Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist

Job overview

Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist

This represents a significant opportunity for a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist or Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to contribute their psychological expertise within the City and Hackney community mental health services. The psychological professions are integrated within various multidisciplinary teams in community mental health, designed to deliver a responsive, place-based service that addresses the needs of the local population.

Candidates must possess a foundational professional mental health qualification or its equivalent, have completed additional postgraduate training in CBT, and have attained accreditation with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP).

Main duties of the job

The role entails both direct and indirect responsibilities within the realm of mental health services. Direct engagement with service users encompasses the provision of specialized psychological assessments, formulation, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment, both in individual and group settings. This position requires working with service users experiencing a broad array of mental health challenges within secondary care mental health services, particularly those presenting with complex, chronic, and often comorbid conditions.

The primary focus of this role is to deliver evidence-based assessments and treatments in accordance with NICE guidelines and current scholarly literature, specifically addressing severe and recurrent depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and complex trauma, particularly in cases where prior interventions have proven ineffective.

A comprehensive understanding and significant applied experience in treating service users with PTSD through trauma-focused therapies are imperative.

Indirect responsibilities will include providing consultation, formulation, supervision, and training to multidisciplinary teams.

The individual appointed to this position will demonstrate a steadfast commitment to advancing the collective efforts of the broader psychotherapy and psychology service, striving to ensure the delivery of high-quality, equitable, culturally competent, and trauma-informed care.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The delivery of high quality, time limited, specialist Cognitive Behavioural treatment interventions for service users in both individual and group formats. Providing clinical co-working with other health professionals.

Proactively developing robust professional relationships with a range of professional groups within local statutory and non-statutory services.

Actively participating in the further development of the service, including but not exclusively, training, service user involvement, clinical governance, Quality Improvement.

The provision of generic mental health and specialist CBT assessments to identify all groups of adult mental disorders and suitability for psychotherapy as required. The provision of assessment that identifies if the service user would benefit from alternative mental health treatments (including medication and other psychological treatments), weighing up the relative advantages and advising the service user accordingly.

Where CBT is not an indicated treatment, liaising as appropriate with other professional groups to effectively communicate that assessment and facilitate transfer of care to an appropriate professional/team.

Conducting risk assessments, preparing risk management plans and initiating appropriate action where indicated.

Eliciting, recording, collating and communicating outcome data of their clinical activity and that of their supervisees to Modality, Clinical and Operational Leads.

Participating in CBT supervision with professional colleagues.

Providing CBT clinical supervision to trainees and honorary staff.

Promoting and contributing to the development and maintenance of a healthy therapeutic culture within the community mental health service(s) amongst colleagues and service users.

Engaging in CPD, including active engagement in and use of clinical supervision.

Providing consultation to and communicating as appropriate with external agencies (housing, police, local authority, employers etc) as required.

Developing and maintaining good professional relationships with mental health workers in primary, secondary care and multidisciplinary mental health teams.

Actively contributing to and supporting the integration of clinical governance in the service generally, leading on areas of work as directed.

Exercising personal responsibility for the systematic clinical governance of their professional practice and that of their supervisees, including regular attendance to and participation in line management supervision. Being aware of and complying with the policies, procedures and standards of service/Trust.

Fulfilling the professional code of conduct and ethical guidelines in their professional work of both their core professional and accrediting bodies (including BABCP). Any other duties necessary to the running of the service and falling within what might reasonably be considered the duties of a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist or Clinical/Counselling Psychologist.