Senior Psychologist/Psychotherapist

This is an exciting opportunity for a senior psychologist / psychotherapist to join the Lewisham Community Forensic Team, contributing to the community-based assessment, treatment, and care for adults (male and female) from the borough of Lewisham deemed to require forensic community case management (i.e. presenting with severe and enduring mental health needs and histories of serious harmful offending behaviour).

The successful candidate will:

• be passionate about working with complexity both in terms of client presentation as well as the various systems they are part of.
• have highly developed interpersonal skills and the ability to utilise these creatively / responsively to optimise effective engagement of clients and their personal and professional support networks.
• be able to work both autonomously and collaboratively with other disciplines both within the team and beyond.
• be committed to the provision and development of inclusive services.
• have the interest and ability to develop in-depth understanding of risk behaviours and to use this to inform the development of effective risk management plans that support clients to progress safely to / within the community.

Main duties of the job

The primary task of community forensic services is to support clients deemed to require community forensic follow-up in terms of both their clinical needs and violence risk.

The main duties of this role include:

• Contributing to the community-based assessment and treatment of clients by providing specialist psychological assessments, formulations, and interventions as required. This could be on an individual or group basis, including members of their professional and/or personal support networks if indicated.
• Supporting involved professional networks (MDT, supported accommodation staff) through provision of consultation (case discussion/formulation), teaching, training, etc. as required.
• Contributing to the development of inclusive/accessibility/effective community forensic services.
• Establishing effective working relationships within and beyond SLAM forensic services with the aim of supporting clients' transitions/progress to/in the community.
• Supervision of more junior psychologists including Assistant Psychologists and/or Honorary Assistant Psychologists on student placement from training institutions, usually the IoPPN.

About us

The Lewisham Community Forensic Team is a small well-established Multi Professional Team based in the Kirkdale Resource Centre with clinical space at the Ladywell Unit, Lewisham Hospital.

The team has strong links with the SLaM forensic inpatient and other community forensic teams and are a key part of the South London Partnership Forensic and Offender Health Pathway.

The successful candidate will also be welcomed as a member of the Community Forensic Psychology & Psychotherapy and the Forensic Psychology & Psychotherapy Departments, both of which are very supportive and provide access to a breadth of expertise and experience.

About our location:

Lewisham Hospital

Lewisham Hospital is based in south east London, zone 3 and is close to the beautiful green open spaces of Ladywell fields park and Lewisham park. It is within walking distance to the vibrant high-street with shops and restaurants and located within walking distance from Ladywell, Hither Green, Catford, and Crofton Park overland stations. The site does offer parking and is not located within the congestion charge zone. For further information please visit our website.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care

• To provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations, and interventions for clients in the Community Forensic Mental Health Service including assessing/working with psychosis, personality disorders, offending behaviour at levels expected of a psychologist/psychotherapist who has achieved the equivalent of a PG Diploma-worth of post-qualification specialist development.
• To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.
• To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
• To act as team psychologist taking responsibility for the provision of a range of psychological services appropriate to the client group and clinical setting.

KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

• To contribute to the effective working of the Community Forensic Mental Health Service and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.
• To contribute to the team or services delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.
• To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.
• To advise other members of the service on specialist psychotherapeutic care of clients.
• To liaise with referrers, GPs, and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.
• To utilise theory, evidence-based literature, and research to support evidence-based practice and/or currently understood best practice-based evidence, in individual work and work with other team members.

KR 3 Policy and service development

• To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.
• To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
• To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

KR 4 Care or management of resources

• To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust's equipment and physical resources.
• To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

KR 5 Management and supervision

• To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of more junior psychologists if required, with support from a more senior psychologist.
• To supervise honorary psychologists within own area of specialism.
• To contribute to the appraisal of more junior psychologists, as appropriate.
• To contribute to the recruitment of more junior psychologists, as appropriate.
• To provide supervision for the psychological work of other multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.

KR 6 Teaching and Training

• To undertake occasional teaching and training of honorary psychologists and specialist training in psychological approaches to care to other professions in the forensic mental health service as appropriate.
• To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the forensic mental health service by implementing knowledge gained in practice.
• To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

KR 7 Record-keeping and Information Governance

• To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
• To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

KR 8 Research and development

• To initiate, undertake, support, and supervise regular complex service evaluation, audits, or research relevant to service needs.
• To provide expertise in a specialist research area which will contribute to forensic mental health services.

KR 9 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

• To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist according to HCPC and Trust guidelines.
• To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the HCPC Standards for Continuing Professional Development.
• To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.
• To comply with the HCPC Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics and Standards of Proficiency, and ensure professional development in line with these.
• To adhere to the BPS's Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.

KR 10 General

• To travel to home visits, community placements, psychology meetings as appropriate and across the Trust when required.
• To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management.
• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations, such as challenging behaviour, verbal abuse and other behaviours and to support others involved in such situations.
• To work flexibly which may include offering some regular commitment to late clinics or Saturday working, within the overall Job Plan.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• To have undertaken a recognised qualification in one of the core mental health professions, e.g. psychiatric nursing, clinical psychology, medicine, social work, and occupational therapy OR to have equivalent relevant experience and demonstrable competence to work in the mental health field in the NHS.
• Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession or equivalent and demonstrable practice in this field (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration.
• Registered with professional body as appropriate to discipline e.g. HCPC/UKCP/ACP/BABCP.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the professional body.

Experience

Essential

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in forensic mental health settings.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in forensic mental health services.
• Experience of supervising psychologists having completed relevant training.
• Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities.
• Experience of developing and carrying out research projects (including audit, service evaluation).

Desirable

• Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in community forensic mental health services.

Knowledge

Essential

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised assessments and interventions for forensic mental health clients.
• Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment of clients managed by Forensic Mental Health Services.
• Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
• Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.

Skills

Essential

• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers, and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
• To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers, and for meetings such as CPA and case reviews.