Job summary

South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, with NHS England, are offering opportunities for candidates wishing to train in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for people presenting to secondary care mental health services with complex affective and interpersonal difficulties. Post offers two years of DBT training with University of Bangor. After two years' training, provided the candidate successfully passes the course and then gains accreditation as a DBT therapist with the relevant accrediting authority, they will progress into a qualified Band 7 psychological therapist post.

Candidates should have relevant core professional training e.g. Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, Psychotherapist or Mental Health Nurse. People with training as Clinical Associate Psychologists, or Psychological/Mental Health Wellbeing Practitioners, and/or substantial experience in DBT informed working may be eligible to apply provided they can meet the requirements of the relevant Knowledge, Skills & Attitudes portfolios. These candidates would need to demonstrate at interview that they would meet the KSA after year one of training with the University of Bangor (offered online). The post falls under the NHS-E two-year rule: successful candidates will be ineligible for NHS-E funding for other listed trainings for this period.

Main duties of the job

This role is a 2-year fixed term appointment leading to a permanent psychological therapist post at the end of this period if the postgraduate diploma programme is completed successfully and full accreditation awarded. The post-holder will work within the service providing formal psychological interventions whilst undertaking a programme of training for this role. This intensive training post will equip the post-holder to provide a DBT service to clients with the range of complex problems for which the interventions have been demonstrated to be clinically effective. The post- holder will work in the service for four days using the newly developed skills whilst attending the training programme for the other day.

The post-holder must have experience of working with service users experiencing mental health problems and the skills and abilities needed to form effective and safe therapeutic relationships. They should have excellent written and verbal communication skills. The post-holder will work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equal opportunities.

The post-holder must be able to attend 70-80 days training at the University of Bangor over a 2-year course (online). This will include a day per week and 5-day intensive teaching blocks. They must be able to complete all the academic components of the course and have the ability to integrate training into practice under supervision.

About us

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I'm going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you'll be part of something special.

As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.

We are passionate about caring for our service users, their family and friends and the wellbeing of our colleagues. From 1st April 2022, it will be a requirement for everyone joining South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in a CQC regulated patient facing role to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or to hold a qualifying exemption. Applicants are further advised that it is a condition of employment that evidence of their vaccination status is provided, as part of the pre-employment checks.

The successful candidate will be part of the team's existing psychological therapies provision, which consists of the DBT Trust Lead, 8a lead psychologist, three 7 psychologists. The candidate will work very closely with the MAP psychologists in the CMHT and PCMHT.

Career Progression pathways and development opportunities:

We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Accept referrals via agreed protocols within the service.
• Assess clients for suitability for DBT. Where the problems appear to be too complex or severe to be appropriate for a trainee, therapist to refer to manager/supervisor for advice on how to manage the case.
• Make decisions on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the services referral protocols, and refer unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent as necessary.
• Formulate, implement, and evaluate therapy programmes for clients.
• Educate and involve family members and others in treatment as necessary, conveying DBT formulations with sensitivity in easily understood language.
• Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinical sessions carried out per week to minimise waiting times and ensure treatment delivery remains accessible and convenient.
• Attend multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or clients in treatment, where appropriate.
• Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.
• Keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.
• Work closely with other members of the team ensuring appropriate step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach.
• Assess and integrate issues surrounding work and employment into the overall therapy process.
• Attend and fulfil all the requirements of the training element of the post.
• Apply learning form the training programme in practice.
• Receive supervision from educational providers in relation to course work to meet the required standards.
• Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating, professional and accrediting bodies (e.g. BPS, UKCP, BABCP), and keep up to date on new recommendations/guidelines set by the department of health (e.g. NHS plan, National Service Framework, National Institute for Health, and Care Excellence).
• Ensure that client confidentiality is always protected.
• Be aware of and keep up to date with advances in relevant spheres (DBT, presenting conditions).
• Ensure clear professional objectives are identified, discussed, and reviewed with senior therapists on a regular basis as part of continuing professional development.
• Attend clinical/managerial supervision on a regular basis as agreed with manager.
• Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives.
• Keep up to date all records in relation to C.P.D. and ensure personal development plan maintains up to date specialist knowledge of latest theoretical and service delivery models/developments.
• Attend relevant conferences / workshops in line with identified professional objectives.
• Contribute to the development of best practice within the service.
• To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies, and procedures in relation to Mental Health and Primary Care Services.
• All employees have a duty and responsibility for their own health and safety and the health of safety of colleagues, patients, and the general public.
• All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed for both patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the Data Protection Act (2018) and Security and Confidentiality Policies.
• It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for personal gain, to seek advantage of further private business or other interests in the course of their official duties.

For more detail, please see the full attached Job Description & Person Specification.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following at graduate level in mental health or learning disability nursing, social work, counselling (accredited level), occupational therapy, arts therapy, medicine (psychiatry / general practice), psychological therapy (UKCP registered), Psychology (clinical, counselling, forensic or health). Please see the BABCP website for more detail of accepted qualifications. OR Evidence of meeting the Knowledge Skills and Attitude (KSA) requirements of BABCP. Please see the BABCP website for more detail of KSA requirements.

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable experience of working in a service for severe mental health problems
• Experience of working with service users presenting with EUPD/BPD and/or significant emotional dysregulation
• Worked in a service where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes.
• Has received training (either formal or through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice.

Desirable

• Experience of working with diverse communities within a multicultural setting
• Experience of having worked within a DBT or other PD/CEN service.

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

• Understanding of the DBT model, CEN and secondary care context, medication use.
• Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets, work under pressure, manage own caseload and time.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, computer literacy. Demonstrates high standards in written communication, able to write clear reports, letters etc.
• Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
• Ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training, develop good therapeutic relationships, team working, use of supervision.
• Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post.

Desirable

• Ability to deliver psychological therapy in another locally relevant language.

Person Specification

Education

Essential

• oA recorded/registered qualification in one of the following at graduate level in mental health or learning disability nursing, social work, counselling (accredited level), occupational therapy, arts therapy, medicine (psychiatry / general practice), psychological therapy (UKCP registered), Psychology (clinical, counselling, forensic or health). Please see the BABCP website for more detail of accepted qualifications. OR Evidence of meeting the Knowledge Skills and Attitude (KSA) requirements of BABCP. Please see the BABCP website for more detail of KSA requirements.

Experience

Essential

• oDemonstrable experience of working in a service for severe mental health problems
• oExperience of working with service users presenting with EUPD/BPD and/or significant emotional dysregulation
• oWorked in a service where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes.
• oHas received training (either formal or through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice.

Desirable

• oExperience of working with diverse communities within a multicultural setting
• oExperience of having worked within a DBT or other PD/CEN service.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• oUnderstanding of the DBT model, CEN and secondary care context, medication use.
• oAbility to meet agreed/specified service targets, work under pressure, manage own caseload and time.
• oExcellent verbal and written communication skills, computer literacy. Demonstrates high standards in written communication, able to write clear reports, letters etc.
• oRegard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality.
• oAbility to evaluate and put in place the effect of training, develop good therapeutic relationships, team working, use of supervision.

Desirable

• oAbility to deliver psychological therapy in another locally relevant language.

Employer details

Employer name

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Chaucer Resources Centre

13 Ann Moss Way

London

SE16 2TH

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

334-CLI-6457185