Bank, 8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist, Watford-SW1503&SW1504

Job overview

We are currently seeking an experienced Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or CBT Therapist, at Band 7/8a to work via a Bank Contract, for our Adult Community Services, based in Watford. You will be joining our Temporary Staffing Team within HPFT - Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.

The post holder will ensure the provision of a specialist psychology service to clients with severe and enduring mental health difficulties within the quadrant, and provide expertise, advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care to other members of the team. You will work closely with the local psychology team and the range of psychological therapy colleagues within the service setting and work effectively as a member of the multi-disciplinary team. You will be asked to provide supervision to band 7 Psychologists and trainee Psychologists.

HPFT provides services for service users with mental health, learning disability and children’s and adolescent mental health problems. Applicants should have some experience of working in a healthcare setting. HPFT has a range of healthcare settings across the County and therefore access to a car would be beneficial unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving

All applicants need to hold a valid Professional Registration and can evidence this.

Main duties of the job

• Undertake specialist psychological assessment and treatment of adults with complex mental health difficulties
• Undertake specialist autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment to investigate possible diagnoses; to undertake additional training for this if needed and work as part of the autism assessment group within the Trust
• Provide expertise in a specialist clinical or research area and to offer advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care to other members of the teams in relation to the area of expertise
• Work closely with the local psychologist teams, and the range of psychological therapy colleagues within the service setting
• Work effectively as a member of multi-disciplinary teams
• Work autonomously within professional practice guidelines and Trust policies and procedures
• Propose and implement policy and service development, undertake research, service evaluation and audit for own team/service and to contribute to the training of clinical/counselling psychologists and others
• Ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical and professional supervision and support of trainee psychologists, more junior psychologists and other staff within the services for which the post-holder has designated professional / supervisory responsibility

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the teams, 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 client’s care.
• Formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s complex mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
• Be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions including CBT for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
• 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.
• 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.

Please see JD attached for further information and responsibilities required

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.