This is a very exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and committed individuals to join a set of exceptional clinical leaders in the Psychology Department of the Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) of Hertfordshire Partnership University Foundation NHS Trust. MHSOP provides comprehensive mental health and community services for the whole of Hertfordshire for people with mental health conditions over the age of 65.

These positions are designed to provide expert psychological assessment, intervention and consultation to specialist community mental health and dementia care (including young onset dementia), crisis, care home and in-patient services located in four geographically defined, service quadrants covering the whole of Hertfordshire.

You will have the chance to jointly lead the psychological offer in a quadrant and to contribute to the psychology leadership team in MHSOP. A wide variety of psychological interventions and models from specialist neuropsychological assessment and interventions to a wide range of psychological work with older people with highly complex mental health needs are used in the service with an increasing focus on service user and carer co-production and continuous quality improvement.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder is responsible for the systematic provision of high quality mental health services to clients of the MHSOP services. This will include:

• Provision of clinical psychological assessment, including neuropsychological assessment and specialist psychological interventions to service users in the memory clinics and other older person.
• Primary responsibility for support and supervision to qualified and unqualified team members delivering psychological assessment.
• Supervision of assistant psychologist in memory clinics (EMDASS).
• Monitoring referrals and management of the waiting list in conjunction with clinical psychology.
• Monitoring the capacity of the service and in conjunction with the professional lead for MHSOP psychological therapies, identifying new initiatives to provide optimum service.
• Deputising for the Head of MHSOP Psychology as appropriate.
• Contributing to and supporting the delivery of high quality psychological therapies throughout East and North through active involvement in joint service development and quality improvement initiatives .

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an outstanding organisation with ambitions to match. We are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from theCare Quality Commission, and our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.

Our family of over 3500 members of staff provide health and social care for over 400,000 people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services, plus medium and low secure learning disabilities services.

The care we provide makes a fantastic difference to the lives of our service users, their families and carers - everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout.

Our Trust values are:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

These values are at the core of who we are, everything we do, and how we do it!

Job description

Job responsibilities

The main duties of this job will be leading and providing an expert psychological service for Older Adults in the East or North quadrant of Mental Health Services for Older People. Please see accompanying Job Description and Personal Specification for further information.

Applications from Clinical Psychologists already experienced in working at this level as well as those ready to take the next steps in their career are welcome. All applicants will need to be HCPC registered.

Interviews are expected to take place on 15 July 2024. For informal information contact Marianne Kreutz, Interim Consultant Clinical Lead, 07766 160903, or Sara Banks, Principal Clinical Psychologist, Stevenage/ North Hertfordshire, 079 82828106.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Good Honours degree in psychology. Eligibility for graduate membership and GBC of the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• Post-graduate doctorate in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS.
• Full registration with Health and Care Professions Council

Desirable

• Related academic qualifications to masters or doctorate level.
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.

Experience

Essential

• Assessed experience of specialist psychological and neuropsychological assessment and treatment of older adult clients and those with psychological difficulties in the context of ageing processes, across a full range of care settings, including in patient, community, and statutory, voluntary, and private sector residential and nursing settings. Typically, this would involve specialist level experience, or its equivalent demonstrated through CV and interview.
• Experience of working with moderate to severe mental health problems, including: Highly emotive and distressing problems, challenging behaviour, severe and enduring mental health problems in individuals with long histories of institutionalisation/contact with mental health services.
• Demonstrate further specialist clinical experience and training, through a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a specialist clinical psychologist over a minimum of 18 months, or an agreed alternative
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for client's psychological care and treatment.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision, including supervision of clinical psychology trainee(s).
• Experience working within a multi- disciplinary therapy service.
• Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of older adult psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management with older adults, including specialised psychological interventions for difficult to treat groups (e.g., multiple mental health and/or physical health problems). Ability to demonstrate an area of special interest/skill in assessment, therapeutic intervention or research/evaluation.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Able to plan own workload and coordinate with other relevant staff in the delivery of clinical service
• Able to work at a high level of professional autonomy and responsibility, in a collaborative multi-disciplinary environment and also, as a lone worker in circumstances where there may be exposure to verbal and sometimes physical aggression.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for clinical practice in relation to older people
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Completion of all relevant modules of Accredited Doctoral Clinical Psychology Course: Introduction to Supervision Courses (approx 30 hours)

Desirable

• Experience of leading or heading a part of a service and representing a service at a senior level.
• Experience of working within a multi-cultural framework.
• Experience of having published in either peer reviewed academic or professional journals and/or books
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g., dual diagnoses, people with co-morbid conditions: physical health, social complexity, psychologically complex histories)
• Good presentation and teaching skills and ability to use multi-media materials for formal presentations to large groups.
• Completion of basic level, post-qualification training in the Neuropsychology of Older Adults.
• Familiarity with computing technology, including keyboard skills, and use of word- processing, e-mail, and internet software.
• Skilled in appropriate and up to date De-escalation techniques.
• Evidence of post-qualification CPD as recommended by the BPS: neuropsychology of older adults

Employer details

Employer name

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Saffron Ground

Ditchmore Lane

Stevenage

SG1 3LJ

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

367-SS-8490