Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

There is a fantastic opportunity to work with older adult clients and help improve their psychological wellbeing and developing a broad range of clinical skills.

We are looking to recruit an enthusiastic and motivated Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join our Stepped Care Therapy Team within Older Peoples' Mental Health Secondary Care Services in Huntingdon.

The friendly team comprises of Clinical/Counselling Psychologists, CBT Therapist, Occupational Therapists/ Occupational Therapy Assistant. We regularly host placements for Trainee Clinical Psychologists predominantly from the University of East Anglia. We are a proactive team with a strong plan for the further development of the provision of psychology.

The Team links in with the integrated physical and mental health Neighbourhood Teams, the Memory Assessment Service, and Social Care Team. The breadth of work is ideal for a newly qualified or experienced Clinical or Counselling Psychologist.

Relocation packages are available subject to eligibility.

Main duties of the job

The candidate's role would include the provision of assessment, formulation and evidence-based intervention including, where appropriate, specialist neuropsychological assessment. There is an expectation that the post holder would provide supervision and consultation input for non-psychology colleagues. The role would involve multidisciplinary working with both mental and physical health staff.

There will also be opportunities to be involved in wider directorate endeavours. We also have a great CPD programme within the service, both amongst the SCT and wider mental health service. We also have been able to support members of the wider psychological service to engage in additional training, including CBT for personality disorder and psychosis, EMDR, and DBT skills. There is active interest in developing neuropsychological components of the service to support memory assessment.

If you are looking for a new challenge, enjoy variety in your work and wish to be part of a team striving to make a difference for our community by supporting older people with functional and organic mental health needs then we want to hear from you.

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) provides integrated community and mental health, learning disability and social care services of the highest standard due to our continued commitment to quality and service improvement. We aim to support people of all ages to achieve the very best they can for their health and well-being.

About us

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health & social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health & wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting & empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services not only via inpatient and primary care setting but also with the community. These services include Children, Adult & Older Peoples mental & physical health, Forensic & Specialist mental health, Learning Disabilities, Primary Care & Liaison psychiatry, Substance misuse, Social care, Research & Development.

To achieve our goal, we look to recruit high calibre candidates that share our vision & values. As an equal opportunities employer, we encourage applications from all sectors of the community, particularly from under-represented groups including disabled people & members of our ethnic minorities & LGBTQ+ communities.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities

• To provide evidence based psychological assessments (including neuropsychological assessments), formulations and interventions to clients of the Stepped Care Therapy Service and Neighbourhood Teams providing specialist psychological assessment and therapy at the same time as offering advice and consultation on clients psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues and to other, non-professional carers, working under supervision within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the teams policies and procedures.
• To supervise and support the psychological assessment and therapy provided by other practitioners and other clinical members of teams who provide psychologically based care and treatment (including Trainee Clinical Psychologists).
• To ensure accurate record keeping for the referral process and interventions for all practitioners under the post holders supervision using the agreed information systems.
• To work with the other senior clinicians to provide relevant information and data to the team and service managers and professional leads as required.
• To work within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service.
• To work with senior colleagues within the service to develop and maintain psychosocial models of care relevant to the client group.
• To provide relevant teaching, training and supervision within the service and where appropriate across the Trust.
• To attend the agreed meetings, liaising with the Professional Lead, supervisor and team manager on matters of service development.
• To suggest and implement where agreed policy changes within the Older Peoples Stepped Care Therapies Service and the mental health services relevant to the psychological needs of the client group, as agreed by other senior clinical colleagues.
• To work with senior colleagues to utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by Stepped Care Therapies Service and the mental health service, and to disseminate this information widely.

Person Specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS, or a BPS Statement of Equivalence.

Desirable

• Eligibility for Chartered Clinical Psychologist.
• Undertaken post-doctoral training in one or more relevant additional specialised areas of psychological practice (e.g. neuropsychology, DBT, CAT, solution focussed therapy, systemic / family therapy, analytical therapy).
• Undertaken training in the supervision of trainees and other therapists.
• Other relevant academic qualifications to masters or Doctoral level.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, and in-patient settings.
• Experience of working in mental health services for older people with experience of holding a caseload, assessment, care planning and delivery of psychological interventions.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different contexts.
• Experience of working with complex and enduring mental health difficulties.
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Experience of working in mental health services where multi-disciplinary working was embraced as part of service delivery.
• Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets. Proven ability to communicate clearly in difficult and complex situations.

Desirable

• Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical or applied psychologist.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
• Experience of implementing service policies and procedures.
• Involvement in research programmes.
• Have a lived experience of mental health challenges.

Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, psychological formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. This requires the use of highly developed analytical and judgement skills.
• Skills in individual and group work and in programme planning.
• Planning and organising skills for caseload management.
• Skills in self-management, including time-management.
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information, including contentious and highly distressing information, to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• High standard of report writing for communication with professionals from NHS. Local Authority and other agencies, parents/carers and clients.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance, including regular supervision, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, enabling formation of networks with professionals within the Trust and from other agencies to promote effective team working with clients.
• Able to contain and work with high levels of distress from clients.
• Able to contain and work with organisational stress.
• Interpersonally calm and able to defuse difficult, volatile situations.
• Able to tolerate ambiguity and to take decisions in situations of incomplete information.
• Ability to exercise appropriate levels of self-care and to monitor own state, recognising when it is necessary to take active steps to maintain fitness to practice.
• Good organisational skills
• Motivated towards personal and professional development with a strong CPD record

Desirable

• Advanced keyboard skills.
• Experience of leading and carrying out research projects and interpreting data using statistical analyses.
• Proven ability in carrying out clinical audits.
• Ability to promote psychological models with clients, carers and staff in an understandable and person centred way, clearly outlining goals and potential outcomes.

Knowledge & Understanding

Essential

• Good understanding of other professionals' theoretical perspectives of this client group.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to the client group. E.g. MHA (1983 as amended 2007)
• Demonstrates an understanding of the links between primary and secondary mental health services and the stepped care approach.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies.
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
• High level knowledge and skills in working with carers.
• Post graduate level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate date analysis as practiced within the field of clinical and applied psychology.
• The skills to adapt psychological therapies to clients with cognitive and sensory difficulties.

Physical Requirements

Essential

• Able to tolerate prolonged periods of sitting.
• Ability to travel independently across the CPFT area.

Other

Essential

• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Positive approach to older people.
• Recognise people's right to privacy and dignity, treating every person with respect.
• Willingness to embrace integrated model and new ways of working.
• Willingness to be flexible in approach and attitude.
• Willingness to be flexible and adaptable.
• Advanced keyboard and computer skills.
• Able to use breakaway techniques.

Desirable

• Record of having published in peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.
• Ability and willingness to travel to locations throughout the organisations.
• Fluent in languages other than English.

Employer details

Employer name

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Newtown Centre/City Care Centre

Huntingdon/Peterborough

PE29 3RJ

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

310-OPAC-5920488-B #J-18808-Ljbffr

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