This is an 8A post, but we would welcome applicants who are looking for a B7 to 8A development post.
We have an exciting opportunity for either a newly qualified band 7 clinical psychologist looking for a post with potential career progression or an established band 8a clinical psychologist to join our Stepped care therapy team of psychological and occupational therapists.
The post-holder will be responsible for implementing psychological assessment, providing therapeutic interventions to older people in the community and contributing to the wider team's psychological understandings of people's difficulties through consultation, supervision and training.
We are located in the Cathedral city of Peterborough that has a diverse community in an urban and rural setting. The service provides high quality care to people aged 65 and above, who are experiencing the symptoms of moderate to severe mental health difficulties, either affective or psychosis. The scope of the service is inclusive of dementia post-diagnostically or with specialist neuropsychological assessments to inform diagnosis. The service operates friendly and well-established multi-disciplinary teams with a range of professionals contributing to the excellent care of the people that we support. Recovery principles are embedded in the work of the teams and we aim to support people to reach their potential by facilitating hope, empowering autonomy and developing meaning and purpose in life.
Main duties of the job
Supporting and developing psychologists within the team is of utmost importance to us. We encourage our psychologists to develop their skills and knowledge with CPD opportunities. We believe that research is central to the development and maintenance of effective teams and interventions. Our psychologists have close links with the Doctoral Clinical Psychology course at the University of East Anglia and routinely place their trainees within our service. A number of psychologists within the trust have completed 'Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research & Care' fellowships (CLAHRC). Clinical psychologists provide important input into the strategic development of services and there are future opportunities to engage in leadership development programmes.
We have a commitment to research and service audits in the field of mental health and the team is currently collaborating on a number of interesting projects.
Relevant support and experience will be provided to ensure that successful newly qualified applicants will be able to transition into an 8a clinical psychology post after demonstrating significant post-qualifying experience and meeting the requirements for the role.
Relocation package available (conditions apply).
Job responsibilities
Please note for this role you will be required to travel independently around the county meeting strict time deadlines. You will need to hold a full UK driving licence and have use of a vehicle. You cannot use public transport for this role as this is not a reliable form of transport and will not allow you to meet service needs. Please confirm in your application that you meet the specified criteria.
Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities.
* Clinical interventions are implemented in line with evidence-based practice including the latest NICE guidelines.
* Procedures are in place for the operation of the service.
* Clinical governance arrangements are in place to cover all of the clinical activity.
* Staff are appropriately skilled and trained to deliver the service and to provide supervision.
* Supervision arrangements are in place for all elements of service delivery.
* Provide clinical supervision in the service, including the facilitation of trainee placements from Doctorate Training Programmes.
We have a commitment to research and service audits in the field of mental health and the team is currently collaborating on a number of interesting projects.
* To provide a highly specialist clinical psychology service to clients referred to the Older Peoples Stepped Care Therapies Service in the relevant locality, both clinic and community based (and may include residential care and domestic settings), working with people with functional and organic mental health problems, and those living with long term conditions, according to the agreed stepped care procedures.
* To contribute to the wider Integrated Care Team Duty clinician system.
* To provide highly specialist assessment and therapy. Where appropriate to professional competence, to provide neuropsychological assessment. To offer advice and consultation on clients' psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues and to other carers.
* To provide supervision and guidance for staff within the service including more junior psychological therapists, trainee clinical psychologists, trainee cognitive behavioural therapists and mental health practitioners where appropriate.
* With the support of the Lead Clinical Psychologist for Older People in the relevant locality to develop and provide innovative services to meet the psychological needs of patients of the Older Peoples Stepped Care Therapies Service, in accordance with evidence-based practice.
* The post's budgetary or management responsibilities include the appropriate use of the Trust's resources.
* In the absence of the Team Leader and/or Principal Psychologist for Older People to cover in rotation with other colleagues, some delegated managerial aspects of the role.
* To ensure accurate record keeping for the referral process and interventions from all practitioners using the agreed information systems.
* To work with the other senior clinicians to provide relevant information and data to the team and service managers and professional leads as required.
* To work within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service.
* To provide relevant teaching, training and supervision within the service and where appropriate across the Trust.
* To attend the agreed meetings, liaising with the Professional Lead, supervisor and team manager on matters of service development.
* To work with senior colleagues to utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the Older Peoples Stepped Care Therapies service and the mental health service, and to disseminate this information widely.
Join our team and make a positive impact on the lives of our service users.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential
* Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS, or a BPS Statement of Equivalence.
Desirable
* Eligibility for Chartered Clinical Psychologist.
* Undertaken post-doctoral training in one or more relevant additional specialised areas of psychological practice (e.g. neuropsychology, DBT, CAT, solution-focused therapy, systemic / family therapy, analytical therapy).
* Undertaken training in the supervision of trainees and other therapists.
* Other relevant academic qualifications to masters or Doctoral level.
Experience
Essential
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, and in-patient settings.
* Experience of working in mental health services for older people with experience of holding a caseload, assessment, care planning and delivery of psychological interventions.
* 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 the application of clinical psychology in different contexts.
* Experience of working with complex and enduring mental health difficulties.
* Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
* Experience of working in mental health services where multi-disciplinary working was embraced as part of service delivery.
* Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets.
* Proven ability to communicate clearly in difficult and complex situations.
Desirable
* Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical or applied psychologist.
* Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
* Experience of implementing service policies and procedures.
* Involvement in research programmes.
* Have a lived experience of mental health challenges.
Skills & Abilities
Essential
* Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, psychological formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. This requires the use of highly developed analytical and judgement skills.
* Skills in individual and group work and in programme planning.
* Planning and organising skills for caseload management.
* Skills in self-management, including time-management.
* Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information, including contentious and highly distressing information, to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
* High standard of report writing for communication with professionals from NHS, Local Authority and other agencies, parents/carers and clients.
* Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance, including regular supervision, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
* Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling formation of networks with professionals within the Trust and from other agencies to promote effective team working with clients.
* Able to contain and work with high levels of distress from clients.
* Able to contain and work with organisational stress.
* Interpersonally calm and able to defuse difficult, volatile situations.
* Able to tolerate ambiguity and to take decisions in situations of incomplete information.
* Ability to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
* Good organisational skills.
* Motivated towards personal and professional development with a strong CPD record.
Desirable
* Advanced keyboard skills.
* Experience of leading and carrying out research projects and interpreting data using statistical analyses.
* Proven ability in carrying out clinical audits.
* Ability to promote psychological models with clients, carers and staff in an understandable and person-centred way, clearly outlining goals and potential outcomes.
Knowledge and Understanding
Essential
* Good understanding of other professionals' theoretical perspectives of this client group.
* Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the client group, e.g. MHA (1983 as amended 2007).
* Demonstrates an understanding of the links between primary and secondary mental health services and the stepped care approach.
* Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
Desirable
* Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies.
* High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
* High level knowledge and skills in working with carers.
* Postgraduate level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical and applied psychology.
* The skills to adapt psychological therapies to clients with cognitive and sensory difficulties.
Physical Requirements
Essential
* Able to tolerate prolonged periods of sitting.
* Ability to travel independently across the CPFT area.
Other
Essential
* Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of methods.
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