We are seeking an enthusiastic psychologist passionate about improving the quality of care and support we deliver to people with mental health problems & learning disabilities. You will be thoughtful and resilient in the way you work in a multidisciplinary staff team within a busy learning disability health care setting with exciting challenges. You will be interested in working with external partners to develop supportive networks and have energy, drive and enthusiasm for working with complex and challenging cases which require clear communication across agencies.
You will be expected to provide psychological assessments and interventions with people who have a learning disability and mental health problems and/or behavioural difficulties, across a variety of community settings, with individuals, groups, families and staff teams.
You will be part of a service that strives for clinical excellence and aims to support its staff to feel valued, provides opportunities for training and development and encourages active participation relevant service developments.
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. We offer in service training and development in Positive Behaviour Support approaches, systemic interventions and reflective practice within a diversity and difference framework.
Main duties of the job
You will have excellent written and spoken communication skills, an ability to work sensitively and thoughtfully with service users and their carers often around challenging and complex presentations. You should be flexible in your approaches to problem solving, be creative and be ready to embrace challenges and enjoy working as part of a team.
* Providing specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions across a range of community settings.
* Contributing to psychologically based thinking to enhance understanding and care of all clients of the service, across all settings.
* Actively contributing to client care through team meetings, multidisciplinary supervision, network meetings and other interagency and professional meetings.
* Effectively manage an identified caseload.
* Communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients.
* Work closely with MDT colleagues to enhance care and manage risk.
* Contribute to WLDHT service development, including attending meetings and providing training.
* Take an active role in psychology service developments.
* Use opportunities for reflective practice through supervision.
* Contribute to the supervision of assistant psychologists.
* Contribute to specialist assessments, such as cognitive, dementia, and ASD.
* Deliver PBS based interventions to enhance the quality of service users lives.
About us
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.
This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services.
We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.
About our locations:The Wandsworth Learning Disability Healthcare Team is based in Balham, a busy, vibrant part of Southwest London with excellent transport links, easy access to local shopping centres and the fantastic open spaces of Wandsworth and Tooting commons. The team also works with inpatient services at Springfield University Hospital, Tooting.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will work alongside a team of psychologists providing specialist clinical psychology services to adults with learning disabilities, including those with mental health needs, ASD and challenging behaviour. The post holder will be part of a caring and supportive psychology service, with qualified clinicians, a behaviour specialist and assistant psychologists.
Applicants will be required to work autonomously and within professional guidelines whilst providing specialist psychological assessment and therapy to clients. This will involve undertaking direct assessment and intervention with the client or indirect assessment, monitoring and intervention with staff or carers.
The post holder will work closely with MDT colleagues (including psychiatry, behavioural specialist, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and dietetics) through MDT meetings and multidisciplinary supervision. This will include sharing formulations to enhance psychologically based care and managing risk.
The psychology service provides specialist assessments (ASD and dementia) as well as specialist interventions.
The post holder will work across a variety of settings, including family homes, colleges and day services. The post requires an ability to work closely with their professional colleges, both within the team and with outside agencies, such as social care.
The post holder will provide consultation and advice to other health colleagues (including inpatient services), sharing specialist learning disability knowledge.
The post holder will have opportunities to provide training to the team through our shared learning events and contribute to the Trust wide PBS training.
The post holder will be encouraged to contribute to the development of the psychology service and wider team.
The post holder will have opportunities to develop their knowledge of specialist assessments (including ASD and dementia assessments) and interventions (including PBS based interventions, systemically informed interventions and interventions for trauma).
Person Specification
TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS
Essential
* Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, as accredited by the HCPC.
* Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council as a practitioner psychologist under the appropriate domain.
Desirable
* Pre-qualification training in research methodology, staff training.
* Additional training in a specialised area of psychological practice (e.g. systemic therapy) through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses in a specialist area of clinical practice.
* Skills in neuropsychological assessment.
Experience
Essential
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, and in patient 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 working with professional systems and families in a clinical context.
Desirable
* Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
* Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
* Experience in Positive Behaviour Support.
KNOWLEDGE & SKILLS
Essential
* Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
* Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment.
* 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.
* Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care.
* Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
Desirable
* 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 people with learning disabilities and mental health problems and/or challenging behaviour.
* Specialist knowledge and understanding of theory and practice of assessment and intervention with Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Learning Disability.
Employer details
Employer name
South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust
Address
Balham Health Centre
120-124 Bedford Hill
London
SW12 9HS
Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.
294-MHCA-6861332-JB #J-18808-Ljbffr