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 provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already 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. PIH has led in the development of 'Psychologically Informed Environments' (PIEs) delivering 'Trauma Informed Approaches' and developing best practice for working with socially excluded populations across Lambeth and Westminster in partnership with the third sector.
The client group experience multiple disadvantage and have high levels of complex trauma and interpersonal difficulties coupled with substance use and neuropsychological issues, physical health needs, anti-social behaviour and risk-taking behaviours. This complex combination of needs leads to multiple social exclusion and barriers accessing mainstream services.
This exciting role will have the opportunity to work in partnership with accommodation and substance use teams to address unmet needs through innovative 'PIE' services. A PIE is any service that integrates a psychologically and trauma-informed approaches into its model (incl. Staff training and support, and direct psychological assessment and treatment). PIH PIE model adopts Community Psychology and Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) approaches as well as other evidence-based approaches for working with this client group (Incl. DBT, Psychodynamic, Systemic). Here we aim to facilitate recovery by improving MH wellbeing, reduce substance use, increasing engagement, reduce repeated evictions and other negative outcomes for clients.
Main duties of the job
This role is grant funded and will be based across hostel services in the Westminster Vulnerable Adults Accommodation Pathway run by our third sector homelessness partners.
The postholders will:
* Work closely with hostel, outreach staff, tenancy sustainment and supported living teams, other psychologists and the wider MDT project team to develop a psychological and trauma-informed approach to understanding and managing clients' difficulties.
* Supervise and line manage other qualified and unqualified junior psychologists
* Support, train and consult to the third sector partners, project MDT including peer advocates and wider network of services.
* Offer individual and group clinical work to clients,
* Offer peripatetic and transition services determined by capacity and demand
* Support the assessment and onwards referral of clients into 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: Consultant Clinical Lead, a Principal grade psychologist, five Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologists, eight Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologists, a Nurse Psychotherapist, an Art Therapist and several Trainee Clinical Psychologists. The Service is also supported by SLaM operational and management structures.
Working for our organisation
About the location:
This post will be based across third sector run accommodation sites (hostels and shared housing) within the London Borough of Westminster and has a team admin base at 308 Brixton Road.
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.
Benefits:
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 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
* Staff restaurants
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 ensure services are fair and equitable and meet the needs of the diverse populations we support.
* To support the development of care pathways for an excluded population.
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 hold an operational leadership role within PIH.
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
Essential criteria
* 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.
Desirable criteria
* Additional training in relevant specialist psychological models (Psychodynamic, MBT, DBT, CAT, Systemic, Narrative).
Experience
Essential criteria
* Experience of post qualification highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in relevant speciality 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 specialist work with trauma and complex trauma
Desirable criteria
* Experience of working with homeless people
* Experience of working with Psychosis or people experiencing unusual experiences
* Experience of work with substance misuse
Skills & Abilities
Essential criteria
* 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
* Skills in operational and project development and leadership
Knowledge
Essential criteria
* 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.
Desirable criteria
* 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:
* That all applications for this post will need to be made online
* That you 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
* That 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
* That 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
* That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
* That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
* That 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
* That 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
Applicant requirements
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.
Documents to download
* JD / Person Specification (PDF, 265.8KB)
* SLaM Staff Benefits (PDF, 1.1MB)
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