Clinical or Counselling Psychologist Band 7

Job overview

We at HPFT have a long history of delivering outstanding care, and are taking our Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Service to the next level. Through an extensive expansion of our psychology provision, we are in a period of skill development with the wider workforce and embedding trauma informed approaches. This is an exciting time of change.

We are looking for a caring and committed HCPC registered Clinical or Counselling Psychologist who enjoys working flexibly and in collaboration as part of an MDT, supporting psychological ways of thinking. Experience of working within acute or crisis settings or specialist services engaging people with who have attracted psychosis or personality disorder diagnoses would be beneficial, but not essential. Willingness to work in community settings is essential.

If you have the relevant skills, are energetic, imaginative and, above all, care passionately about working with people and their families towards recovery, then we want to hear from you!

The role is based in the South-East CRHTT in Ware, where psychology is highly valued and sought after.  You will be part of a vibrant, passionate, and supportive psychology crisis service that consists of APs, Therapists, Psychologists and a Lead Psychologist.  The broad spread of roles gives real opportunity for progression within the service.

We don’t want you to miss out: if we have a high level of interest in this role, the vacancy may close prior to the advertised closing date - Apply now!

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will:

• Provide a specialist psychology service to service users who are currently in a mental health crisis and are being supported by the South-East Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Team.
• Provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and interventions, in both individual and group formats.
• Provide clinical supervision to the Assistant Psychologist embedded within the team along with advice and consultation to colleagues, and to other non-professional carers, on psychological aspects of assessment, formulation, care and treatment.
• Provide compassionate care that is based on empathy, kindness, respect and dignity, and underpinned by principles of recovery and knowledge of trauma informed ways of working.
• Support the development and roll out of Trauma Informed Approaches across HPFT crisis services as we change the question people ask from "What is wrong with you?" to "What has happened to you?"

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To work with service users who are in a mental health crisis; to seek to understand and resolve the crisis through psychological means; to support the discharge of those service users back to mainstream services as quickly and safely as possible.

To provide specialist psychological assessments of service users referred to Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Services based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological 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.

To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems, and employing methods of proven efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

To be responsible for implementing a range of evidence-based psychological interventions 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.

To 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.

To provide specialist psychological supervision, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to client’s formulations, diagnoses and treatment plans.

To ensure that all members of the treating team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of clients of the service, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory with a focus on Trauma Informed Approaches.

For a comprehensive list of responsibilities and duties, please kindly refer to the Job Description and Person Specification by downloading the JD and PS attachment in the advert.

If you are an internal applicant there is the option for secondment, all applicants must have the endorsement/support of their line manager prior to application.