Employer: Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: CNWL HQ Milton Keynes
Town: Milton Keynes
Salary: £53,755 - £60,504 pa pro rata
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 20/11/2024 23:59
Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Job overview
We are seeking a dynamic and enthusiastic B8a Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to cover Maternity Leave on a Fixed Term contract in the Perinatal Mental Health Team in Milton Keynes. It is anticipated that this cover will be from mid February 2025 to mid February 2026. The team provides specialist care for women (and their babies) with moderate to severe mental illness, including offering pre-conceptual counselling alongside working with women during their pregnancy and up to 2 years postpartum where there is a perinatal need.
The role includes working across our Perinatal Mental Health Team and Maternity-Trauma, Loss and Care Service (M-TLC) in Milton Keynes. This post is for 22.5 hours per week. The M-TLC Service provides consultation, advice, signposting and targeted interventions to women with moderate-severe/complex mental health difficulties associated with loss and trauma occurring in the maternity/perinatal/neonatal context including the parent-infant relationship. This may include PTSD following birth trauma, perinatal loss, and severe fear of childbirth (tokophobia).
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust, we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues, and of course patients and service users when working in our healthcare settings.
Main duties of the job
The postholder will join the Principal Psychologist in the M-TLC alongside a Clinical Psychologist and Psychological Therapist in the Perinatal Service, both delivering and supporting the delivery of psychological interventions as part of a multi-disciplinary team. The team includes a Psychiatrist, Specialist Doctor, Specialist CPNs, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Peer Support Worker, and a Nursery Nurse with administrators supporting the team.
The successful applicant will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team delivering care to women in a range of community settings including the woman’s home, children’s centres, GP surgeries, maternity wards, and the use of virtual technology. The ability to work flexibly in multidisciplinary teams and in a range of settings is therefore essential. As a specialist psychologist, you will provide specialist assessment and treatment for women in the perinatal period, which will also involve close liaison with the wider MDT such as Midwives, Health Visitors, Safeguarding, and Children’s Centres.
Working for our organisation
We are passionate about delivering first-class patient-centred, safe and effective care, whether it is in a hospital setting, in a community clinic, or in the patient's own home. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Providing top quality care depends on our ability to employ the best people. We are always looking to recruit outstanding people who will go the extra mile to support our patients, colleagues, teams, and the Trust. With every new employee, we hope to find our future leaders and we will support our staff by providing opportunities to develop your career. With a diverse culture and equally diverse range of opportunities across mental health, community services, addictions, eating disorders, learning disabilities, and more, whatever stage of your career you're at, there's always a place for you at CNWL.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You must have experience of working in mental health services at secondary care level with complex presentations with women who may also be in crisis and who express suicidality. Experience of working in the Perinatal Mental Health field is desirable, and/or a keen interest in this specialist area alongside experience of facilitating group treatments. Experience of trauma-focused care and working with bereaved families is desirable.
The team is part of the wider Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) specialist perinatal mental health provision and there will be opportunities for networking with perinatal psychologists in this new and developing area of specialism across BLMK, the East of England Region, and within CNWL.
Both regionally and locally, we are committed to further training all disciplines within the team and there will be provision for training in line with a regional training programme.
Person specification
Training and Qualifications
* Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies, and lifespan developmental psychology.
* Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Experience
* Significant experience of working as a qualified psychologist.
* Significant experience in working with Psychological Trauma.
* Training in additional approved modalities such as EMDR, IPT, Cfd, Couples Counselling, systemic training, DIT, Mindfulness.
* An interest in Perinatal Mental Health with a focus on Birth Trauma.
* Experience in working with Birth Trauma and Perinatal Loss.
Knowledge and Skills
* Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
* Knowledge of the relevant theoretical approaches for working with this client group.
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes, and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff, and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally, and internationally for providing high-quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.
We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. See attached Staff Reward and Wellbeing Handbook detailing our benefits, discounts, and wellbeing initiatives for staff.
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.
Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13-week probationary period.
If you are offered a job, information will 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.
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