Senior Psychological Practitioner (S3 lead)

Job overview

Lewisham NHS Talking Therapies are recruiting a senior CBT therapist to lead and develop our Step 3 team and service.

The primary purpose of this role is to contribute to the continued development and provision of a very high quality therapy service to meet the needs of people with common mental health problems in Lewisham. The Step 3 Clinical Lead will be an experienced psychological therapist with extensive experience working within a NHS Talking Therapies service (formerly knows as IAPT), and will be part of the management team and work closely with the service lead , playing a key role in supporting, inspiring and guiding the clinical work of their team, with a focus on continuing service improvement

Main duties of the job

• To manage their service department, ensuring its efficient day-to-day running, anticipating and planning for future demands, and monitoring and managing its effective performance
• Develop the strategy to enable the Step 3 team to meet the nationally set targets around reliable recovery and reliable improvement
• Plan and manage treatment capacity to ensure that the nationally set targets around completed treatments and waiting times are met
• To line manage the Step 3 team, supporting their well-being and development and managing their performance
• Lead on recruitment for qualified and trainee HIs
• Lead with the help of the 8a Step 3 Team Leads the monthly step 3 meetings and HI supervisors meetings
• To work collaboratively with the service lead to plan the future development of the service, and to lead specific service developments and new initiatives
• To work with service users, referrers and other providers to improve existing services to clients and to develop new care pathways and services
• To support the service lead in maintaining a strong, committed and motivated team
• To work autonomously as a Senior Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapist within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service's policies and procedures.
• To provide high quality specialist CBT supervision

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

• Planning, managing and evaluating the delivery of services within Lewisham Talking Therapies
• Assessing the service need for a service area, and current and future capacity requirements
• Planning and managing the recruitment process to meet this need
• Monitoring and evaluating service activity and outcomes
• Ensuring the effective use of resources through the design and refinement of efficient systems and processes of service delivery and the ongoing adoption of new ways of delivering care
• Designing and implementing new care pathways in collaboration with referrers and other services
• Developing and updating policies and procedures for the delivery of high quality clinical services
• Commissioning and monitoring external provision of services as agreed
• TEAM MANAGEMENT
• To agree job plans, performance targets and development goals with your team through the appraisal process, and monitor and support staff in their achievement
• To foster a supportive and performance focussed team ethos through your interaction and communication with the team, your own behaviour, team meetings and supervision
• To take responsibility for the wellbeing of your team, setting up formal and informal systems to identify issues and addressing them
• To induct new team members, agreeing job plans, and ensuring that they are trained and supported to do their jobs, and meeting them regularly to support their development and performance
• To ensure a programme of clinical training and development is in place for your team and regularly reviewed and refreshed
• Ensure good two-way communication between your staff and the service management
• To lead team meetings
• SERVICE LEADERSHIP
• To share responsibility for the direction and development of the service, taking an active role in the monthly service management meeting, leading team and whole team meetings
• To provide regular reports on the activity and performance of your service area, and any issues that need attention
• To identify aspects of the service which could be improved and initiate and implement service development projects.
• To be proactive in challenging discrimination and to support the development of culturally competent services.
• To keep abreast of local and national developments in mental health services and to lead proactive responses in LTT
• To take the lead in agreed areas of development and service delivery
• To lead in the recruitment process of CBT therapists, PWPs, administration staff, assistant psychologists and trainees
• To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and developing services.
• To listen and respond to, and appropriately manage patient complaints
• To participate in clinical governance initiatives as agreed by the directorate clinical governance committee.
• Contribute to the development of a culture within the team that values the use of outcome measures and service user involvement as ways of improving clinical practice
• CLINICAL
• To provide expertise in a highly specialist clinical area which will contribute to the treatment of clients presenting with anxiety disorders or depression within an IAPT framework.
• To deliver NICE recommended, formulation driven psychological interventions for depression and anxiety disorders, adapting interventions for the specific needs and clinical setting. Assess and integrate issues surrounding social support, voluntary work and employment into therapy.
• To provide highly specialist assessment and clinical formulation to clients with complex mental health needs, including personality disorders, addiction and trauma.
• To provide psychological reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers and, where appropriate, service users.
• To select and deliver highly specialist evidence based psychological treatments, monitoring outcomes and modifying and adapting interventions, drawing on a range of theoretical models.
• To collect and enter clinical outcome data on a sessional basis; select and interpret outcome measures to inform treatment planning
• To work as an autonomous professional within BPS/BABCP/HCPC guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions.
• To travel to community settings as appropriate and across the Trust when required.
• To contribute to the effective working of the team and to a psychologically informed framework for the service area, taking on specific roles or duties as agreed.
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively highly complex and sensitive information with clients, carers, colleagues and other professionals taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication.
• To keep clear, accurate and up to date records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.
• To confidently assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans
• To confidently advise other members of the service on specialist psychological care of clients.
• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations such as distressed clients or abusive behaviour and to support others involved in such situations.
• To provide information and signposting for patients who do not meet the service’s eligibility criteria.
• To refer people with more severe common mental health problems to the secondary care psychological therapies service
• Work closely with other members of the TT team to ensure that patients referred on to the TT service have a clear referral pathway.
• Maintain a clinical caseload in line with activity targets agreed with line manager.

5) TEACHING, TRAINING AND SUPERVISION:

• To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist/psychotherpist according to BABCP/BPS/HCPC and Trust guidelines.
• To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within Lambeth IAPT by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychology, CBT, IAPT and by implementing knowledge gained in practice.
• To provide professional managerial, and clinical supervision to HI CBT therapists, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, trainees, assistant psychologist and other junior staff members for all aspects of their work. This must include live supervision of therapist’s work.
• To deliver and promote outcome-focussed supervision, directly to supervised staff, and through participation in the LI and HI supervisors groups
• To provide service level risk management, taking part in the on-call risk rota, and developing and recording risk management plans
• To provide specialist training to other professions as appropriate.
• To plan and undertake teaching and training of pre and post- qualification psychologists and specialised training to other professions as appropriate.
• To provide supervision for the psychological work of other multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.

6) RESEARCH and SERVICE DEVELOPMENT:

• Assist in the development and maintenance of a strong research culture that values the use of outcome measures as a way of improving clinical practice.
• Encourage the critical evaluation of practice, and undertake research
• Use theory and literature to support evidence-based practice in clinical work, supervision, teaching and consultations
• Communicate and disseminate research and service evaluation information so that clinical practice is appropriately informed
• To contribute to the development of services through initiating, undertaking and supervising service evaluation and audit.
• To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

7) PROFESSIONAL:

• Work as an autonomous professional and maintain standards of practice adhering to HPC or BABCP guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions.
• To ensure Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS/BABCP/UKCP and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements.
• Be aware of advances in CBT, other psychological therapies and the IAPT programme.
• Work in accordance with the principles of CBT and within the parameters of good practice, in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Clinical Governance Framework.

8) GENERAL:

• To participate in business and professional meetings within the IAPT service and Lewisham Directorate.
• To lead investigations into Serious Untoward Events in other SLAM services as required
• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations (such as challenging behaviour or abuse etc) and to support others involved in such situations.
• To travel to the GP practices, service meetings and other meetings as appropriate.
• To regularly work one evening and do Saturday work (on occasion) as required

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.