Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or CBT Therapist

Job overview

We have an exciting opportunity for a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/CBT therapist to join the ARMS team and support a psychological driven service for people,age 16-35, identified as having an At Risk Mental State (ARMS), based in Hertfordshire. The service works alongside young people at risk of developing psychosis in a trauma informed and neuroaffirmative manner to create opportunities to develop preventative strategies and support through partnership with local mental health, social care, primary care and third sector agencies.  You will be part of a multi-disciplinary team aimed at offering predominantly, but not exclusively, NICE concordant psychosocial interventions with an evidence base of mental health prevention.

Main duties of the job

As a specialist mental health service, ARMS is based on NICE-recommended interventions which include comprehensive assessment and psychological interventions for psychosis or co-existing mental health problems (e.g. depression, anxiety, emerging personality disorder, substance misuse). The psychological therapists are an integral part of the ARMS multi-disciplinary team. Key responsibilities would include supporting the team in developing psychological formulation for treatment planning; assisting assessment using psychometric tools such as Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States (CAARMS); and delivering evidence-based CBT therapy.

We are looking for a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/CBT therapist who can work positively and proactively with the wider MDT.  Experience delivering NICE concordant CBT interventions is essential and an interest in completing CBT for Psychosis or other advanced training would be an advantage. The Trust actively supports CPD, and you will be encouraged to develop your skills and areas of interest where they meet service needs.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex 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 based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings
• To be responsible for implementing a range of NICE-based specialised psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups. These interventions can be 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 on the ARMS pathway 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 exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans
• To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan
• To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group
• To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management
• To work with carers in support of clients on the ARMS pathway
• To develop and maintain an outcome framework in order to monitor and report on clinical and other outcomes to relevant stakeholders