Senior Clinical Psychologis

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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES - P/IMHS
1.1. Working within a specialised clinical area - P/IMH - to receive referrals externally by GPs, specialist services and other mental health services and internally from the Consultant Psychiatrist
and the different teams in the P/IMHS, carrying individual accountability for clinical decisions and taking responsibility for working with complex psychological and physical presentations
1.2. To jointly plan, deliver and evaluate specialised formulation-driven treatment plans in a team-based approach in conjunction with other multidisciplinary team members, providing expertise and advice to facilitate effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all team members.
1.3. To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of patients referred to the service, based on appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources (including psychometric measures, rating scales, neuropsychological tests, direct and indirect observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the patient's care). To provide feedback on the outcome of the assessment to the patient/carers. This can involve providing and receiving highly complex and sensitive information with the need to use a high level of interpersonal and communication skills in a sometimes hostile and highly emotive atmosphere, requiring frequent intense concentration. To summarise for multidisciplinary colleagues the outcomes of assessments, formulation and treatment with recommendations for most appropriate next step for the patient. To work to engage patients in decision-making and in the assessment, formulation and intervention process, as appropriate.
1.4. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological therapy and / or management of a patient's mental health problems, based upon an appropriate therapy framework of the patient's problems and employing methods based on evidence of efficacy across the full range of care settings. Negotiating the implementation of such plans and the sharing of complex and sensitive information.
1.5. To be responsible for developing and implementing a range of specialist psychological interventions for individuals, carers and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations, drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
1.6. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all patients of the service across all settings and agencies serving the client group. To contribute directly to multidisciplinary formulations and intervention plans. To support psychological ways of working across the P/IMHS.
1.7. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultations to increase understanding of psychological approaches by other professionals. This requires specialist knowledge underpinned by theoretical knowledge.
1.8. To exercise responsibility and autonomy for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and intervention, communicating with mental health colleagues where necessary, the referral agent and others involved with the care of the patient.
1.9. To make skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options, taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes, that have shaped the individual and their significant others. To deliver specialist psychological interventions on an individual basis.
1.10. 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.
1.11. To act as main care provider, where appropriate, ensuring the provision of a care package appropriate for the patient's needs, co-ordinating with the work of others involved with their care.
2. TEACHING, TRAINING AND SUPERVISION
2.1 To receive regular clinical and professional supervision.
2.2 To provide specialist advice, consultation, training and clinical supervision to other members of the P/IMH teams as appropriate for the provision of psychologically based interventions to help improve patients' functioning. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the patient group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.
2.3 To disseminate knowledge and skills on the management of, and good practice with, patients with complex mental health presentations by teaching members of the MDTs in the P/IMHS, other Trust staff, and clinical psychology trainees as required. To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical psychology trainees, as appropriate.
2.4 To contribute to the supervision of assistant psychologists and volunteers on placement if appropriate.
2.5 To provide specialist clinical placements for doctoral level clinical psychology trainees from the regional training courses, if appropriate, and to provide clinical supervision to clinical psychology trainees.
2.6 To undertake regular line management supervision from the Principal Clinical Psychologist.
3. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
3.1 To jointly plan and implement systems for the evaluation and monitoring the service, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit and ensuring incorporation of psychological frameworks for understanding and provision of high quality care.
3.2 Research includes auditing the service and may involve quantitative and qualitative methods, making decisions on appropriate use of psychometrics, clinical outcomes, assessments and reflective scientist-practitioner skills.
3.3 Provide descriptive and evaluative data on services provided, including collection of relevant statistical data.
3.4 To provide research advice to other staff undertaking research within the service and if, appropriate, supervision of trainees' research and development, and of other professionals.
3.5 To utilise theory and evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work, group work, and work with other team members, and across the service.
4. MANAGEMENT, RECRUITMENT, POLICY & SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
4.1 To participate in the development of a high quality, responsive and accessible service including liaising with the Principal Clinical Psychologist on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
4.2 To exercise delegated responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service/team.
4.3 To participate as appropriate in staff recruitment, both in the short-listing process and as a member of interview panels for assistant, trainees and qualified clinical psychologists.
4.4 To be responsible for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service, including maintaining systematic clinical record keeping and records of relevant professional meetings.
4.5 Implement appropriate local policies & guidelines and propose changes to these in consultation with line manager and team.
4.6 Contribute to service development and propose changes to practice as appropriate.
5. IT RESPONSIBILITES
5.1 To apply computer skills for research and teaching purposes (such as Word, Outlook, SPSS, PowerPoint).
5.2 To access and contribute to computerised patient record systems as required.
6. GENERAL
6.1 To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external Continuing Professional Development training and development programmes. In particular, to continue to develop expertise in the area of complex mental health presentations and clinical psychology through participation in CPD activities in accordance with professional guidelines, as agreed with line manager and service lead.
6.2 To ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology within the Directorates and contribute across the service by exercising the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines and connecting with national groups of psychologists working in the mental health field.
6.3 To maintain high standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society, HCPC and Trust policies and procedures.
6.4 To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and clinical psychology.

We recommend that all individuals employed in patient facing roles, or those located on a ward or department where patients receive a service should be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential criteria

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS.

Desirable criteria

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
• Accredited supervision qualification.

EXPERIENCE

Essential criteria

• Post-qualification experience of working as a clinical psychologist within the NHS.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across a range of care settings, including outpatient, community care and inpatient settings.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• Experience of management and support to junior staff.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Essential criteria

• Skills 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 clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.

Desirable criteria

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc.).
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.

PERSONAL

Essential criteria

• Ability to sustain intense levels of concentration responding and participating as required.
• Ability to self reflect and use clinical supervision appropriately.
• Ability to cope and deal with highly distressing emotional circumstances.
• Ability to cope with unpleasant working conditions.

OTHER

Essential criteria

• Ability to teach and train others using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.

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

• 8a Job Description (PDF, 232.4KB)
• 8a Person Specification (PDF, 240.4KB)
• Guidance on Pre-Employment Checks (PDF, 64.2KB)
• Statement on Recruitment of Ex-Offenders (PDF, 43.2KB)
• Application Guide Booklet (PDF, 511.1KB)