Are you interested in a role where every day is different and where you can use a variety of psychology skills? If so, we are looking for a caring and innovative clinical psychologist to join us.

There is a huge variety of work within this role and you will undertake neuro-psychological assessments which may contribute to a diagnosis of dementia as well as provide a range of post-diagnostic therapeutic options. These include providing groups and individual therapy for people with dementia as well as for their carers.

You will also work with patients who have co-existing mental health needs in addition to their cognitive difficulties.

The service works with care homes to help with residents whose behaviour challenges their care givers and you will provide psychological expertise to this part of the service. You will also provide consultation to help promote psychological thinking within the MDT and the wider system around the patient.

Main duties of the job

The London boroughs of Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham are culturally highly diverse and there is a real commitment to meet the needs of the communities we serve. You will be based in the borough of Hounslow and will be involved in ensuring psychology provision is appropriate and accessible for this community. Our teams reflect the cultural diversity of our communities and we are developing our outreach abilities to help us engage with seldom heard communities.

Our all-age Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Service (CIDS) has now been joined by a Specialist Older Adult Mental Health Service (SOAMHS) which is a community service for people over 70 which works closely with our older adult in-patient service.

So although your main role would be in CIDS, there would be opportunities to work with the other teams too. You will also supervise the Assistant Psychologist for the team and would be able to participate in research projects which are a feature of CIDS.

About us

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ 4,500 staff, of whom 56% are BME. Our turnover for 2023-24 is �426m.

The Trust is rated as 'Good' overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post-holder will contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all patients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group and ensure that all members of multidisciplinary teams have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding clients of the service through the provision of advice, consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.

The post holder will undertake neuropsychology assessment of people who may have dementia as part of the diagnostic process if needed.

The post holder will contribute to research, audit and clinical governance tasks within the hospital.

The post holder will provide line management to assistant psychologists as delegated by the lead psychologist.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

Essential

• Good honors degree (2:1 minimum) in Psychology. Eligibility for graduate membership of BPS.
• Post-graduate doctorate in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 or those in lateral transfer) as accredited by the BPS.
• Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council.

Desirable

• Other related academic qualifications.
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Training in clinical supervision for Doctoral and equivalent, trainees.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
• Specialist employment working with older people or in clinical neuropsychology.

Desirable

• Experience of having facilitated/co-facilitated psychological therapy groups
• Experience of working with people with dementia and their carers
• Experience of assessing and treating clients across the full range of care settings.
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.

Knowledge

Essential

• Specialist knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of psychology applied to clinical practice, particularly in respect of adults with cognitive impairment
• Able to provide and receive highly complex, highly sensitive or highly contentious information, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere.
• Able to make judgements involving highly complex facts or situations, which require the evaluation of a range of options (e.g. the assessment of specialist clinical conditions and the determination of treatment options), where expert opinions may differ.
• Able to plan, prioritise and organise own service user caseload, treatment programmes (individual or group) involving other staff and other aspects of the work such as research activity.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Able to use database, word processing and test administration/scoring software.
• Post-graduate level knowledge of research design and methodology.
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable

• Practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of behaviours that challenge.
• Able to speak other languages relevant to the communities we serve.eg Hindi, Punjabi, Somali.
• Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of the assessment and treatment of a wide range of mental health conditions.
• Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of the neuropsychological assessment

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Able to adapt to rapidly changing service demands
• Able to maintain intense concentration frequently and for prolonged periods with unpredictable patients (e.g., in the assessment and treatment of patients with very complex difficulties).
• Able to function in potentially traumatic circumstances and in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g., in dealing with patients with serious mental illness, histories of homicide and serious violence, self- harm, sexual abuse).
• Able to provide services in environments with patients who are distressed and present with challenging behaviour
• Able to hold the stress of patients who may not wish to engage with services.
• Able to respond adaptably to rapidly changing service demands

Employer details

Employer name

West London NHS Trust

Address

Hounslow CID

Lakeside MHU (West Mid)

Isleworth

TW7 6AF

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

222-LS-OPMHS-140