Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist OR Counselling Psychologist

Job overview

We are looking for an innovative, motivated and enthusiastic Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to work with us in the Brent Integrated Psychology and Psychotherapy Service (BIPPS).

Although this post is advertised as an Band 8A position we will consider offering a preceptorship to qualified Band 7 psychologists with an interest in OCD and/or Hoarding.

The post-holder will work within the Complex Mental Health (CMH) psychological therapy pathway within BIPPS - who support people aged 18+ who are struggling with chronic mood and anxiety disorders, and complex trauma. The role will primarily involve the development of our provision of psychological therapy to service users experiencing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Hoarding.

This is an exciting time to join our growing service and contribute to service development and the delivery of psychological services to improve short- and long-term outcomes for service users

The post-holder will be expected to provide specialist psychological assessment and effective NICE-recommended interventions (including formulation and care planning) and advice, consultation and training on aspects of psychological care to colleagues from other disciplines as well as advice, family interventions and consultation to non-professional carers. This is a developing area of service provision and the post holder will have an opportunity to be involved in shaping and developing the service.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will be expected to take on a range of direct and indirect clinical responsibilities to support the overall psychological well-being of the population we serve.

This will involve offering evidence-based psychological assessments, development of related clinical formulations and interventions , as well as supervising the psychologically-informed interventions offered as part of the secondary care stepped-care model and the work of assistant psychologists and trainee clinical/counselling psychologists.

The post holder will be expected work along side the pathway lead in the development of the OCD and Hoarding offer within the CMH pathway. Psychological therapy will be offered in either the clients home or at the team base as required. Clients experiencing severely debilitating symptoms will be offered psychological assessment and treatment in their homes.

Specialised training and supervision will be provided to support this work. Ongoing opportunities for the post-holder to develop their leadership and managerial competencies by leading on various Quality Improvement and service development projects is a fundamental part of this role,

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• All psychological therapists within our service are expected to provide specialist psychological assessments of patients referred to the psychological therapies service 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 patient’s care. This will include assessing and diagnosing complex mental health problems (including personality disorder), determining suitability for treatment and conducting a thorough risk assessment. To write up the assessment in a timely manner and to communicate a clear treatment and crisis plan to the patient, referrer and the GP.
• To formulate and implement treatment plans primarily for OCD and hoarding, based on the evidence-based interventions (e.g. CBT, CFT, EMDR). To formulate management of the patient’s mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems, and providing evidence based interventions across the full range of settings, which may include the clients home.
• To evaluate and make decisions on therapeutic interventions considering the complexity of patients and the team’s view and ensuring the safety of the therapeutic environment at all times.
• To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions (both individual and group) for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams 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 considering 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 patients whose problems are managed by psychologically-based standard care plans.
• To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to patient’s 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 patient group.
• To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual patients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
• To liaise with the relevant community teams to ensure that clients receive regular multi-disciplinary review as needed.
• To work with patients in a sensitive and transparent way during times of crisis or concern.
• To provide and maintain clear, safe and consistent boundaries with patients.
• To be able to manage stress and anxiety as the clinical work will be complex and demanding.

Teaching, training, and supervision:

• To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
• To continue to gain additional specialist experience and skills relevant to the post and service and the amount and nature of such experience to be agreed with the head of specialty.
• To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staff’s psychological work, as appropriate.
• To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant/graduate psychologists/psychological therapists and, as appropriate, to contribute to the supervision of individual cases for trainee clinical/counselling psychologists.
• To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of psychological therapies.
• To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the patient group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

Management, recruitment, policy and service development:

• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
• To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
• To manage the workloads of assistant and graduate psychological therapists, and trainees, within the framework of the team/service’s policies and procedures.
• To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of assistant/graduate psychological therapists.
• As negotiated and within time constraints, the post-holder will be expected to attend relevant clinical meetings.
• The post-holder will be required to attend the regular professional meetings as agreed with the service managers.

Research and service evaluation:

• To use theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with team members.
• To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.
• To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.
• To familiarise themselves with, and to comply with, the Trust’s requirements on research governance.

IT responsibilities (other than those used for research):

• To ensure that all clinical activity is entered into the Trust’s electronic patient information system.
• To participate, as appropriate, in the setting-up and/or organising of computer systems relevant to the running of the service.
• To engage in relevant computer and IT training as required.
• To be responsible for ensuring that those psychologists they are responsible for/supervise engage in relevant computer and IT training as required and will input and maintain appropriate computer and manual clinical records and statistical data.

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.