Applied Psychologist or Highly Specialised Applied Psychologist

Job overview

This post offers an opportunity to work in a busy Pain Clinic within a friendly, enthusiastic and supportive team

Clinical time is equally split between group and individual work. There are also opportunities for individual and group work.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Main duties of the job

• Work autonomously within the pain clinic to deliver intensive 1:1 intervention.
• Assess highly complex pain patients for 1:1, deliver MDT group work
• Act as a highly specialist resource to the wider professional community.
• Support policy implementation and service development.
• Participate in audit and research.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical:

• Interpret and integrate complex data from a variety of sources including psychometric tests, direct and indirect observations, and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the their care.
• Formulate a care pathway for either group or individual work, as appropriate.
• Assessment for group work includes careful consideration of group dynamics and individual motivational factors (including stages of change).
• Utilise Motivational Interviewing skills during assessment and intervention.
• Work as part of an inter-disciplinary team in the development, delivery and evaluation of generic and specialised PMPs.
• Provide expert advice, support and guidance to a newly developed self-help group facilitated by graduates of the group programmes.
• Provide evidence-based short-term intervention for clients experiencing psychological barriers to effective management of their chronic pain condition.
• Following a comprehensive and rigorous psychological assessment, provide feedback to an interdisciplinary team to inform upon the appropriateness of invasive procedures such as implantation of spinal cord stimulators.
• Act at all times in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society.

Dissemination of Information

• Maintain a high standard of clinical record keeping, including electronic data entry and report writing.
• Provide expert knowledge on the psychological management of chronic pain within the team, and to other professionals involved in the clients care pathway such as GPs and community mental health teams.
• Ensure adequate provision of advice, consultation and dissemination of psychological knowledge, research and theory through seminars and training events.
• Provide specialist clinical placements for clinical psychology trainees, undergraduate psychology students, and medical students.
• Act as an expert resource in providing specialist advice, consultation, training and clinical supervision to all team members. Ensuring that the provision of psychologically based interventions aim to improve client function.
• Contribute to local and regional CPD events by presenting on topics of interest to the wider clinical health psychology community. For further details please see the attached JD & PS