Job summary
The Adult Autism team is seeking a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with experience in multidisciplinary collaboration, assessment, differential diagnosis, and intervention. Key responsibilities include triaging new referrals, conducting neuropsychological assessments, and managing adult patients on the Neurodevelopmental pathway. The ideal candidate should understand cognitive impacts on daily activities and vocational/educational performance. Working independently within HCPC and BPS guidelines, they will participate in joint schedules, supervise colleagues, and contribute to defined outcomes. Essential skills include clinical assessment, risk management, psychological interventions, and the ability to manage a caseload and provide team consultations.
Main duties of the job
1. ASD Assessment & Intervention: Provide specialized assessments and interventions for individuals, families, and groups in line with evidence-based practice for those with suspected ASD.
2. Caseload Management: Manage a clinical caseload, performing autonomous assessments, making recommendations, and coordinating treatments and discharges within service policies.
3. Risk Management: Conduct risk assessments and offer guidance on psychological aspects of risk management to other professionals.
4. Clinical Decision-Making: Use analytical skills to make clinical decisions, particularly in complex cases.
5. Supervision & Mentorship: Receive supervision from senior psychologists and oversee assistant psychologists and trainees within ASD services.
6. Training & Education: Provide teaching, training, and clinical supervision to ASD team members and offer support and training to carers, residential staff, and families.
About us
Starting with NELFT: NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focusing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
Probationary Period: This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
High Cost Area Supplement - London: This post attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,551 and a maximum payment of £5,735 per annum pro rata).
Certificates of Sponsorship: Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles. Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points based system.
Job description
Job responsibilities:
1. To provide a qualified, high-quality specialist autism assessment and intervention to individuals, carers, families and groups, in line with best, evidence-based practice and trust care pathways for clients with suspected autism.
2. To be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload to clients referred to the Autism service and utilising planning and organisational skills, to exercise autonomous assessment, treatment and discharge of clients, within the parameters of the service operational policy and professional responsibility for the planning and prioritising of own workload.
3. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
4. Under supervision, to employ analytical and judgment skills and be responsible for taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues.
5. To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a senior clinical/counselling psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues specialising in specific disorders or therapeutic modalities.
6. To clinically supervise assistant psychologists and trainee Psychologist working in Autism Services.
7. To when appropriate, manage assistant psychologists and allocated Trainee Psychologists working in Autism Services.
8. To plan, organise and provide teaching, training, consultation and as appropriate, clinical supervision to other professionals and disciplines within the Autism team in the psychological aspects of their work.
9. To plan and organise education, training and support for carers groups, staff of residential settings and family members in connection with autism clients identified needs.
10. To provide advice, consultation and training on the psychological aspects of autism, to a range of agencies working with the autism client group.
11. Working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the teams policies and procedures, to provide consultation and advice about autism issues to other professionals working with service users.
12. Working within the agreed policies and procedures, to facilitate the access of people with autism to appropriate mental health services.
13. To contribute as directed by the professional lead, to audit policy and service developments within the area served by the Autism service.
14. To identify and implement service improvements in areas of Autism service where there is need for development and to contribute to service developments in policy, procedure and practice as agreed by the professional lead.
15. To utilise research skills to undertake service evaluation and clinically relevant research as agreed under the supervision of the professional lead and to disseminate the results across the Autism service, NELFT and where appropriate, nationally.
16. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and to exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service/team.
Use of AI:
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential:
* Doctoral level training (or equivalent) in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and two or more distinct psychological therapies, and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS.
* HCPC Registered Practitioner Psychologist.
* Eligible for Chartered status as a clinical psychologist with the BPS.
Desirable:
* Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
Experience
Essential:
* Experience in the assessment and treatment of ASD clients.
* 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.
* Knowledge, understanding and experience of working with service users from diverse ethnic, economic and cultural backgrounds.
Desirable:
* Experience of teaching or training.
* Experience of delivering specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients, including service delivery across a range of care settings, including outpatient, community and inpatient settings.
Knowledge
Essential:
* Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
* Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and therapies used with learning disabled clients, as well as other difficult to treat groups.
* High-level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
Desirable:
* Knowledge of legislation and current national guidelines in relation to the client group and mental health.
* Doctoral (or equivalent) level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship:
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications.
UK Registration:
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. #J-18808-Ljbffr