1 WTE (37.5 hours per week) permanent

Community Mental Health Services are undergoing widespread, innovative transformation and investment over the next 3 years. Camden & Islington NHS Foundation Trust are at the forefront of this transformation, developing a more holistic, recovery oriented, biopsychosocial approach to supporting people with mental health difficulties, in partnership with primary care, other community NHS providers and the voluntary sector. The aim is to build support systems that reach the whole mental health population with a focus on prevention and sustained recovery delivered by multi-agency collaboration. Each population unit is based on the footprint of a Primary Care Network, bringing together NHS, voluntary sector, peer support and community organisations. These relationships will be central to the new community mental health model.

Main duties of the job

The Islington Practice Based Mental Health is currently undergoing transformation as part of wider service changes to become Core Mental Health teams. As part of this transformation the service will be developing and offering psychological interventions, in addition to the core task of assessment and consultation in primary care. The teams have been working in primary care in Islington for over 5 years and have well established ways of working and relationships with primary care and the voluntary sector. The service aims to work collaboratively with primary care and other voluntary sector colleagues to help people with complex difficulties in an integrated and holistic way.

There is a significant emphasis in the team on offering consultation and advice to the system, which may for example involve liaising with GPs, offering joint appointments with GPs or others involved in the system and working with family members. The teams usually offer brief contact with people (between 1 and 4 sessions). The teams work closely as MDTs, with weekly clinical meetings where complex cases can be thought about and MDT formulations can be developed. There is also opportunity to work jointly with other members of the MDT in cases of particular complexity.

About us

Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust (C&I) provides high quality, safe and innovative mental health care to our patients in the community, in their homes or in hospital. We provide services for adults of working age, adults with learning difficulties, and older people in the London area. We currently deliver the majority of our care to residents in the London Boroughs of Camden and Islington. However, we also provide substance misuse services in Westminster, and a substance misuse and psychological therapies service to people living in Kingston. Our trust is also a member of University College London Partners (UCLP), one of the world's leading academic health science partnerships. In addition we have specialist programmes which provide help and treatment for: veterans living in London, young people caught in the cycle of gang culture, older people living with dementia and other age related mental health conditions. For more information, please access the following link: https://www.candi.nhs.uk/

Job description Job responsibilities

Provide a comprehensive psychology service as an integrated part of the Core Team Provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations, consultations and interventions Assist GPs with diagnosis, management plans, risk assessments, crisis plans and self-help plansfor service users with complex common mental health problems and stable severe mentalhealth presentations who are being managed exclusively in primary care Work with Core Team colleagues to develop a collaborative care model for service users withphysical and emotional difficulties, including those with Medically Unexplained Symptoms (MUS)and Long-Term Conditions (LTC) Provide advice and support to network teams on the management of service users who havebeen stepped down from secondary care / intensive community mental health services Support GPs and practice staff in their management and treatment of patientsthrough case discussions, joint consultations and bespoke training. Play a key role in implementing improved linkage between Core and Intensive Teams Work within the service to triage potential and new referrals sent to the team, providingconsultation, information and advice to service users and partners as well as allocation of newwork in the service to appropriate MDT colleagues. This includes signposting new referrals toand liaising as appropriate with other primary care services, IAPT, voluntary sector andsecondary mental health services. Maintain effective communication with GP, primary care staff, service users and their carers. Provide clinical input, where necessary, to multi-disciplinary case conferencing around complexpresentations being managed solely in primary care within the team and as part of the widerintegrated health and care networks. Engage with local service user participation models. Play an integral role in the performance of the team, the further development of the service,and the development of clinical pathways and priorities of the service line Work within the MDT promoting respect for all professional groups and focusing upon coherentand integrated teamwork. Provide reports and communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner concerning the assessment,formulation and treatment offered and undertaken with service users. Manage and supervise assistant psychologists, clinical associates, apprentices and other staffas appropriate. Other management/clinical supporting activity (to be negotiated as required by the Trust).

Person Specification Education/Qualifications Essential

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology or counselling psychology.
• Postgraduate doctoral level qualification in clinical or counselling psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society or the British Psychological Society Statement of Equivalence.
• Current registration with the Health Professions Council as a clinical or counselling psychologist

Experience Essential

• Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including community, primary care, outpatient and inpatient settings.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of clients groups, across the whole life course and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision

Desirable

• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
• Post registration experience of working in a Primary Care Setting

Skills Essential

• Skills in the use of a range of methods of psychological assessment (including psychometric tests) intervention and management for the full range of problems of severity and complexity presented in adult mental health, including challenging behaviours.
• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, with clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to offer a multi-theoretical formulation and to communicate this in a clear and concise manner.

Knowledge Essential

• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health

Abilities Essential

• Ability to form good working relationships with others in a multidisciplinary setting and experience of working jointly with other professional disciplines.
• Ability to work flexibly and creatively according to the needs of local primary care services

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

455-CANDI-397