to the individual's needs.

Specific Tasks Could Include:

1. Providing assessment, formulation and interventions for services users with complex mental health and forensic needs.
2. Working as part of an MDT to provide high quality assessment and intervention to service users.
3. Application of NICE recommended therapeutic interventions and the development of bespoke interventions for risk reduction and risk management as required.
4. Working with colleagues to develop positive, therapeutic environments to maximise therapeutic gains for service users.
5. Consultancy to other professionals and services to support risk assessment and risk management.
6. Supporting the development of trainee forensic and clinical psychologists to meet requirements for qualification.
7. Providing teaching and training to staff and external organisations (e.g., UEA).

Person Specification

Qualifications Essential

• Post-graduate degree (or its equivalent if trained prior to 1996) in clinical psychology, accredited by BPS.
• Ongoing further specialist training/accredited short courses.
• Supervisor training, to be a supervisor of doctoral programme clinical psychology trainees or willing to undertake training.
• Registered as a practitioner psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC).

Experience Essential

• Experience working as a qualified clinical psychologist (Band 7) and able to evidence appropriate knowledge and experience in practice to enable the post holder to clinically supervise trainee clinical psychologist.
• Experience of working with a wide variety and severity of client groups & clinical problems, in various settings, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Experience of working with a range of complex and challenging behaviours and exercising full clinical responsibility for psychological treatment.
• Experience of supervision and teaching.

Skills Essential

• Skilled in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
• Able to effectively communicate technical and clinically sensitive information to service users, families, carers and other professionals, within and outside NHS.
• Skills in neuropsychological assessment.

Knowledge Essential

• Doctor level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis.
• Knowledge of mental health legislation within specialist clinical context.

Other Essential

• Able to identify, provide and promote appropriate support strategies to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours.

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Norfolk & Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust

Address

Northside House

St Andrew’s Business Park

Northside, Norwich

NR70HT

Employer's website

https://www.nsft.nhs.uk/Pages/Home.aspx