Trainee DBT Therapist Lambeth SCPT

Job overview

South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, with NHS England, are  offering opportunities for a candidate wishing to train in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for people presenting to secondary care inpatient and community mental health services with complex affective and interpersonal difficulties. Posts offer two years of DBT training with an NHSE funded provider. After two years' training, provided the candidate successfully passes the course and then gains accreditation as a DBT therapist with the relevant accrediting authority, they will progress into a qualified Band 7 psychological therapist post.

Candidates should have relevant core professional training and registration e.g. Practitioner Psychologist, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, Psychotherapist or Mental Health Nurse. The post falls under the NHS-E two year rule: successful candidates will be ineligible for NHS-E funding for other listed trainings for this period.

Main duties of the job

A 2-year fixed term appointment leading to a permanent psychological therapist post if the postgraduate diploma programme is completed successfully and full accreditation awarded. The post-holder will work within the service providing formal psychological interventions whilst undertaking a programme of training .  This intensive training post will equip the post–holder to provide a DBT service to clients with the range of complex problems for which the interventions have been demonstrated to be clinically effective.

The post-holder must have experience of working with service users experiencing mental health problems and the skills and abilities needed to form effective and safe therapeutic relationships. They should have excellent written and verbal communication skills. The post-holder will work with people of different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equal opportunities and the organisation's anti-racist commitment. The post-holder must be able to attend 70-80 days training over a 2-year course. This will include a day per week and 5-day intensive teaching blocks. They must be able to complete all the academic components of the course and have the ability to integrate training into practice under supervision.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Accept referrals via agreed protocols within the service.
• Assess clients for suitability for DBT. Where the problems appear to be too complex or severe to be appropriate for a trainee, therapist to refer to manager/supervisor for advice on how to manage the case.
• Make decisions on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the service’s referral protocols, and refer unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent as necessary.
• Formulate, implement and evaluate therapy programmes for clients, in inpatient and community settings, including care teams as needed.
• Educate and involve family members and others in treatment as necessary, conveying DBT formulations with sensitivity in easily understood language.
• Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinical sessions carried out per week in order to minimise waiting times and ensure treatment delivery remains accessible and convenient.
• Attend multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or clients in treatment, where appropriate.
• Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.
• Keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.
• Work closely with other members of the team ensuring appropriate step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach and service flow.
• Assess and integrate issues surrounding wider care, such as discharge, accommodation, work and employment into the overall therapy process.
• Attend and fulfil all the requirements of the training element of the post.
• Apply learning form the training programme in practice.
• Receive supervision from educational providers in relation to course work to meet the required standards.
• Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating, professional and accrediting bodies (e.g. BPS, UKCP, BABCP), and keep up to date on new recommendations/guidelines set by the department of health (e.g. NHS plan, National Service Framework, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).
• Ensure that client confidentiality is protected at all times.
• Be aware of and keep up to date with advances in relevant spheres (DBT, presenting conditions).
• Ensure clear professional objectives are identified, discussed and reviewed with senior therapists on a regular basis as part of continuing professional development.
• Attend clinical/managerial supervision on a regular basis as agreed with manager.
• Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives.
• Keep up to date all records in relation to C.P.D. and ensure personal development plan maintains up to date specialist knowledge of latest theoretical and service delivery models/developments.
• Attend relevant conferences / workshops in line with identified professional objectives.
• Contribute to the development of best practice within the service.
• To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and procedures in relation to Mental Health and Primary Care Services.
• All employees have a duty and responsibility for their own health and safety and the health of safety of colleagues, patients and the general public.
• All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed for both patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the Data Protection Act (2018) and Security and Confidentiality Policies.
• It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for personal gain, to seek advantage of further private business or other interests in the course of their official duties.

For more detail please see the full attached Job Description & Person Specification.