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 our care and treatment. 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
Job summary
We are seeking a Consultant Clinical Psychologist/Psychotherapist able to lead the delivery of Psychological Therapies within Lewisham's Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs) and Early Intervention in Psychosis service.
The post will suit a practitioner with well-developed NICE guideline-based expertise in the provision of Psychological Therapies for severe mental health problems. In addition to providing leadership and expert level supervision for a team of senior Psychological Therapists, participation in service design and delivery of a stepped care framework provides opportunities for bringing innovation to the community treatment of psychosis and complex mood and anxiety disorders.
We are also seeking a practitioner who can contribute to supporting Lewisham's integrated CMHTs by enabling both trauma informed care and provision of psychologically informed practice by a multi-disciplinary workforce. The service is attempting to improve access to psychological approaches based on Long Term Plan ambitions and the Patient & Carers Race Equalities Framework (PCREF).
Main duties of the job
* To lead, manage and plan the delivery of a highly specialist psychological therapy service and personally provide expert clinical input to Lewisham CMHTs.
* To be responsible for the monitoring and implementation of professional standards in the practice of psychological therapy and for the systematic and effective provision of professional supervision.
* To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
* To ensure the conduct of research, service evaluation and audits relevant to the service and the research agenda.
* To be responsible for the good clinical governance, quality and appropriateness of the work of psychological practitioners in the service.
* To work as an autonomous professional within registration body guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by principles and policies or procedures, and interpret these and be responsible for their implementation within the service areas of responsibility.
* To take a lead on staff support within their area, working closely with Corporate Psychology and Psychotherapy to support colleagues and ensure all staff in SLaM have access to evidence-based support. To participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.
Working for our organisation
About us
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provides the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.
SLaM employs around 5000 staff and serves a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, we provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Job responsibilities
This post will take a lead role in ensuring the delivery and development of the provision of psychological services within Lewisham CMHTs and the Specialist Early Intervention Service. The post holder will be responsible to the Directorate Head of Psychology & Psychotherapy for the monitoring and implementation of professional standards in the practice of applied psychology for the Lewisham CMHTs and Early Intervention Service and for the systematic and effective provision of line management, clinical and professional supervision as required. The post holder will provide expert clinical input for individuals within the services including psychological assessment and/or treatment within the pathways. The post holder will work autonomously within professional practice and Trust guidelines and will ensure that allocated human and financial resources are used effectively where appropriate.
The post holder will ensure that Trust Psychology & Psychotherapy and other policies, standards and directorate targets for mental health services for individuals with a diagnosis of psychosis and mood and anxiety disorder and their carers are being met within the Directorate.
The post has a lead role in proposing and implementing policy and service development and to lead on service evaluation, QI and research. The post holder will both lead and contribute to specific Directorate-wide and non-psychology specific projects as may be identified and negotiated.
As a highly specialist and lead clinician, the post holder will ensure the systematic provision of a highly specialist and high quality service to clients and their carers with severe and enduring mental health problems and/or complex presentations. The post holder will work effectively as a member of a multidisciplinary team providing clinical expertise in the provision of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Family Interventions, individually formulated psychological therapy, and evidence-based interventions for individuals with psychosis and mood and anxiety disorders, offering advice and consultation on clients' psychological care to other psychological therapists and community team members.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
* Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession or equivalent 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 (CBT- SMHP) through formal post-qualification 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 and/or accredited to supervise qualified psychological practitioners in relevant discipline.
* Registered with professional body as appropriate to discipline HCPC/APC/BPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP/ADMP-UK.
Experience
Essential
* Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in psychosis and with mood and anxiety disorders.
* Experience of undertaking leadership roles.
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in psychosis and with mood and anxiety disorders.
* Experience of supervising qualified psychologists/psychotherapists assistants and trainees having completed the relevant training.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
* Knowledge of the theory and practice of management and leadership.
* Advanced theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment.
* Advanced knowledge of the theory of psychological practice/processes and their therapeutic application.
* Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
* Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care.
Skills
Essential criteria
* To deliver specialist therapy across cultural and other differences.
* To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers (and for meetings such as CPA and case reviews where appropriate).
* To plan allocation of tasks to assistants/trainees as appropriate.
* Consultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other professional groups and sensitively managing a number of people's needs simultaneously within the context of therapeutic work/consultation.
* To plan delivery of psychology and psychotherapy services to the client group and carers, involving partner agencies.
Abilities
Essential criteria
* Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
* Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate.
* 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.
* Ability to manage highly complex situations involving multiple difficulties, and competing/conflicting views about those difficulties; and to help create contexts that develop systemic engagement, and harness the strengths and abilities of those involved in order to work towards solutions.
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 been 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.
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. #J-18808-Ljbffr