Consultant Psychotherapist or Consultant Practitioner Psychologist

Job overview

We are looking to recruit a highly skilled and motivated Consultant Psychologist/Psychotherapist to join the Ladywell Unit team at the University Hospital Lewisham, working across the adult inpatient services. There are two male and two female acute inpatient wards based at Ladywell as well as a male Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit and the post-holder will work across all these services and particularly support an additional new ward in the unit. Clients present with complex and enduring serious mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, other psychotic problems and personality disorder. In addition, clients present with emotionally difficult situations (e.g. abuse, trauma, threats to others, self-harm, suicide attempts).

Main duties of the job

You will provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients admitted to the inpatient wards and PICU. An essential part of your role will be to support ward staff and advise teams as to how to provide specialist psychological care and assist in the development of robust behavioural and risk management plans. As a Lead Consultant you will act as a Team Leader and will supervise Junior Psychological Therapists including trainees, Assistants and Clinical Associate Psychologists. You will have experience of both individual and group work and be able to provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions for patients, carers and families. You will be expected to develop and carry out Quality Improvement projects, research and audits as required and lead service development within the acute and crisis pathway. This is a varied role with excellent opportunities to develop desirable and transferable skills working with adults experiencing an acute phase of their mental illness. You will receive regular clinical supervision and be supported by the broader inpatient team.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To develop strategy for and lead, manage and plan the delivery of a highly specialist psychological therapy service to the inpatient acute wards and PICU at University Hospital Lewisham including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes; and personally provide expert clinical input.
• To be responsible to the Professional Head of Psychology and Psychotherapy for the monitoring and implementation of professional standards in the practice of psychological therapy and for the systematic and effective provision of professional supervision.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To ensure the conduct of research, service evaluation and audits relevant to the service and the research agenda
• To be develop standards for and take a lead in ensuring the good clinical governance, quality and appropriateness of the work of psychological practitioners in the service.
• To work as an autonomous professional within registration body guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by principles and policies or procedures, and interpret these and be responsible for their implementation within the service areas of responsibility.
• To take a lead on staff support within their area, working closely with Corporate Psychology and Psychotherapy to support colleagues and ensure all staff in SLaM have access to evidence-based support. To participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.