An exciting opportunity has arisen for a clinical psychologist to join our existing psychology team on a permanent, 37.5 hour per week basis, within the Community Learning Disability Team (CLDT) based in Halton (Runcorn and Widnes).

We welcome applications from newly qualified, band 7 and 8a clinical psychologists who are passionate about working psychologically with people with a learning disability and complex needs to support their psychological wellbeing and their human rights.

For newly qualified and band 7 applicants we are offering a preceptorship leading to a band 8a following completion of designated competencies.

This post is subject to an enhanced check with adults barred list Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) Check.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for someone with the clinical and interpersonal skills to make a difference for service users with a learning disability, their carers and systems around them. You will be providing adapted assessment, formulation and therapeutic interventions, empowering and enhancing quality of life through individual therapy, group work, team formulation, indirect work with colleagues and through driving forward systemic change. The successful applicant will be a team player who enjoys working as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

You would be working closely with our dynamic Intensive Support Function (ISF), led by Dr Amanda Roberts which is embedded within the CLDT. The CLDT also has psychological input from Dr Beth Greenhill and an Assistant Psychologist. Our interests as a psychology team include trauma-informed care, positive behavior support, various adapted psychological therapies for people with a learning disability (in particular CAT), sexuality, and developing human rights-based and social justice approaches. We have a track record of publication and service development in these areas. You will receive regular clinical supervision from one of the psychology team, mentoring and opportunities for further training. We are also excited to learn from you, your areas of interest and to support you to develop these at the start or early stages of your career.

About us

Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 11 million people.

We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.

At the heart of all we do is our commitment to 'perfect care' - care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We're currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.

Job description Job responsibilities

To be a member of the service team and to contribute to, participate in and adhere to the routines and policies of that service.

To be responsible for the systematic provision of psychological services at a highly specialist level. To adhere to the organisation of the service particularly with regard to membership of the multidisciplinary teams.

Services will be based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations, and interviewswith clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.

Services will include the following:-Highly specialist one-to-one clinical consultationsHighly specialist psychological assessment including issues of riskPsychological interventions for individuals, families and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypothesesDecision making for and evaluating treatment options, taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or groupExercising autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based intervention plansStaff consultation contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and intervention planStaff consultation on the use of psychological techniquesStaff supervision in the use of psychological techniques

In particular, as part of multidisciplinary, complex care team working, to provide casework for service users experiencing severe psychological difficulties. To prioritise workload to ensure that skills are used to address the more severe and complex psychological presentations within this area of work.

To supply services within the context of existing multi professional teamwork. To negotiate appropriate professional relationships with both statutory and voluntary agencies to both ensure the referral of appropriate casework and communicate highly complex clinical information.

To maintain the records of service in line with the policies of the Trust.

To provide input to health, social care and community-based services to enable best practice and service user choice in line with local service accessibility.

To manage frequent exposure to highly distressing and emotional circumstances, and maintain substantial mental effort through frequent and intense levels of concentration andattention.

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• Up to date Professional Registration (to be maintained)
• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and Neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology

Experience Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention with clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course, 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.

Skills Essential

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical &/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional groups.

Knowledge Essential

• Doctoral level knowledge (or its equivalent) of research design and methodology, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.

Values Essential

• Continuous Improvement
• Accountability
• Respectfulness
• Enthusiasm
• Support
• High professional standards
• Responsive to service users
• Engaging leadership style
• Strong customer service belief
• Transparency and honesty
• Discreet
• Change oriented

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

350-329-HAL604-M