The post is responsible for the provision of highly specialist psychological input to the Adults Community Eating Disorders Service in Bedfordshire and Luton which works with people with severe and complex eating disorders.
The post holder will be an experienced clinical or counselling psychologist with a substantial knowledge in the field of eating disorders and will directly provide psychological assessments, formulations and therapies to service users and their families and friends and develop treatment plans. The post holder will consult to other members of the eating disorder service and other statutory and third sector organisations involved in service user care.
The post holder will be involved in supporting service users and facilitating continuity of care before and following inpatient admissions and after transition from CAMH. In addition the post holder will undertake service development initiatives, audit and research. The post holder will work autonomously within professional guidelines.
The post holder will clinically supervise the work of less senior members of the team including assistant psychologists, trainee psychologists, psychologists, and contribute to the line management of team colleagues.
The post holder will formulate and undertake clinical audit, service evaluation, service development and research activities as agreed with the Principal Psychologist, Clinical Lead and senior management.
Main duties of the job
* Provide highly specialist psychological assessments, based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources (including psychological tests, measures/rating scales, direct and indirect observation and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and involved others).
* To formulate and implement plans for formal psychological treatment and/or management of an eating disorder in adults based upon a broad theoretical knowledge; evidence of efficacy; and within NICE guidelines for treatment of eating disorders, to analyse, interpret and compare complex information in order to design specialist programmes of treatment for individuals, groups and families tailored to individual need.
* To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other multidisciplinary professionals contributing directly to service users formulation, diagnosis and treatment planning.
* To be responsible for implementing a broad range of evidence-based specialist psychological treatments which require the formulation and modification of plans and strategies as practice and experience demands. This will require the adjustment and refinement of complex formulations which draw on different explanatory models, and the maintenance of a number of provisional hypotheses.
* To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual service user.
* To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients.
* To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual service users and to communicate with other professions on psychological and eating disorder related aspects of risk assessment and management.
Person Specification
Education/ Qualification/ Training
* Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology or equivalence and able to demonstrate eligibility for BPS CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist). HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist.
* Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to the specialty as required by professional accrediting/registration body (e.g. BPS/ HCPC/ BABCP/ ACAT)
* Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
* Further training or qualifications in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice relevant to the post, eg supervision, therapeutic models used in eating disorder etc
* Qualification in Leadership and Management
Experience
* Substantial experience of specialist assessment, formulation and treatment of clients experiencing eating disorders.
* Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of care settings, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the treat of physical abuse.
* Experience in working in multidisciplinary settings and representing a psychological perspective in teams and services
* Experience of providing teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
* Experience of line management and leadership of staff
* Experience of the application of psychological interventions in different cultural contexts.
* Experience in contributing to service development, redesign and improvements in secondary mental health services.
* Record of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.
* Experience of research in eating disorders or highly relevant related fields.
* Experience working in the NHS.
Knowledge and Skills
* Clinical: To be able to deliver highly specialist therapy using two or more relevant models, from amongst the following, in order of preference: 1. CBT-E 2. MANTRA, SSCM or FPT 3. Other models used on complex eating disorders, eg DBT, CAT, Schema, IPT
* Able to take a lead on service developments and projects with delegated responsibility.
* Able to draw upon a theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of highly complex facts and situations, requiring sustained and intense concentration, to arrive at appropriate formulation and compare and select from a range of treatment options.
* Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the delivery of eating disorder services.
* An in depth knowledge and skills in applying clinical risk assessment and management in own and others' clinical caseload, including eating disorder related risk
* Able to use highly specialist skills of empathy to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
* Able to communicate at a high level verbally and in writing highly complex, technical and sensitive information to clients, families, carers, and a range of professionals and lay people within and outside the NHS.
* Interpersonal and communication skills to facilitate forming effective collaborative networks within the trust and with external agencies in the interests of client care.
* Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
* Able to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance, including supervision, to support and improve clinical practice.
* Organisational/Management: Able to plan, organise and prioritise own workload in the face of periods of competing demands.
* Must be capable of accountability for own work, of autonomous clinical practice, of being guided by precedent and of working towards defined results.
* Research & Evaluation: Able to use skills and knowledge to design and implement service evaluations.
* Legislative: Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in eating disorders.
* Cultural awareness: Aware of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health.
* Flexibility: Able to be flexible and adapt approach according to need.
* Information Technology: Competence in use of IT equipment and software packages for the purposes of clinical record keeping, electronic communication, creating organisational documentation, data entry and analysis, research, and multimedia presenting and teaching.
* Highly developed knowledge of the theory and delivery of highly specialised psychological practice relevant to eating disorders.
* Good understanding of the theoretical perspectives on eating disorders of other professionals.
Other
* Able to work to professional guidelines. Must be capable of accountability for own work, of autonomous clinical practice, of being guided by precedent and of working towards defined results.
* Able to travel between work sites and to community settings for the delivery of services.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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