Senior Psychologist/Psychotherapist

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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

An exciting opportunity for an experienced psychologist practitioner/psychotherapist/psychological Therapist to further develop skills in a specialist personality disorder service has arisen on Waddon Ward. The offer is open to experienced Band 7 psychologists or existent Band 8a psychologists who have an interest in personality disorder.

Career Progression pathways and development opportunities:

We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. In this post you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience to progress into other roles across different specialties. In addition, we offer ongoing training and development in relevant areas.

Main duties of the job

The post involves leading on the delivery of the core treatment Programme (the Violence Reduction Programme), completing specialist assessments and formulations, delivering individual psychological therapy, providing clinical supervision to staff, contributing to the effective working of the team, or service, and to the psychologically informed framework for the service.

Flexible working:

As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage. In this role you will be able to work Monday to Friday in the time frames from 07:30 to 18:00, giving you the very best of good work life balance.

Working for our organisation

Waddon Ward, based at River House, Bethlem Royal Hospital, is a 15-bed male medium secure unit. It is one of only three specialist units in the country providing assessment and treatment for men with a diagnosis of personality disorder and history of offending. It is closely linked to the I-CAN Integrated Community Service Team, as well as other Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) services in prison and probation. Through a variety of psychological, psychosocial and occupational interventions, service users can successfully progress to other OPD services in prison and to successful reintegration into the community. All service users engage in the Violence Reduction Programme while other parts of their treatment is tailored to their individual need and delivered by the multi professional team on Waddon Ward.

You will receive training and supervision required for the role. The successful candidate must be committed to providing high quality patient care and have a demonstrated interested in working with offenders with personality disorder.

Bethlem Royal Hospital

Bethlem Royal Hospital is based in a beautiful setting in over 200 acres of green space in the London Borough of Bromley, South East London. The hospital has easy access to nearby main roads and have offers free parking. The site is within walking distance from of Eden Park and West Wickham overland stations.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post involves leading on the delivery of the core treatment Programme (the Violence Reduction Programme). This is a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy based programme that all patients admitted to the ward agree to partake in. It is an intense programme that runs twice a week, with out of group individual work, for approximately 12 months. In addition, a core part of the role involves completing specialist assessments and formulations with service users in order to further assist them in reducing their risk of violence and improving well-being. Service users are also involved in individual therapy which the post holder is integral to providing. On a wider level the job involves contributing to the effective workings of the team and the service through contributing actively to staff supervision and training and promoting the psychologically informed framework for the service. The successful candidate must be committed to providing high quality patient care and have a demonstrated interested in working with offenders with personality disorder.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession 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.
• Additional training beyond entry-level qualification in a specialised area of psychological practice through formal postqualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses and/an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher.
• Completed training course in clinical supervision.
• Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC

Desirable criteria

• Qualification or accreditation in an evidence-based intervention for personality related issues, such as DBT or schema therapy

Experience

Essential criteria

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in a relevant area
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature.
• Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychologists having completed the relevant training.
• Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of being involved in recruitment
• Experience of carrying out postdoctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for personality disorder
• Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment of clients with personality disorder
• Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment, risk assessments and clinical psychometrics
• Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary 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.

Desirable criteria

• Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for personality disordered particularly where there is high risk to the public.
• To be skilled in the administration of psychometric and neuropsychological tests, including those that require complex manipulation of test materials.

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 Personal 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 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'

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

• Job Description (PDF, 544.5KB)
• SLaM Staff Benefits (PDF, 1.1MB)
• Happy to Talk Flexible Working (PDF, 680.1KB)