Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist

Job overview

Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist or Clinical / Counselling Psychologist

.This is an exciting opportunity for a Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist or Clinical / Counselling Psychologist to provide psychological expertise within City and Hackney community mental health services. The psychological professions are embedded within various community mental health multidisciplinary teams, which are intended to offer a place-based service responsive to local population needs.

Main duties of the job

The role involves both direct and indirect working. The direct work with service users involves the provision of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and CBT treatment (in groups and individually). This post involves working with service users with a wide range of mental health difficulties within secondary care mental health services for people presenting with complex, chronic and often comorbid difficulties.

The role primarily involves offering evidence based assessment and treatment as recommended by NICE guidelines and current literature for severe and recurrent depression and anxiety disorders; PTSD and complex trauma, often where previous treatment has not been successful. Knowledge and considerable applied experience of treating service users with PTSD using trauma-focused treatments are essential.

Indirect work will include consultation, formulation, supervision and training with the multidisciplinary teams, and also with other services involved in the service user’s care as envisaged by the neighbourhood model.

The post holder will be committed to supporting the work of the wider psychotherapy and psychology service in seeking to provide a high quality, equitable, culturally competent and trauma-informed service.

The successful candidates will have a core professional mental health qualification or equivalent; have additional post-graduate training in CBT, and also have gained accreditation with the BABCP.

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.