The SLAM Addictions Clinical Academic Group, and South London Partnership (SLP) are collaborating to support the needs of those with co-occurring mental health and substance use needs on the inpatient rehabilitation wards within the SLP footprint: Barefoot Lodge (Oxleas) Heather Close, Westways & Tony Hillis Unit (South London and Maudsley) and Burntwood Villas and Phoenix (South West London and St George's).

The Co-occurring Mental Health and Addictions Rehabilitation Team (COMHART) has been coproduced with the SLP and the wards to ensure integration into the model of care within each unit. COMHART and inpatient rehabilitation staff are working together to create a trauma-informed and anti-racist team culture with consistent ways of working that will optimise the recovery outcomes of people with mental health and substance use needs. Inpatient teams are multidisciplinary, comprising of medical, nursing, OT and support staff, as well as psychological therapists and peer support workers. The post holder will work alongside established staff on the rehabilitation wards and under the supervision of a clinical psychologist. This is a pilot project, extended until October 2024.

The post holder will primarily be based at Heather Close but a willingness and ability to work and travel across all six units and community settings will be required. Usual working hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm - some flexibility to work out of hours on occasion will be expected.

Main duties of the job

• To support practitioner psychologists to deliver a specialist, trauma-informed and anti-racist applied psychology dual diagnosis service.
• To plan, implement and evaluate both individual and group clinical interventions, across inpatient and community settings under the supervision of a practitioner psychologist, including working with families, carers and wider social networks.
• To collect, recording and analyse mental health and substance use data, including auditing and updating care plans and risk assessments in collaboration with the MDT.
• To regularly update team databases/contribute to KPI reports.
• To keep up to date, accurate clinical notes.
• To attend client reviews and other meetings in a professional manner, representing the service, sharing feedback and taking minutes as required.
• To develop positive and collaborative working relationships with a range of stakeholders including: clients relatives/carers statutory and third sector services and other NHS trusts and providers.
• To assist in clinically related admin, collection of statistics, development and completion of audit and/or research projects, contribute to the planning, delivering and evaluation of training, formulation and reflective practice with the MDT.
• To work at appropriate levels of autonomy and independence, following clinical guidelines and service policies and procedures, supported by the clinical/professional supervisor or manager.
• To contribute towards service development and evaluation.

About us

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well assubstance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology andNeuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very feworganisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on threemajor foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

Job description

Job responsibilities

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care

• To plan, schedule and provide psychological assessments for clients in the inpatient services including psychometric, neuropsychological, behavioural, observational, semi-structured interview and indirect assessments under the supervision of a practitioner psychologist.
• To plan, schedule and provide individual psychological interventions for clients including cognitive-behavioural, motivational interviewing, and indirect interventions under the supervision of a practitioner psychologist.
• To assist the psychologists in the development of individual or group clinical materials or training materials, and in addition to develop such materials independently as falls within own degree of competence.
• To plan, schedule and provide group psychological interventions including psychoeducation, skills-based and transdiagnostic therapy groups under the supervision of a practitioner psychologist.

KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

• To contribute to the effective working of the wards by: contributing to the training and support of other staff in developing and providing psychological care of clients through training, team formulation and reflective practice and contributing to MDT processes.
• To act in a manner that supports a psychologically informed framework for the service.
• To support the team or services delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

KR 3 Policy and service development

• To follow policies and procedures in own area of work.
• To participate in the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

KR 4 Care or management of resources

• To take care of, and use carefully, equipment and physical resources across the SLP.
• To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.
• To be responsible for safe keeping of equipment or stock, testing materials and informing the supervising psychologist or manager when stock requires replenishing.

KR 5 Teaching and Training

• To participate in the induction of and demonstrating work methods to new members of staff and placement students.
• To arrange, schedule and provide training and consultation to ward staff, carers or employees of partner agencies in order to support the clinical work with clients under the supervision of a practitioner psychologist.
• To participate in dissemination of research and service evaluation findings through presentations or published articles.

KR 6 Record-keeping and Information Governance

• To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust/SLP policies and local procedures.
• To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust/SLP guidelines, including electronic data entry under the supervision of a practitioner psychologist.
• To create and maintain data bases, enter data and perform analyses and produce reports.

KR 7 Research and development

• To assist in the design and implementation of audit and research projects to inform the service practitioner psychologists and others in the development of the Trust clinical psychology services, training provision and research activities.
• To support data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical methods.
• To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research to assist in the development in the Trust of evidence-based practice.
• Under supervision, to conduct surveys with service users and carers to gather views on service provision.

KR 8 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

• To receive regular clinical and professional supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines.
• To gain wider experience of professional psychology within the NHS over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post-holder is employed.
• To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.
• To undertake personal training relevant to the post in agreement with the supervising psychologist and the manager.

KR 9 General

• To travel to meetings, training and clinical work (including outpatient, home and community visits) as appropriate and across the Trust/SLP when required.
• To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group and follow Trust/SLP policies relating to its management.
• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations, including challenging behaviour and assessment of mental health, substance use, forensic histories, and to support others involved in such situations.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• oA First-class or Upper second-class Bachelors or Masters degree with Honours in Psychology that is accredited by the British Psychological Society and confers the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society, or equivalent conferring GBC, including BPS-accredited conversion course.

Desirable

• oFurther post graduate training in relevant areas of professional psychology, addictions, mental health practice and/or research design and analysis.

Experience

Essential

• oExperience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs in people with complex mental health difficulties.
• oExperience of working with people who have dependencies to alcohol and other substances.
• oExperience of working within a multi-disciplinary team.
• oExperience of liaison with families/carers.
• oExperience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience.

Desirable

• oExperience of working with people with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues.
• oExperience of developing/and or implementing group programmes.
• oExperience of working in an in-patient setting.
• oExperience of delivering training to health or social care professionals.
• oExperience of engaging in/co-facilitating team formulation and/or reflective practice.

Knowledge / Skills

Essential

• oGraduate level knowledge of psychological research methodology and statistical analysis.
• oExtensive knowledge of the problems experienced by and needs of adults with complex mental health difficulties and adults that have issues with alcohol and substance use, and of methods of assessment and treatment.
• oSkills in relevant psychological assessment and interventions that enable development towards working independently as a pre-qualified practitioner under clinical supervision.
• oWell-developed verbal and written communication skills including communicating complex, information to clients, families, and colleagues.
• oAbility to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• oAbility to identify and follow relevant clinical governance procedures.

Desirable

• oAwareness of racial and diversity issues through attendance of relevant training.
• oAwareness and experience of working within a trauma-informed model.
• oConsultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other professional groups within own service.
• oSkills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups.

Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Heather Close Mental Health Rehabilitation Unit

5 Heather Close

London

SE13 6UG

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

334-LEW-5608183