Senior Clinical Psychologist

This job is brought to you by Jobs/Redefined, the UK's leading over-50s age inclusive jobs board.

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

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced psychologist to work at our National Autism Unit (NAU), supporting autistic men with additional mental health needs and/or behaviour which challenges. The unit provides specialist assessment and treatment within a multi-disciplinary framework, and the work is varied and often innovative and includes direct therapeutic work as well as work with the wider system. Service development and research is encouraged and supported.

We are looking for a psychologist, who is passionate about supporting autistic individuals, to join out Psychology & Psychotherapy team, working alongside clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, family therapists and trainee clinical psychologists.

Main duties of the job
• To provide a highly specialist psychological interventions to adults with autism with additional mental health needs and/or behaviour which challenges, including specialist assessment, treatment, training to other staff, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a lead specialist in autism services.
• To undertake service evaluation, audit and research and policy development.
• To work as an autonomous professional within registration body guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.
• To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.
• To contribute psychological expertise within the wider multi-agency context.
• To be active in the provision of staff support within their area, including but not limited to Critical Incident Staff Support and Reflect-Support-Resolve. To participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.

Working for our organisation

You will join a supportive Psychology & Psychotherapy team, led by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist. The NAU sits with the wider neurodevelopmental services pathway, and there are many opportunities for development including via our weekly Education & Research meeting.

The NAU is within the beautiful grounds of the Bethlem Royal Hospital, with easy access to the on-site Bethlem Gallery and Museum of the Mind. Free parking is available on site, or for public transport the Superloop connects us to Bromley and Croydon.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care
• To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients with autism, and additional challenging behaviour and/or mental health needs.
• To select, administer and interpret psychometric and neuropsychological tests, requiring skilled manipulation of test materials, and interpretation and integration of complex data.
• To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients with learning disabilities.
• To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
• To provide psychological reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers, service users, their families and professional network.
• To select and deliver specialist evidence based therapeutic interventions, drawing on a range of theoretical models, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions as necessary, based on the highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual and their network.
• To promote psychological support for carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients.
• To work as an autonomous professional within professional guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions.
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively highly complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication.
• To act as care coordinator for identified clients taking responsibility for CPA coordination and meetings.

KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning
• To contribute to the effective working of the team or service and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.
• To contribute to the team or service's delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse communities.
• To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.
• To advise other members of the service on specialist psychological/psychotherapuetic 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 in individual work and work with other team members.
• To liaise with the service/s MDT and other professionals.

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 service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.
• To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

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.
• To ensure the cleanliness and safe functioning and use of equipment that will be used by clients or other persons.

KR 5 Management and supervision
• To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of more junior psychological practitioners with support from a more senior practitioner.
• To supervise assistant psychologists, trainee applied psychological practitioners and psychological practitioners, within own area of specialism.
• To contribute to the appraisal of more junior psychological practitioners, as appropriate.
• To contribute to the recruitment of more junior psychological practitioners, as appropriate.
• To provide supervision for the psychological and/or psychotherapeutic work of other multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.

KR 6 Teaching and Training
• To undertake occasional teaching and training of pre and post- qualification psychological practitioners and specialised training to other professions and staff in services as appropriate.
• To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychological therapy and autism and 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 and audits.
• To initiate and carry out appropriate research as agreed.
• To provide research advice to other staff undertaking research within the service.
• To initiate and implement the development of outcome measurement and assessment and assist other staff in the implementation of same.
• To identify any aspects of own service which could be improved and initiate and contribute to the service development through participating in and leading on appropriate projects.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy 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.
• Completed training course in clinical supervision and/or accredited to supervised qualified psychological practitioners in relevant discipline
• Registered with professional body as appropriate to discipline HCPC

Experience

Essential criteria

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in services for people with autism.
• Experience of supervising assistant and trainees having completed the relevant training.
• Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities.
• Experience of carrying out post-qualification research, audit or service evaluation projects.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for people with autism

Skills

Essential criteria

• Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups
• Consultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other professional groups and sensitively managing, a number of people's needs simultaneously within the context of therapeutic work/consultation

Abilities

Essential criteria

• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour

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 Person 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'

Helpful Resource: How to Use TRAC for Job Applications
If you're preparing to apply for a role, this guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to use TRAC effectively throughout the application process: Using TRAC to apply

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

• NAU JD and PS (PDF, 576.5KB)
• SLaM Staff Benefits (PDF, 1.1MB)
• Happy to Talk Flexible Working (PDF, 680.1KB)