An exciting opportunity for an experienced and compassionate Band 8a Counselling/Clinical Psychologist/Senior CBT Therapist (or preceptorship position for those looking for progression via Band 7) to join a new and dedicated Maternal Mental Health Service (MMHS) in Hertfordshire has emerged.

The MMHS is a psychology-led team, which specifically aims to provide exceptional, trauma-informed mental health services to perinatal populations who are experiencing severe to moderate mental health difficulties in the context of perinatal loss and birth trauma, and/or to those suffering with tokophobia (fear of child birth).

Main duties of the job

To support the establishment and development of the Hertfordshire Maternal Mental Health Service (MMHS), creating a responsive and cohesive team delivering exceptional clinical care to mothers and families who are experiencing severe to moderate mental health difficulties in the context of perinatal loss, birth trauma and/or are experiencing tokophobia, in line with national policy.

To ensure that service development is driven by trauma-informed perspectives.

To provide supervision and management to psychology staff within the MMHS and training to the wider MDT.

To ensure the provision of specialist high-quality and evidence-based psychological assessment and therapies to service users and their families, referred to the MMHS. Experience across a range of therapeutic models is essential including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and other models such as Compassion Focussed Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, EMDR, Systemic Therapy and Mindfulness.

To promote, monitor and prioritise equality of access and services offered to the local population.

To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research.

To propose and implement relevant policy within the area served by the MMHS.

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from theCare Quality Commission.

Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Summary:

• To support the establishment and development of the Hertfordshire Maternal Mental Health Service (MMHS), creating a responsive and cohesive team delivering exceptional clinical care to mothers and families who have suffered a perinatal loss, trauma or are experiencing tokophobia, in line with national policy

• To ensure that service development is driven by trauma-informed perspectives

• To provide supervision and management to psychology staff within the MMHS and training to the wider MDT

• To ensure the provision of specialist high-quality and evidence-based psychological assessment and therapies to service users and their families, referred to the MMHS. Experience across a range of therapeutic models is essential including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and other models such as Compassion Focussed Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, EMDR, Systemic Therapy and Mindfulness.

• To promote, monitor and prioritise equality of access and services offered to the local population

• To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research

• To propose and implement relevant policy within the area served by the MMHS

• All staff should comply with the Trusts Anti-Discriminatory Statement, Employee Charter, Trust Policies and Procedures, Code of Conduct and Equality and Diversity

• The post-holder will be required to work from community sites across the county, and access to a car will be essential for this role #

• To be responsible for offering liaison and consultation to members of the multi-disciplinary team, liaising with colleagues within the community perinatal team, inpatient mother and baby unit, the community psychology and psychotherapy service, local maternity services, as well as non-professional carers and other agencies on matters related to the psychological needs and issues relevant to the service and its users

• To work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of team policies and procedures

• The post holder will be required to commute across sites and attend home visits, as well as offer some remote therapy options.

The post holder will need to be HCPC registered. A drivers license and access to a car is essential.

All staff should comply with the Trusts Anti-Discriminatory Statement, Employee Charter, Trust Policies and Procedures, Code of Conduct and Equality and Diversity.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Clinical Responsibility

To provide specialist perinatal psychological assessments of clients referred to the team, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.

To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients complex mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

To assess and formulate any difficulties, particularly including how the impact of trauma and loss on maternal mental health and confidence, and liaise with the MDT in order to plan how to meet these needs

To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions including CBT for individuals, carers, families and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses, adjusting and refining the psychological formulation according to the evolving clinical scenario.

To assist in the development and delivery of group interventions for parents with mental health difficulties delivering evidence based psychological therapies (such as cognitive behaviour therapy or compassion focused therapy, trauma-focused therapy) according to the service users presenting difficulties.

To evaluate and make decisions about 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 group. This evidence-based approach includes monitoring outcomes, modifying and adapting interventions drawn from a range of theoretical models

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility within HCPC guidelines for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans

To provide perinatal-specific specialist psychological liaison and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan, facilitating the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the teams to the client

To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group

To be familiar with safeguarding policies and be able to share concerns with the team

To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients, including perinatal-specific considerations of risk, and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management

To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry and recording

Supervision, teaching and training:
To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from local senior professional colleagues.
To provide regular and high-quality professional and clinical supervision of junior psychology colleagues, trainee and assistant clinical psychologists, as well as the supervision of psychological work and ideas implemented by other MDT colleagues

To contribute to the development of perinatal-specific knowledge and skills base within the team and wider Trust by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in perinatal psychology and national policy developments and by implementing knowledge gained

To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision, including in-house perinatal specific training within the MMHS and other local teams

To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical psychologists, as appropriate

To provide perinatal-specific training to staff working with the perinatal population across a range of agencies and settings, including maternity settings

To undergo and maintain up-to-date Trust mandatory training requirements

Leadership and Staff Management Responsibility:

To be involved in the short-listing and interviewing of assistant, honorary or junior psychology staff when needed

Working Relationships and Communication Requirements of the Job

To promote and maintain good working relationships with psychology- and multi-disciplinary colleagues within and across teams throughout the Trust and agencies within the wider county setting

To promote and maintain good working relationships with clients, their families, carers and other external agencies

To communicate effectively and skilfully highly complex and sensitive information with clients and carers, taking into account sensitive cultural barriers to communication, concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care

To communicate effectively and skillfully with other professionals within and across teams and the Trust, statutory and non statutory agencies/partners relevant to the clients care and management (including for the purposes of safeguarding and liaison)

Liaises with:

ACMHS Lead Psychologist

MMHS Clinical Lead Perinatal Psychologist (supervisor)

CPT Principal Perinatal Clinical Psychologist

MMHS Service Manager and Team Leaders

MMHS Consultant Psychiatrist

MMHS MDT

Local maternity and health visiting services

Inpatient mother and baby unit team

Managers and Clinical Staff

Other Psychological Services staff within HPFT

Research, Service Evaluation and Development

To contribute to perinatal-specific service development projects within the MMHS, wider Trust and other relevant agencies as required. This can involve contributing to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the service operational policies or other organizational issues, by initiating and using ones professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

To identify any aspects of the service which need to be improved and to advise both service and professional management on appropriate changes.

To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and developing services

To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and to provide advice and supervision to other staff towards the same

To contribute to the development of services through proposing, initiating, undertaking and supervising service evaluation and audit. This includes the development of outcome measurement, assessment/implementation and assisting other staff in the implementation of same

To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff

To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles

Person Specification

KNOWLEDGE AND TRAINING

Essential

• Postgraduate doctorate in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, or fully completed training as a Counselling Psychologist OR: Senior CBT Therapist: Postgraduate qualification in one of the core mental health professions e.g., psychiatric nursing, clinical psychology, counselling psychology, medicine, social work and occupational therapy, a recognised qualification in cognitive behaviour therapy or to have substantial other relevant experience and with demonstrable competence to work in the mental health field. As well as a Diploma and / or M.Sc. in CBT leading to demonstrable eligibility for Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice including CBT accreditation with the BABCP
• full-time post-registration experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment with clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature
• Full registration with Healthcare Professions Council

Desirable

• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice including CBT

AREAS OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• Assessed experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of adults of working age with a wide range of presentations of varying severity. Typically, this would involve few years at specialist level, or its equivalent demonstrated through CV and interview
• 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
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