Job summary

The MHL Diabetic Service provides a Mental Health Service to the Integrated Diabetic service working in West Hertfordshire. The service offers Assessment, Treatment and Mental Health Liaison to service users with Diabetes who have a Mental Health condition requiring secondary mental Health Care services. The main focus will be to provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for complex cases to support adjustment to living with and managing diabetes alongside a significant Mental Health Problem. Providing advice and consultation on the psychological care of clients to non-colleagues, to support and embed skills-development of psychologically informed ways of working and the use of self-management approaches across the team. To supervise the work of other staff, including Assistant Psychologists, within the teams.

We provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk and North Essex. We employ around 4,000 people who deliver these services within the community and in inpatient settings.

We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services and medium and low secure learning disabilities services.

Main duties of the job

• Advice and consultation on client's psychological care to non-psychology colleagues and non-professional carers.
• Specialist psychological assessment, formulation and delivery of interventions.
• Governance of psychological practice within the service.
• Clinical supervision and support of psychological and behavioural assessment interventions provided by assistants, and other members of the team who provide psychologically based care and treatment.
• Training to staff groups, across all sectors of care.
• Use of research skills for audit, policy and service development and research.
• Contributing psychological expertise to assist service development and policy change within the area served by the post.

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from theCare Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.

Our family of over 3500 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.

The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Our Trust values are:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!

Would you like to be part of the HPFT family? Would you like work with us to ensure our service users live the fullest lives possible they can? Would you like to be supported in your career to be the best that you can be?

Then please read on...

Job description

Job responsibilities

We have operated as a NHS Foundation Trust since our authorisation in August 2007.This gives usopportunities to further build upon and improve the services for our community. Benefits include astronger involvement with local communities through our members and Council of Governors and the ability to borrow finance to support our capital investment programme.

Our work is driven by a very strong set ofvalues. We provide services which make a positive difference to the lives of patients, service users and their carers, underpinned by choice, independence and equality.

• The post-holder will provide specialist support, guidance and consultation on clients psychological care in relation to self-management to other multi-disciplinary professionals.
• The post-holder will support the MDT and assistant psychologists to implement a range of psychological interventions for individual clients, influence team practice and work directly with a small caseload of complex clients in relation to self-management.
• The post-holder will take responsibility with the Consultant Psychologist for Psychological practice within the service.
• The post-holder will provide specialist Psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for groups and individuals.
• The post-holder will work closely with psychology, other psychological therapy colleagues and staff from the MDT.
• The post-holder will work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the teams policies and procedures.
• The post-holder will utilise research skills for audit, teaching, policy and service development and research within the area served by the team/service.
• Support MDT to incorporate psychological assessment into existing assessment processes using appropriate measures and tools in relation to behaviour change within the context of a physical / psychological health condition or lifestyle.
• Provide specialist advice to all referrers and associated staff.
• Work using highly developed empathy and sensitivity with a wide range of distressing difficulties.
• Develop and provide training on varied topics and psychological aspects of the support needs of people with diabetes. Develop and implement self-management programmes for patients.
• Supervise Assistant Psychologists.
• To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychometric tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients family members and others involved in the clients care.
• To formulate and implement plans for the proposed interventions and/or management of a clients psychological and physical and wellbeing, based on an appropriate conceptual framework, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings. Assessment and treatment can be made more complex by having to work through interpreters.
• To evaluate and make decisions on psychological treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for assessment, delivery of interventions, evaluation and discharge of clients.
• To work strategically across the Diabetic teams to upskill the MDTs in self-management best practice, provide psychological advice, guidance, support and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
• To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically-based framework for the understanding and care of clients, across all settings and agencies service the client group.
• Input into existing risk assessment and risk management procedures embedding evidence based self-management and psychological best practice for individual clients and to provide general advice to other professionals.

Person Specification

KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Doctorate in Health Psychology or equivalent that is recognised as contributing to eligibility for registration as a Registered Health Psychologist with the HCPC and a Chartered Health Psychologist with the BPS. Or Doctoral level training in Clinical/Counselling Psychology, including specific models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, as accredited by the BPS and HCPC.
• Doctoral level knowledge (or equivalent) of psychological theories relating to selfmanagement of diabetes / chronic illness and health behaviour, with demonstrable ability to explain the application of at least one theory in practice in diabetes / chronic illness.
• Current registration with HCPC
• Professional qualification degree level, which should include knowledge and application of research methodology
• At least two years experience working as a qualified practitioner in a relevant service.
• Experience of supervising qualified clinical staff from a range of professional backgrounds including HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologists.
• Training in risk assessment and management.
• Post-qualification training in assessment and intervention models in one or more of the following: CBT, Motivational Interviewing, or other models supporting enhanced self-management.

AREAS OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• Experience of working with diabetes / physical health problems, and the use of self -management techniques and approaches, as well as behaviour change principles, using these approaches both directly with clients and also through working with and influencing team practice.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, including those with physical health conditions and or long term conditions across the whole life span's 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 of whole life span development and the impact on emotional, psychological and mental well-being.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two evidence based psychological interventions including CBT and at least one other relevant to the treatment of adults with complex health problems and their families.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and also within the context of multi-disciplinary care
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the fields of Clinical / Counselling / Health Psychology.
• Experience of multi-disciplinary team working and inter-agency collaboration.
• Ability to provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability to take the appropriate action to address any issues or risks.
• Awareness of Child and Adult Safeguarding Procedures.
• Awareness of current NHS initiatives and developments.
• Knowledge of legislation and the national agenda in relation to adult mental health and psychological working in long term conditions.
• Knowledge and awareness of specific clinical practices and issues relating to clients with LTC and also the impact of mental health problems.
• Ability to work autonomously as well as part of a team.
• Experience of service quality monitoring e.g. clinical audit, evaluative research, etc.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or offering supervision
• Experience of working in physical health settings.
• Experience of service development/project management.

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

367-WEST-6929-D