We are seeking an enthusiastic and motivated clinical or counselling psychologist to work in our Adult Community Mental Health Teams in Bedford. The vacancy is for a 1.0 wte position but we would welcome applicants seeking both full time and part time employment. The post-holder will join a Principal Clinical Psychologist, a Clinical Psychologist, a trainee therapist, a CAP and Assistant Psychologists. The psychologists are fully embedded in the multi-disciplinary team and valued members of the service. You will be joining at a time of transition to blended primary/secondary care mental health services as we continue the transformation of our local services in line with national guidance. This means there are opportunities to work alongside Trust colleagues, service users and VCSE organisations in work streams to shape the future of psychologically-informed mental health care in Bedford's Primary Care Networks.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will provide specialist evidence-based psychological assessment, formulation, consultation and intervention for people with a range of complex mental health needs, including individual, couple/family and group interventions. They will possess an enthusiasm for multidisciplinary team working and the skills to help steer the team to psychological understanding of their clients and the development of psychologically informed services. The team values the role of Psychologists highly and, as such, the role is multifaceted and includes consultation, teaching, and supervision roles, as well as active involvement in quality improvement projects, staff support initiatives and wider Trust initiatives. We are therefore looking for someone with good knowledge and skills within these domains, and someone who is ready to join an innovative and efficient service.

As a member of the Bedfordshire and Luton psychological therapies workforce, the post holder would join the regular psychology meetings which focus on Clinical Governance and peer-led Continual Professional Development (CPD). The Psychologists in our area are trained in a variety of therapy models so there is opportunity to take on formal therapy trainings, share knowledge and access consultation across models.

About us

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please for further information kindly see the Job Description and Person Specification attached to the advert.

Person Specification

Education/Qualification

Essential

• Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology or equivalence and able to demonstrate eligibility for BPS CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist) . HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist.

Desirable

• Further training or qualifications in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
• Quality Improvement Training.
• Clinical supervision training for doctoral psychology trainees.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of care settings, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the treat of physical abuse.
• Experience of providing teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• Experience in working in multidisciplinary settings and representing a psychological perspective in teams and services.

Desirable

• Experience of professional management of qualified and pre-qualified clinical psychologists.
• Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Experience in the recruitment of psychology staff.
• Experience in contributing to service development, redesign and improvements in secondary mental health services

Knowledge/Skills

Essential

• Clinical: Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, psychometrics and neuropsychology.
• Able to draw upon a broad theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of highly complex facts and situations, requiring sustained and intense concentration, to arrive at appropriate formulation and compare and select from a range of treatment options. Skills in two or more distinct psychological therapies.
• An in depth knowledge and skills in applying clinical risk assessment and management in own and others' clinical caseload.
• Able to use highly specialist skills of empathy to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
• Able to communicate at a high level verbally and in writing highly complex, technical and sensitive information to clients, families, carers, and a range of professionals and lay people within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as required by BPS/ HCPC.
• Organisational/Management: Able to plan, organise and prioritise own workload in the face of periods of competing demands.
• Able to plan, support and guide the workload of staff under supervisory responsibility.
• Must be capable of accountability for own work, of autonomous clinical practice, of being guided by precedent and of working towards defined results.

Desirable

• Highly developed knowledge of the theory and delivery of specialised psychological practice relevant to a secondary mental health setting (e.g. psychosis, personality disorder, complex trauma).

Employer details

Employer name

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Florence Ball House

Kimbolton Road

BEDFORD

MK40 2NT

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

363-BED5452215-A