Systemic Family and Couple Psychotherapist
NHS AfC: Band 7
Main area: Psychological Medicine and Older Adults
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 18.75 hours per week (Full time, Job share, Flexible working, Home or remote working)
Job ref: 334-CLI-7010308
Site: Maudsley hospital, Town: London
Salary: £54,320 - £60,981 per annum inclusive of HCAs pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 17/03/2025 23:59
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 providing high quality and specialist care to our service users, and we are recognised for the care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission 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
About the team:
We are seeking a motivated and passionate systemic psychotherapist who can contribute to the ongoing development of a family therapy service within the perinatal mental health teams in SLAM, through a combination of direct and indirect work with women and their families. This post will offer input to PMHTs in the four SLAM boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Croydon.
About the location:
Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). We also provide services and operate across other locations, such as the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark.
Main duties of the job
The successful applicant will work as part of a wider psychological therapies team to contribute to the ongoing strategy in the service to increase the availability of responsive evidence-based psychological therapies and to create a culture of service delivery that holds in mind the needs of the whole family. This post is open to all psychologists and psychotherapists who have the relevant qualification in systemic family therapy. The successful applicant will join a friendly and supportive psychological therapies service that offers excellent opportunities for research and continuing professional development. Specialist systemic supervision will be arranged and regular professional supervision will be provided from within the service via the Principal Family Therapist and Consultant Psychologist.
Working for our organisation
We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work-life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family. We want you to feel like you are part of a close-knit team at SLaM. It’s important to us that you feel valued and appreciated, and that is why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offer.
Some of our benefits are highlighted here:
* Pay, pensions and leave: We offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
* Work-life balance: Flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as part-time working and job sharing.
* Career development: There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes.
* Car lease: Our staff benefit from competitive deals to lease cars.
* Accommodation: Our staff benefit from keyworker housing available on selected sites.
* NHS discounts: Discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands through Health Service Discounts website.
Other benefits include:
* Counselling services
* Long service awards
* Cycle to work scheme
* Season ticket loan
* Staff restaurants
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical and Client Care
* To provide specialist assessment and clinical formulation to individuals, couples, families and social networks where the identified client has complex mental health needs including mood disorders, anxiety, psychosis, personality disorders, and difficulties with parenting or in relationship with children in the context of a parental mental health problem.
* To select and administer specialist assessments as appropriate, including creating genograms and/or eco-maps, analysis and assessment of multiple levels of contextual meaning, deconstruction of current interactional patterns of behavior and meaning around mental health issues and complex relationships, through the use of live team observations, DVD analysis and other systemic assessment tools.
* To provide reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers and, where appropriate, service users and their families.
* To select and deliver evidence-based specialist therapeutic interventions, drawing from a broad spectrum of systemic models, monitoring outcomes and modifying and adapting interventions as necessary, based on the highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, couple, family or group.
* To be responsible for psychological interventions with carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients.
* To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
* To communicate skillfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers, family members and colleagues taking account of communication needs.
* To ensure that all services provided are acceptable and accessible to the diverse communities we serve in Lambeth, Southwark, Croydon and Lewisham, working in ways that are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of cultural and religious backgrounds.
* To provide psychological support to clients and their families who are emotionally distressed, either due to the serious consequences of their illness or due to other traumatic events in their lives.
Contributing to team or service clinical functioning
* To contribute to the effective working of the team or service and to a psychologically and systemically informed framework for the service area.
* To advise other members of the service on specialist systemically informed psychological 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 clinical work and work with other team members.
Policy and service development
* To implement policies and procedures in own area of work.
* To identify any aspects of the service which could be improved and propose changes to practices or procedures.
* To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.
* To participate in clinical governance initiatives as agreed by the Directorate clinical governance committee and team.
* To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users and their families in planning and delivering services.
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.
Management and supervision
* To be responsible for the day-to-day supervision or co-ordination of an agreed workload of trainee family therapists/family therapy honoraries, as required, under supervision from a more senior systemic family therapist.
* To provide clinical supervision for psychological work undertaken by trainee family therapists as appropriate.
* To supervise Family Therapy trainees after completion of the relevant Training Course’s Supervision Training.
* To assist in the short-listing and interviewing of family therapy honoraries if required.
* To provide supervision for the psychological work of other multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.
Teaching and Training
* To provide specialist training in systemic approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.
* To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.
* To provide advice and consultation where appropriate to other health, social care, voluntary sector and education staff working with the client groups.
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.
Research and development
* To undertake regular complex service evaluation and audits.
* To carry out appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research within the service.
* To contribute to the development and implementation of systematic outcome measurement and assessment, and assist other staff in the implementation of the same.
Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development
* To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior systemic psychotherapist according to UKCP, AFT and Trust guidelines.
* To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with AFT and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the UKCP ‘Continual Professional Development’ policy.
* 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 UKCP ‘Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Conduct’, and ensure professional development in line with these.
* To adhere to the UKCP’s ‘Ethical Principles and Code of Professional Conduct’ and Trust policies and procedures.
General
* To travel to home visits, community placements, 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 and to support others involved in such situations.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Post-graduate qualification in relevant mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field.
* Obtained or soon to obtain Masters level qualification in Family and systemic Psychotherapy or equivalent qualification accredited by UKCP.
* Registered or soon to be registered with the UKCP as Systemic Psychotherapist.
Knowledge
* High level knowledge of the theory and practice of family and systemic psychotherapy, relevant to work with adult and perinatal mental health.
* Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment of adults with complex mental health problems.
* Knowledge of a range of systemic models in assessment and treatment, including specific family and systemic theories and evidence base.
* Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues and child protection.
* Good level knowledge of the theory and practice of family and systemic psychotherapy relevant to perinatal mental health.
Experience
* Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in an adult mental health setting.
* Experience of providing specialist systemic assessment, formulation and intervention with clients across a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in adult mental health.
* Experience of providing teaching and training to family and systemic psychotherapists or other professional groups.
* Experience of providing consultation to a range of staff groups.
* Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in a perinatal mental health or related setting.
* Lived experience of mental health challenges.
Skills and Abilities
* To select and administer specialist assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources.
* Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups.
* Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate.
* Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
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.
Please note:
* All applications for this post will need to be made online.
* Please 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.
* The closing date listed is a guide only and the vacancy may close earlier should a sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible.
* 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.
* Should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date, your application has not been successful.
* Priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees.
* 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.
* 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
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.
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