Clinical Psychologist - Hyperacute Neurorehabilitation Team

Job overview

This is a rare and exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic clinical psychologist/neuropsychologist to join our HyperAcute Rehabilitation in reach team at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.

You will need to be a forward thinking, motivated and experienced clinical psychologist with proven leadership and clinical skills to participate in our proof-of-concept HyperAcute Rehabilitation Service based at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

This is a new pilot project so the post holder will be participating and supporting the setting up and developing a 12-month proof of concept specialist hyperacute rehabilitation service within a small team comprising a consultant, AHPs, and Rehabilitation assistants.

This is a new 1 day per week post initially planned as a 12 month fixed term contract.

There is an opportunity to take on this role as a band 7 Preceptorship.

Main duties of the job

As an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team, the clinical psychologist will be responsible for the provision of highly specialist assessments, evidence-based psychological interventions and consultancy services for individuals who have complex rehabilitation needs. As this is a needs based service, it includes a wide range of conditions, but will include those with brain injury and other neurological conditions.

The post holder will provide teaching and training alongside research and evaluation relevant to hyperacute rehabilitation.

As part of a small multidisciplinary team, the post holder will work closely with other health professionals (e.g. rehabilitation consultants, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists) and will, at times, represent the team within the wider organization.

The post holder will be a valued member of the Psychological Medicine Service which encompasses Clinical Health Psychology, Children’s Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To undertake highly specialist psychological assessment and communicate a clinical opinion in order to inform and/or develop a case formulation to guide psychological intervention/consultation. Assessment will be based on analysis interpretation and integration of highly complex information from a variety of sources including clinical interview, direct observation, questionnaire measures, neuropsychological tests, literature review and psychometric assessment- incorporating medical investigations if relevant. To give an opinion based on this in cases where professional opinion may differ, and in which a judgment must be made about the significance of data where data may be unreliable/missing.
• As an integral part of a psychological assessment, to simultaneously exercise well-developed manual skills (i.e. accurate manipulation of a wide range of test materials, including physical materials), with which accuracy is important and it is often necessary to take account of interfering factors (such as patient distractibility, or level of comprehension).
• To develop specialised plans for formal psychological intervention and/or management of the patient’s psychological difficulties, based on the individual assessment and formulation, and making use of an informed judgment of evidence of treatment efficacy and psychological principles.
• To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions, within and across teams, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining several provisional hypotheses.
• To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family, carers or group.
• To support the work of the multidisciplinary team, providing training, supervision and consultancy as appropriate.
• To communicate effectively, empathically and clearly with patients and family members regarding psychological or medical matters which will regularly be highly complicated (such as explanation of multi-faceted clinical formulations including psychological principles, medical factors, personal and family psychological factors, and the implications of these), highly emotionally charged (such as eliciting/discussing experiences of trauma or childhood abuse), and which may require managing difficulties in understanding (such as cognitive difficulties), or overcoming communication challenges with patients who are experiencing high levels of anxiety, depression or symptoms in keeping with enduring mental health difficulties.
• To communicate effectively and clearly with clinical colleagues regarding psychological assessments and interventions by organizing and sharing the highly complex information involved in a relevant and usable form in formal written and spoken reports, as well as in day-to day liaison and consultation.
• In carrying out the duties of the post, to exercise very high levels of mental concentration for prolonged periods (for example in consecutive psychotherapy sessions), regularly requiring sustained emotional concentration (for example in communicating highly distressing news or eliciting/discussing experiences of trauma or childhood abuse), while sitting in a constrained position for extended periods.
• In carrying out the duties of the post, to cope with and manage behaviours that challenge, including verbal abuse and risk of physical aggression (for example from people experiencing high levels of distress, brain injury or enduring mental health difficulties).
• To exercise standard keyboard skills and use a computer as necessary for clinical work, including literature searches, word processing, developing and maintaining training packs, information leaflets, inputting data, report writing, maintaining electronic patient records and other tasks as necessary for the efficient running of the service.
• To record activity and outcome data as required by Psychological Medicine Senior Management Team

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.