JOB PURPOSE:

To participate in the provision of psychological services to adults with learning disabilities who have complex needs (in particular, mental health difficulties and/ or challenging behaviour) and who live within the localities served by Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT).

WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY?

• Close-knit, supportive team across Kent, with committed, experienced and passionate staff.
• Regular internal CPD sessions and reflective spaces
• Variety in caseload and work, including 1:1 work, family working, staff consultation and neuro-affirmative Autism and ADHD assessments.
• Opportunity for flexible and part-time working
• Support for innovative projects and personal interests, including research and publications.
• Regular and supportive supervision as standard - increasing or decreasing in frequency according to need.
• Good preceptorship support for newly qualified psychologists

Funding for further training and resources:

We support applications to KMPT external training budget:

Fully funded courses have recently included 4-day SAFE training (Systemic Autism-related Family Enabling), 4-day Systemic Workshops, ACT courses and the ABAI Conference.

Part-funded Courses have included: Master in Narrative Therapy and an Intermediate Systemic and Family Therapy Post-Graduate Diploma.

Access to placement support fund, which has been used to purchase books and resources of our choice and further training for the team as a whole.

At KMPT, we are serious about diversity and about inclusion, and we are working hard to build this into our DNA. We warmly welcome applications for any of our roles from people from diverse backgrounds, and we are proactively encouraging applications from under-represented communities for our more senior roles, like this one.

Main duties of the job

SUMMARY OF THE ROLE:

To work as a part of a multidisciplinary health team for people who have learning disabilities.

In particular:

To be responsible for the provision of specialist Clinical Psychology services to adults with learning disabilities and complex needs (mental health and/ or challenging behaviour) who are living in the community in Kent, as a member of the Mental Health of Learning Disability service.

To undertake direct (assessment and therapeutic) and indirect (consultative, advisory and evaluative) specialist psychology interventions in line with best practice taking substantial professional responsibility and exercising autonomous judgment in their professional practice.

To work closely with colleagues in MHLD and other services to ensure timely discharge back into the community for service users who are admitted to in-patient wards

To ensure the clinical effectiveness of own practice and of service functioning by undertaking audit, research and other development activities relevant to the service.

To be responsible for providing training placements for trainee clinical psychologists in this specialism.

About us

Come and work with us in the Garden of England where we combine exceptional professional development opportunities with a tremendous quality of life.

We are Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT), providing mental health, learning disability and specialist services, serving 1.8 million people across the county.

The Trust (rated Good overall by the CQC and Outstanding for care) has 3,283 staff working in 66 buildings across 33 locations, covering an area of 1,450 square miles.

You will be joining friendly, passionate colleagues, rich in their diversity, who are committed to providing excellent care to our service users and their loved ones.

The MHLD service is divided into two hubs across Kent and Medway, both comprising psychology, psychiatry and specialist nursing staff. We are looking for a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to work within the MHLD psychology team in West Kent, which includes experienced Clinical Psychologists, a Behaviour Specialist, and a Clinical Associate Psychologist. Everyone in the team is committed and passionate with a strong, shared values base: placing the person with learning disabilities at the centre. We also work hard to ensure the needs of families and paid carers are addressed and systemic and narrative approaches are central to much of our work.

Job description

Job responsibilities

MHLD has recently undergone a consultation and restructure and have adapted our service as a result. We are committed to providing a high-quality service following the changes, and there will be an opportunity to undertake leadership and innovation roles in relation to this.Despite these challenges, we are confident that we remain a great team to work within, and we are very happy to discuss the role in depth, including the challenges, prior to interview. We have a strong leadership of experienced, passionate clinicians who are committed to creating a strong service with space for creativity, after this period of instability.

CHALLENGES OF THE ROLE

Working in Learning Disability Services, with the needs of our clients being met through social care funding, leads to challenges we often have to advocate for our clients to get their needs met within complex systems. We do have close working relationships with other professionals and services, and have formal processes to enable this as well.

Please see the job description for full details regarding the main responsibilities.

Person Specification

Training

Essential

• Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology/or working towards
• Good BSc in psychology, or equivalent

Desirable

• Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology

Experience

Essential

• Experience working with people with learning disabilities or other additional needs

Desirable

• At least one year working as a clinical psychologist with people with learning disabilities

Employer details

Employer name

Kent & Medway NHS & Social Care Partnership Trust

Address

East Kent MHLD (base tbc)

Canterbury

CT1 3HH

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

380-FR0493