Job summary
Rowan View MSU Psychology Service are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic and dynamic clinical and/or forensic psychologist with a drive to deliver high quality psychological care to people with a learning disability who have complex mental health and risk histories. The post holder will have a good understanding of systemic working to support teams around the person.
We deliver a wide range of complex assessments and trauma informed, formulation driven treatments to address mental health, trauma, offending behaviour risks. Our care and treatment philosophy is guided by the latest evidence and seeks to address those factors that will allow patients to acquire the skills to progress through their recovery pathway to conditions of lesser security and in line with the most compassionate and least restrictive approach.
Main duties of the job
We are looking to welcome a practitioner psychologist who is dedicated to working with people with a learning disability in a secure environment and with a demonstrated ability to engage patients and respond to complex clinical issues in a professional and considered manner. This post will require someone who enjoys: direct psychological contact; working with patients who present with a range of complex needs including severe mental health difficulties, trauma and attachment difficulties; cognitive impairment; self-injury; and offending histories. The ability to develop effective and collaborative relationships with psychology and multi-disciplinary colleagues will be a key strength of the successful applicant.
The post will provide clinical input to a ward in medium secure care. The post-holder will also undertake clinical and risk assessments within a multi-disciplinary context and will provide psychological advice and consultation to others involved in patient care. The post holder will have a key role in outlining the psychological care pathway for individuals.
The successful candidate will be recruited to a band 7 preceptorship or band 8a post depending on previous experience. Mersey Care NHS Trust has a well established preceptorship development programme.
About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 11 million people.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Rowan View MSU Psychology Service are seeking to recruit an enthusiastic and dynamic clinical and/or forensic psychologist with a drive to deliver high quality psychological care to people with a learning disability who have complex mental health and risk histories. The post holder will have a good understanding of systemic working to support teams around the person. This post will require someone who enjoys: direct psychological contact; working with patients who present with a range of complex needs including severe mental health difficulties, trauma and attachment difficulties; cognitive impairment; self-injury; and offending histories. The ability to develop effective and collaborative relationships with psychology and multi-disciplinary colleagues will be a key strength of the successful applicant.
The post will provide clinical input to a ward in Rowan View MSU. The post-holder will also undertake clinical and risk assessments within a multi-disciplinary context and will provide psychological advice and consultation to others involved in patient care. The post holder will have a key role in outlining the psychological care pathway for individuals on the ward through conducting highly specialist risk and psychological assessments. In addition to ward-based individual work, there will also be opportunities for the post holder to deliver specialist psychological therapies. There will be opportunities to develop skills of complex case assessment, formulation and application of evidence based psychological intervention. We are committed to support the CPD needs of our clinicians and will look to invest in your development in line with service needs.
The service has close links with local and international universities and provides training placements for clinical and forensic trainees. The service has developed innovative clinical interventions and research.
We welcome applications from enthusiastic, highly motivated and resourceful individuals who are keen to work as part of a team, and who can demonstrate strong skills and experience in working in secure settings.
The successful candidate will be recruited to a band 7 preceptorship or band 8a post depending on previous experience. We have a well established preceptorship development programme.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
1. Doctoral level training in clinical psychology or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996.Training in specific models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS
2. Registered or eligible for registration with the HCPC as a practitioner psychologist.
3. For Forensic Psychologists Doctoral level training in Forensic Psychology or equivalent (Accredited MSc plus full membership and chartered status of the Division of Forensic Psychology
Desirable
4. Post qualification/doctoral training in additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Knowledge and experience
Essential
5. oExperience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across a range of mental health and forensic needs and presenting problems and including at least three different forensic groups: adolescents; male offenders;female offenders; offenders with a learning disability or those with dangerous and severepersonality disorders.Presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
6. oMaintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
7. oWorking level knowledge of research methodology
Desirable
8. oPrevious experience within a secure forensic mental health service
9. oExperience of teaching and training.
10. oExperience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts
11. oKnowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups ( personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
12. oHigh level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
13. oKnowledge of legislation in relation to the service user group and mental health.
Skills
Essential
14. oSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
15. oWell-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
16. oSkills in providing consultation to other professional and non- professional groups.
Other
Essential
17. oAbility to sit in a constrained position when working with service users.
18. oAbility to sustain intense levels of concentration responding and participating as required.
19. oAbility to self-reflect and use clinical supervision appropriately.
20. oAbility to cope and deal with highly distressing emotional circumstances.
21. oAbility to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
22. oAbility to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
Desirable
23. oExperience of working within a multicultural framework.