Band 7 or 8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or Psychotherapist - Southwark Rehabilitation Team

Team Psychologist/Psychotherapist for the Community Rehabilitation Teams in Southwark

This post can be offered at band 7 or 8a dependent on knowledge and experience in-line with the KSF guidelines and AfC banding gateways.

For a new and recently qualified psychological therapist, the post will be offered as a Band 7 preceptorship, meaning that the successful candidate will be supported to develop the competencies to move to a Band 8a role within the team.

The Rehab teams aim to provide a specialist and intensive in-reach service for people with a severe and enduring mental health problem that requires supported or residential accommodation. A range of psychological therapies are offered by the team psychologist and although NICE guidelines constitute the core offer (e.g., CBT for psychosis, Family Interventions for service users with a schizophrenia-spectrum diagnosis), flexibility, creativity and practice-based evidence is supported.

The post holder with receive regular supervision, peer support through embedded role in MDT, membership of and support from a small psychology team across the Assertive Outreach and Rehabilitation Teams (one lead clinical psychologist, one psychodynamic psychotherapist, trainee clinical psychologist/s and clinical placement student).

Main duties of the job

The main duties of the psychological therapist are the delivery of direct and indirect psychological interventions for service users. Interventions include individual, family and group work.

The team psychologist will also support psychologically and trauma-informed practice across the multidisciplinary teams and supported placements, for example through consultation, supervision, facilitating team formulation meetings and teaching. Joint working with other professional groups will be a regular occurrence and there will be opportunities to undertake extended assessments to inform team and wider system practice (e.g., cognitive assessments).

The post holder will have weekly supervision from a principal clinical psychologist. For candidates interested, they can be supported to work towards BABCP accreditation (e.g., through supervision from BABCP accredited supervisor). There will also be opportunity to joint work with psychodynamic psychotherapist based in the allied Assertive Outreach Team. Southwark has received funding for a project to address racial inequalities in access to psychological therapies for Black men with schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses. There will be the opportunity to link up with this anti-racist project and support available to develop trauma-informed care within the team (NB: the allied Assertive Outreach Team have fortnightly Power Threat Meaning Framework underpinned team formulation meetings, which will be a desired direction for the Rehab Teams).

About us

About South London and Maudsley:

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.

By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care.

Job description Job responsibilities

This role will be part of a team based within the Assertive Outreach and Rehabilitation Team (AORT) which is part of our borough Complex Care Pathway. The AORT is a multi-disciplinary team that has a commitment to deliver excellent and responsive assessment, treatment and rehabilitation for people whom experience mental illness and present a level of co-existing complex needs including substance misuse, significant risk, engagement and social exclusion and who at times may present with extremely challenging behaviours.

• To provide a highly specialist psychology service to service users and carers within the Southwark Assertive Outreach and Rehabilitation Team, including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate.
• To undertake service evaluation, audit and research.
• To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by the policies and procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.
• To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.

Person Specification Qualifications Essential

• (Psychologist) Doctoral level qualification in clinical or counselling psychology or equivalent and Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist (A) or o (Nurse Advanced) Professional knowledge acquired through degree supplemented by post graduate diploma specialist training, experience, short courses plus further specialist training to master's equivalent level (A) or o(Social Worker Specialist) Professional knowledge acquired through degree/diploma in social care, supplemented by further specialist knowledge, for example in needs of a specific client group, experience to Masters equivalent level (A) or o(Occupational Therapist Advanced) Professional knowledge acquired through degree supplemented by further training, short specialist courses, to master's equivalent level. (A)
• Registration by the relevant practitioner registering body, e.g. NMC, HCPC.

Experience Essential

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in psychosis
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in psychosis
• Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities

Knowledge Essential

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for psychosis and complex clinical presentations
• Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment for service users affected by psychosis and their families

Skills Essential

• To deliver psychological therapy across cultural and other differences
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information

abilities Essential

• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• Ability to provide assertive outreach to people who are harder to reach
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

334-SOU-5120773-FR