Senior (Specialist) Clinical / Counselling Psychologist

Principal Clinical / Counselling Psychologist
Employer South West London & St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust Location London Salary £58,698 to £65,095 pro rata per annum inclusive of inner London HCAS Closing date 19 May 2024
We are looking to recruit a Principal Clinical / Counselling Psychologist to work 0.6 within the multidisciplinary teams of our Older People's Inpatient Services and 0.2 within an Older People's Community Team. The inpatient role involves working collaboratively with the inpatient team to provide psychological assessment and formulation of inpatients with mental health difficulties and/or dementia, facilitating complex case discussions, supporting the implementation of effective psychosocial interventions by staff teams, as well as conducting 1:1 therapeutic work with older people with mental health difficulties. 2 community role involves both 1:1 therapeutic work and neuropsychological assessment, where you will join another psychologist who is already established in the team. You will be well supported within the psychology team working with older people across South West London & St Georges, where continuing professional development and staff support are highly valued. We have specialist pathway leads in Therapies, Neuropsychological Assessment, and Care Home Liaison / BPSD and you will receive regular individual supervision and support from senior Psychologists within the service. The service has strong links with the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Training Program at the University of Surrey, where we regularly provide placements and contribute to teaching on the program.
To ensure the systematic provision of a high quality specialist psychological service to clients under the care of the clinical team to which the post holder is attached, across all sectors of care. The current role will involve working across the two older adult inpatient wards located in Tolworth and Springfield hospitals and the Sutton Older People's Community Mental Health Team.
To provide specialist psychological assessment and therapy to clients with severe and enduring mental health problems and/or dementia. This will involve actively working with staff teams providing care.
To provide complex assessment and formulation, which may include neuropsychological assessment of clients with suspected dementia.
To work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team's policies and procedures .
To supervise and support the psychological assessment and therapy provided by trainee psychologists and other clinical members of the team who provide psychologically based care and treatment by agreement with the Psychology and Psychotherapies (P& P) lead for the service area.
To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research.
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.
We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services.
We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.
To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to their clinical team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological 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 clients care.
To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods of proven efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account 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 clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
To ensure that all members of the treating team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of clients of the service, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.
To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and 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 and evaluate progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
To provide expertise, advice and support to all members of the treatment team to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care and to support other team Applied Psychologists in the service area, in their contribution (direct and indirect) to providing a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to all clients of the service in which they work.
Training and Qualifications
Doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS - including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology - or alternative training outside of the UK that is recognised by the Health & Care Professions Council leading to registration in the UK as a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist.
Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the HCPC

Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology
Formal training in supervision of other psychologists
Further post graduate training in a specific type of psychological therapy, BABCP accredited CBT practitioner or eligibility for membership of the BABCP as a CBT practitioner
Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
Experience of assessing and treating older people with mental health difficulties and/or dementia across a variety of care settings
Demonstrate further specialist training/experience through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a specialist clinical psychologist over a minimum of 18 months, or an alternative agreed by the Trust Head of Psychology and Psychotherapies

Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
Experience of working with behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia.
Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care

Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS.

Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
Knowledge of assessment and interventions for people with behavioural and psychological symptoms in dementia.
Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.

South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust
Springfield University Hospital