Highly Specialist CYP Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Job overview

The Children and Young People’s Service at the Havens (CYP Havens) represents an exciting expansion of service provision, aimed at providing an enhanced service for children and adolescents presenting acutely after child sexual abuse or assault, and ensuring equity of provision with adult services.  The Children and Young People’s Therapy Service at the Havens (CYP Therapy Service) provides children and adolescents, and their families, presenting with psychological difficulties post sexual abuse with specialist psychological assessment and brief to medium term intervention (individual and group programmes). Additionally the service provides forensic interviewing of children and young people, alongside being active in audit, research and training.  We are looking for an enthusiastic and committed Clinical Psychologist with experience of working with children and young people. The post holder must have experience of working with trauma and experience in providing psychological assessment and intervention to children and young people in one to one therapy as well as groups and workshops. Experience of assessing and managing risk in the context of mental health and safeguarding is vital as well as experience of providing short to medium-term therapy.

Main duties of the job

You will be working closely with the Havens therapies service and CYP Havens, and you will provide supervision to more junior psychologists. You will contribute to the development of the Havens Service, in particular the Forensic Interview Psychology project and participate in audit, research and training in addition to carrying out liaison work with local agencies. Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to work as part of a team are therefore essential. A willingness to rise to the challenges presented by this area of work and a commitment to providing an excellent service to survivors of sexual assault are also necessary. You are expected to have doctoral level training in clinical psychology and must be HCPC registered. Experience of working with clients who have experienced sexual violence and trauma are essential.  There maybe a requirement for some evening work (up until 20h00) and occasional Saturdays. The Havens is a pan-London service, therefore travel between sites will be expected, when not working from home.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To contribute to the systematic provision of a highly specialist psychology service to children, young people and their families attending the Havens.
• To support intake and referral meetings and safeguarding meetings.
• To provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients in the CYP Psychology Service including:

• Specialist assessment and clinical formulation of children and adolescents who have experienced sexual assault, rape or who have been sexually exploited.
• To include psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured / semi-structured and unstructured observations and interviews with the client, family members and others involved in their care.
• Specialist evidence-based brief interventions for children and adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse / exploitation, monitoring outcomes and modifying / adapting intervention as required and drawing on a range of theoretical options, and supporting their transition to local services after 6-20 sessions, as required.
• Undertake liaison psychology with The Havens and borough services, including: advocates; local borough CAMHS teams; local charity and third sector services; local early support services; and local IAPTS and school counsellors.

• To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
• To provide both general and specialist advice on psychological aspects of risk identification and management to the clinical team.
• To formulate plans for psychological treatment and/or management, drawing upon an appropriate conceptual framework and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy and including CBT models of PTSD and complex trauma.  Adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
• To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients from the Havens Psychology Service, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and interventions, communicating with the referral agent and others involved with the patient’s care including the MPS and CPS on a regular basis.
• To complete training in delivering highly specialist psychology led forensic interviews with children and young people reporting sexual abuse or exploitation, if this has not already been completed.
• To  operationally lead on  the service development, coordination and delivery of a highly specialist psychology led forensic interview service, in collaboration with the Metropolitan police, for children and young people reporting sexual assault, abuse or exploitation.
• To undertake visually recorded forensic interviews (VRI) in collaboration with the Metropolitan police, following receipt of specialist training by the Metropolitan Police.
• To develop, co-ordinate and ensure an effective care pathway between CYP Therapies Service and London Sector CSA hubs / Child House(s), to promote coordinated, safe and effective client care and client choice.
• To communicate skilfully, complex and sensitive information with clients, parents, carers, and colleagues taking account of sensory, developmental and cultural barriers to communication.
• To prepare written reports, including court reports as a professional witness .
• When necessary, provide crisis intervention for those suffering severe emotional and psychological reactions to sexual assault and those who are expressing suicidal thoughts or harm related to others or themselves.
• To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients and to monitor and evaluate progress.
• To provide an environment that is non-judgemental, sensitive and confidential and to ensure the integrity of the psychologist/patient relationship by being a member of a professional organisation e.g. HCPC abiding by their Code of Ethics.
• To attend regular clinical supervision.