Main area: Clinical Psychology
Grade Band: 8a
Contract: Fixed term: 11 months (End 31 March 2025)
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 334-CLI-7078357
Employer: South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Westminster / Team Base at 308 Brixton Road
Town: London
Salary: £61,927 - £68,676 per annum inclusive of HCAS
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 04/05/2025 23:59
Highly Specialist Clinical/ Counselling Psychologist / Psychotherapist
Band 8a
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 the care and treatment we provide. 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
The SLaM Psychology in Hostels (PIH) Service is an innovative multi award-winning specialist homeless psychology service. For 12 years PIH has led in the development of ‘Psychologically Informed Environments’ (PIEs) delivering ‘Trauma Informed Approaches’ and developing best practice for working with excluded and multiply disadvantaged populations across Lambeth and Westminster in partnership with the third sector.
The client population have high levels of traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopment difficulties, on a background of complex trauma, interpersonal difficulties, substance misuse and risk-taking behaviour. This complex combination of needs leads to multiple social exclusion and barriers accessing mainstream services. This exciting role will have the opportunity to both support the development of pioneering MDT homeless neuropsychology work as well as work with the wider PIH team to deliver PIEs. A PIE is any service that integrates psychologically and trauma-informed approaches into its model (incl. Staff training and support, psychological assessment and treatment). PIH PIE model adopts Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) approaches as well as other evidence-based approaches for working with complex needs groups (Incl. DBT, CBT, Psychodynamic, Systemic). Here we aim to facilitate recovery by improving mental health and wellbeing, reducing substance use, increasing engagement, reducing repeated evictions and other negative outcomes for the clients.
Main duties of the job
This role will be based in Westminster Rough Sleeping Accommodation Pathway as part of a new MDT homeless neuropsychology pilot that aims to support clients, other PIH psychologists and our third sector housing partners in their work.
The post holder will:
* Be a qualified neuropsychologist or have notable neuropsychology experience and interest in further development.
* Work closely with housing partners and other psychologists to develop PIE approaches.
* Support and train third sector partners and the wider network.
* Offer individual and group clinical work to clients.
* Support the assessment (incl. neuropsychological) and onward referral to mainstream services.
* Develop and promote new ways of working across pathways from the emerging evidence-base.
This Westminster role will sit within a wider Psychology in Hostels team based across Westminster and Lambeth, which includes: Clinical Lead, a Principal grade Clinical Psychologist, four Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologists, eight Specialist Clinical Psychologists, an Art Therapist and several Trainee Clinical Psychologists. As well as this role currently being recruited to, the homeless neuro. pilot will have a dedicated PIH pilot MDT comprised of a specialist psychologist, Occupational Therapist and neuro-GP. This post will be supervised by one of the senior Psychologists in the team, receive specialist neuropsychology supervision and will be supported by SLaM operational and management structures.
Working for our organisation
This post will be based across third sector run accommodation sites within the borough of Westminster and has a team admin base at Lambeth Hospital close to Clapham North underground station.
Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). We also provide services and operate across other locations, such as London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; and substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Lambeth, Greenwich and Wandsworth.
We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package, feel valued and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance.
Some of our benefits include:
* Generous pay, pensions and leave packages dependent on the role and length of service.
* Work life balance, flexible working and supporting a range of flexible options, such as part-time working and job sharing.
* Career development with plenty of CPD opportunities such as mentoring, coaching, collective leadership and other talent programmes.
* Accommodation, our staff benefit from keyworker housing at selected sites.
* NHS discounts via the Health Service Discounts website.
Other benefits include:
* Counselling services
* Wellbeing events
* Long service awards
* Cycle to work scheme
* Season ticket loan
* Childcare vouchers
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To provide a specialist psychology service to adult clients resident in homeless hostels including specialist assessment, neuropsychological assessment, psychological therapy, trauma specific interventions, neurorehabilitation, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
Key Responsibilities:
Clinical
* To provide a high level of clinical expertise in supporting the psychological needs of clients.
* To provide highly specialist neuropsychological assessments, formulations and interventions.
* To ensure services are fair and equitable and meet the needs of the diverse populations we support.
Teaching, training, and supervision
* To provide specialist training in psychological and trauma-informed approaches to care for other professionals.
* To provide clinical supervision for psychological work undertaken by qualified psychologists and others.
Management, recruitment, policy and service development
* To work with the PIH leads to develop neuropsychology care pathways.
Research and service evaluation
* To contribute to the development of services through undertaking service evaluation and audit.
General Responsibilities
* To ensure own Continuing Professional Development.
* To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of key legislation.
A full Job Description and Person Specification is attached to the advert.
Person specification
Qualifications
* Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession and extensive demonstrable practice in this field (e.g. professional Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology or other relevant professional doctorate or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration.
* Registered with professional body as appropriate to discipline HCPC/APC/BPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP/ADMP-UK.
* Additional training beyond entry-level qualification in a specialised area of psychological practice 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.
* Additional training in relevant specialist psychological models (Psychodynamic, MBT, DBT, CAT, Systemic, Narrative).
Experience
* Experience of post qualification highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in relevant specialty and/or client group e.g. Addictions/homelessness/complex trauma/psychosis/personality disorder/mood disorder.
* Experience of consulting to, and supervising with other staff (incl. psychologists, MDT professionals and third/housing sector workers).
* Experience of work with substance misuse.
* Experience of working in partnership with third sector agencies to deliver services.
* Experience of working with homeless people.
* Experience of working with Psychosis or people experiencing unusual experiences.
* Experience of specialist work with trauma and complex trauma.
Skills & Abilities
* Specialist practitioner skills at level 3 in at least one or more models of relevant psychological therapy (MBT, CBT/DBT, psychodynamic).
* Highly developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, highly technical and sensitive information.
* Skills in operational and project development and leadership.
* Record of conference presentations and publications in either peer reviewed, academic or professional journals/books.
Knowledge
* Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.
* Evidence of post-qualification continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and/or HPCP.
* Highly specialist and transferable psychological skills and knowledge relevant to work with homelessness, complex trauma, personality disorder and addiction.
* Specialist knowledge relevant to work in outreach, supported housing and homelessness.
* Knowledge of ‘Psychologically Informed Environments’ and ‘Trauma informed Care’.
The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer; we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:
* Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice.
* Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment.
* We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity.
Please note:
* All applications for this post will need to be made online.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* Should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not been successful.
* Priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees.
* 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.
* We are a smoke-free Trust.
SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion; Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe.
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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