Clinical, Counselling or Psychological Therapist

Job overview

The pioneering and award-winning Family Safeguarding Service in Hertfordshire is we are seeking a part time (0.5) Band 8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/Psychological Therapist who is motivated to help change the lives of some of the most vulnerable families in Hertfordshire.

The post is based within the Family Safeguarding Service of Hertfordshire County Council but are employed by Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust and practice governance is provided from the NHS Trust. The posts are focused on the parents of the children and their families involved with the service and would best suit a practitioner with relevant experience of assessing and providing psychological interventions with adults with various mental health presentations.

Main duties of the job

A first in the UK, Hertfordshire’s ground-breaking family safeguarding model brings together all the professionals needed, under one roof, to provide intensive support to parents to address the substance misuse, mental health and domestic abuse that place children at risk of significant harm. An important focus of the project is to invest in training all team members to a high standard in motivational interviewing, to engage parents and children in conducting their own assessments of risk and change, to make group work and strengthening relationships work part of our everyday work. The model has been positively evaluated by the DFE and is currently being adopted by many other Local Authorities around the UK.

You will be managed by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and work alongside a team of psychologists, mental health practitioners, social workers and other professionals with parents and their children where there is high risk of severe parenting problems including maltreatment and neglect. The post includes providing specialist assessments and evidence-based interventions (individual and group interventions) with parents, children and their families and systems with emotional, behavioural and mental health difficulties, consultation to the multi-disciplinary safeguarding service, compiling psychological reports and contributing to the development and evaluation of this innovative service. You will join a dedicated and enthusiastic multi-disciplinary team committed to developing the highest standards of clinical assessment and treatment for the most vulnerable infants, children and parents. There will be ample opportunity to apply a wide range of core psychology skills.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post-holders will be based at Hertfordshire County Council offices in Apsley. A hybrid model of agile, virtual and face to face working is in practice. Assessments and Interventions can sometimes take place in service user’s homes and at different sites across Hertfordshire so a car driver with access to a car is essential (unless the candidate is unable due to a disability). There are professional links across Hertfordshire, with structures in place for supervision and governance. There are also strong links with the University of Hertfordshire Doctorate in Clinical Psychology Training Course with opportunities for contributing to teaching and taking trainee clinical psychologists on placement.

Hertfordshire County council’s Children’s Services has been rated as good (with parts of the service rated as outstanding) and HPFT was rated ‘outstanding’ in our most recent CQC inspection.