There is a fantastic opportunity to work with older adults in a secondary mental health setting to help improve their psychological wellbeing and develop a broad range of clinical skills.
We are looking to recruit an enthusiastic and motivated Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join our Stepped Care Therapy Team within Older Peoples’ Mental Health Services in Peterborough.
The friendly team comprises Clinical/Counselling Psychologists, CBT Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and Occupational Therapy Assistants. We host placements for Trainee Clinical Psychologists predominantly from the University of East Anglia. We are a proactive team with a strong plan for the further development of the provision of psychology.
The Team links with the integrated community services, mental health practitioners, the Memory Assessment Service, and Social Care Team. The breadth of work is ideal for a newly qualified or experienced Clinical or Counselling Psychologist.
Relocation packages are available subject to eligibility.
Main Duties of the Job
The candidate’s role would include the provision of assessment, formulation, and evidence-based intervention including, where appropriate, specialist neuropsychological assessment. There is an expectation that the post holder would provide consultation input for non-psychology colleagues. The role would involve multidisciplinary working with both mental and physical health staff.
There will also be opportunities to be involved in wider directorate endeavours. We also have a great CPD programme within the service, both amongst the SCT and wider mental health service. We have been able to support members of the wider psychological service to engage in additional training, including CBT for personality disorder and psychosis, EMDR, and DBT skills. There is active interest in developing neuropsychological components of the service to support memory assessment.
If you are looking for a new challenge, enjoy variety in your work, and wish to be part of a team striving to make a difference for our community by supporting older people with functional and organic mental health needs, then we want to hear from you.
Working for Our Organisation
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health & social care organisation dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion to improve the health & wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting & empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.
Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services not only via inpatient and primary care settings but also within the community. These services include Children, Adult & Older Peoples mental & physical health, Forensic & Specialist mental health, Learning Disabilities, Primary Care & Liaison psychiatry, Substance misuse, Social care, Research & Development.
To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high calibre candidates that share our vision & values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people & members of our ethnic minorities & LGBTQ+ communities.
Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities
* To provide evidence-based psychological assessments (including neuropsychological assessments), formulations, and interventions to clients of the Stepped Care Therapy Service and Neighbourhood Teams; providing specialist psychological assessment and therapy while offering advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues and other, non-professional carers, working under supervision within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.
* To supervise and support the psychological assessment and therapy provided by other practitioners and other clinical members of teams who provide psychologically based care and treatment (including Trainee Clinical Psychologists).
* To ensure accurate record keeping for the referral process and interventions for all practitioners under the post holder’s supervision 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 work with senior colleagues within the service to develop and maintain psychosocial models of care relevant to the client group.
* To provide relevant teaching, training, and supervision within the service and where appropriate across the Trust.
* To attend agreed meetings, liaising with the Professional Lead, supervisor and team manager on matters of service development.
* To suggest and implement agreed policy changes within the Older Peoples Stepped Care Therapies Service and the mental health services relevant to the psychological needs of the client group, as agreed by other senior clinical colleagues.
* To work with senior colleagues to utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the Stepped Care Therapies Service and the mental health service, and to disseminate this information widely.
Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
* Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies, and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS, or a BPS Statement of Equivalence.
* 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
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, and inpatient 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.
* 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
* 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 the 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* Post graduate 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
* Able to tolerate prolonged periods of sitting.
* Ability to travel independently across the CPFT area.
Other
* Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional, and academic settings.
* Positive approach to older people.
* Recognise people’s right to privacy and dignity, treating every person with respect.
* Willingness to embrace integrated models and new ways of working.
* Willingness to be flexible in approach and attitude.
* Willingness to be flexible and adaptable.
* Advanced keyboard and computer skills.
* Able to use breakaway techniques.
* Record of having published in peer-reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.
* Ability and willingness to travel to locations throughout the organisation.
* Fluent in languages other than English.
Here at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) we are dedicated to providing high-quality care with compassion. We deliver many of the NHS services that are provided outside of hospital and in the community such as physical, mental health, and specialist services.
We are a health and social care organisation, offering a wide range of services, including:
* Integrated physical and mental health services for adults and older people;
* Specialist mental health and learning disability services;
* Children’s community services in Peterborough;
* Ground-breaking research.
We strongly encourage applications from all sections of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people and members of our ethnic minorities and LGBTQ+ communities. For further information about our positive equality, diversity, and inclusion work, please visit this link.
CPFT is looking to build upon its pool of temporary workers with Temporary Staffing Services (TSS). You will be asked at interview if you would be willing to register with TSS. This is an excellent opportunity for those looking to take on additional hours that are flexible around your personal circumstances.
Please be advised that in line with the WHO Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List, 2020, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust currently are unable to accept applications from overseas candidates whose country of residence is classed as a ‘Red List’ country.
Applicants who require entry into the UK will be required to provide a valid police certificate from the relevant authority from each country (except the UK) where the applicant has been present for 12 months or more, 10 years before the date of visa application, while aged 18 or over.
If you are successful at interview you will be subject to pre-employment checks, including a DBS (if appropriate), references, and Occupational Health. To ensure a smooth process please bring all identity documents to your interview. A list of required identity documents will be attached to your interview invitation.
All communications will be sent to you via TRAC Systems. By applying for this post you are agreeing to CPFT transferring the information contained in this application to TRAC. If you are made an offer, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
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.
As a patient, relative, or carer using our services, sometimes you may need to turn to someone for help, advice, and support.
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