We are seeking an enthusiastic Band 8a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist or Psychological Therapist to work in our Adult Community Mental Health Service in Biggleswade. The vacancy is for a 0.5 wte position. There are opportunities to combine this with other 0.5 wte psychological therapist roles in our area so we welcome applicants seeking both full time and part time employment. We also invite applications from newly-qualified psychologists who have relevant experience in working age CMHTs and also from people who have a postgraduate level training in a recognised model of psychological therapy and relevant clinical experience. Newly/early qualified psychologists could be appointed at band 7 under a preceptorship to work towards requirements for band 8a, subject to satisfactory completion of preceptorship process.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will provide specialist evidence-based psychological assessment and intervention for people with a range of complex mental health needs, including individual, couple/family and group interventions. You will possess an enthusiasm for multidisciplinary team working and the skills to help steer the team to psychological understanding of their clients and shape the development of psychologically informed services. The service 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.

You will be joining at a time of transition to blended primary/secondary care mental health services as we undertake a 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 Central Bedfordshire Primary Care Networks.

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

Psychologists are well-integrated and co-located with their MDT colleagues, and you will join the Principal Psychologist as part of a structure that includes psychologists and psychological therapists, trainee therapists and psychologists, CAPs and Assistant Psychologists. We have a thriving network of psychologists and therapists across the broader Trust with plenty of opportunities for linking, learning and supporting each other together. We have a strong track record of providing formal trainings (eg DBT, EMDR, MBT) for our psychological workforce.

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. Or Postgraduate level training in a recognised model of psychological therapy (e.g. CBT, CAT) and demonstrated eligibility for accreditation as a practitioner/therapist with the relevant accrediting body (e.g. BABCP/ACAT).

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.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

• 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.
• 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.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis. Able to use skills and knowledge to design and implement service evaluations.
• Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the delivery of secondary mental health services.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in secondary mental health services.
• Aware of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health.
• Able to be flexible and adapt approach according to need.
• Competence in use of IT equipment and software packages for the purposes of clinical record keeping, electronic communication, creating organisational documentation, data entry and analysis, research, and multimedia presenting and teaching.

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).
• Record of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.

Personal Essential

• Enthusiasm for a broad range of psychological phenomena, an interest in models of service delivery and an ability to articulate the value added by clinical psychology services within the context of multi-disciplinary mental health services.
• Able to contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others.
• Able to sit in constrained positions for a substantial proportion of working time.
• Able to concentrate intensely for a substantial proportion of working time, during client contact, teaching/supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc.
• Able to manage effectively frequent exposure to highly distressing/highly emotional circumstances and exposure to traumatic circumstances.
• Able to manage effectively verbal aggression from service users, families, etc and the risk of physical aggression.
• Respectful approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals. Willing to negotiate and can handle confrontation effectively and professionally.

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

363-BED10527-B