Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Requirements the employer expects applicants to meet.

• Experience

  Experience of working with clients with Borderline/Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD/EUPD) and complex trauma

• Experience

  Experience of working in a service for people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties.

• Experience

  Experience of providing consultation to other staff

• Experience

  Evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) and willingness to participate actively in CPD in line with BPS, SfDBT or their professional body’s guidelines

• Qualifications

  Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, or post graduate training in another core mental health profession (social work, nursing, occupational therapy) and accredited with SfDBT.

• Knowledge /Skills

  Highly developed specialist knowledge, both theoretical and practical, of psychology applied to clinical practice, particularly in respect of adults with severe and enduring mental health needs (including complex emotional needs and trauma history)

• Knowledge /Skills

  Specialist knowledge relevant to working with clients with Borderline / Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder, including theoretical of DBT

• Knowledge /Skills

  Knowledge of the professional code of conduct of the BPS or their professional bodies.

• Knowledge /Skills

  Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for work in relevant setting

• Knowledge /Skills

  Able to provide and receive highly complex, highly sensitive or highly contentious information, where there are significant barriers to acceptance which need to be overcome using the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills such as would be required when communicating in a hostile, antagonistic or highly emotive atmosphere

• Knowledge /Skills

  Consultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other relevant professional groups

• Knowledge /Skills

  Able to make judgements involving complex facts or situations, which require the evaluation of a range of options (e.g. the assessment of specialist clinical conditions and the determination of treatment options)

• Knowledge /Skills

  Able to provide services in an environment with service users who may be challenging and where the awareness of risk must always be maintained

• Knowledge /Skills

  Able to plan, prioritise and organise own service user caseload, treatment programmes (individual or group) involving other staff, and other aspects of the work such as research activity.

• Knowledge /Skills

  Skills in administering psychological tests and standardised assessments.

• Other Requirements

  Able to sit for extended periods of time while demonstrating active listening skills.

• Other Requirements

  Ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour including verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.

• Other Requirements

  Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations including working with people affected by trauma, with people who engage in self-harming or aggressive behaviour.

• Other Requirements

  Ability to work independently and under pressure. Adaptable and able to work flexibly to respond to the service needs/priorities.