Clinical / Counselling Psychologist

Job summary

Are you looking to make a difference to the rewarding and expanding area of Perinatal Mental Health? Do you want to work in a service which is currently responding to a need around the national recognition of the impact of birth trauma? Do you want to work in a rewarding service, that helps to see positive change? Are you wanting to be part of a psychologically led , compassionate and supportive team, which invests in its staff? Are you wanting to have support from national teams and local perinatal psychologist to enhance skills and support development?

We are looking for a compassionate, innovative, creative and enthusiastic practitioner to join our team and deliver high quality talking therapies for people with perinatal trauma, fear and/or perinatal are keen for someone to bring their own knowledge and experience and think with us around how we can continue to develop the service.

Every Wednesday we meet as a whole team at Benchill however your agreed base could be at one of the Specialist Perinatal Team cluster bases (Laureate House, Prestwich Hospital or Hexagon Tower), closer to home. Flexibility in working from bases and home is required for the role.

We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience and people from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Main duties of the job

You will join a multi-disciplinary team and will take a key role in the development and delivery of the service, ensuring that it is coproduced, and trauma informed. You will hold a caseload and provide specialist psychological assessment, psychological formulation, and psychological therapy, with a focus on trauma-focused therapy. You will provide clinical supervision to other members of the team (Psychological Practitioners and Assistant Psychologists, Clinical Psychology Trainees), as well as expert case consultation and training within the integrated pathway. You also participate in service development projects. We are looking for someone with values around compassionate and trauma informed care,recognising the value of effective communication and collaboration, consistency and continuity, recognising diversity and facilitating recovery.

About us

Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) Foundation Trust employs over7000members of staff, who deliver services from more than 160 locations.

We provide inpatient and community-based mental health care for people living in Bolton, the city of Manchester, Salford,Trafford and the borough of Wigan, and a wide range of specialist mental health and substance misuse services across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and beyond.

Greater Manchester is one of the world's most innovative, original and exciting places to live and work. From the beauty of the surrounding countryside to the heart of the vibrant inner city with great shopping, entertainment and dining options.

Wherever you go you will experience a great northern welcome with people famed for their warmth, humour and generosity.

Our people enjoy their work, have opportunities to learn and develop their skills and are encouraged to generate new ideas that improve care for our service users.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical

To contribute to the service delivery and target objectives/priorities of the Perinatal Trauma and Loss Service Service, to ensure the most efficient and effective utilisation and contribution of psychological knowledge and practice. To undertake highly specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological 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 in conjunction with Perinatal Trauma and Loss Service team members, for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of patients of the service based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems. This should take into account the implications of sensory and cultural issues, and physical health needs. Methods employed are based upon evidence of efficacy and NICE recommendations. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, families and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses. Clients may present with a range of mental health difficulties but there will be a particular focus on complex and single-event trauma and provision must include NICE-recommended interventions for psychological trauma. 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 (drawing from a parent-infant mental health framework where relevant). To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based care plans. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals, contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group. All clinical input will be in accordance with the philosophy and operational policies of the Perinatal Trauma and Loss Service and of the Trust. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients in accordance with Trust policy and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management, where appropriate. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of care. To adopt a flexible and highly skilled approach towards developing therapeutic relationships with clients with complex mental health problems, in order to facilitate and maintain engagement with services. To develop effective links with the range of agencies, statutory and non-statutory, involved in providing care and support to clients and families / support networks.

Teaching, Training and Support

To receive regular professional and clinical supervision from a senior practitioner psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues. To utilise skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other staffs psychological work as appropriate. To provide professional and clinical supervision of qualified, trainee and assistant practitioner psychologists, when required. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development

To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams operational policies and services in relation to the psychological provision, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit. To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the Perinatal Trauma and Loss Service, where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing. To manage the workloads of assistant and trainee practitioner psychologists within the framework of the team / services polices and procedures, when required. To be involved, as appropriate, in the short listing and interviewing of assistant / graduate psychologists, as well as psychological therapies staff both within the Perinatal Trauma and Loss Service and the Specialist Perinatal Service.

Research and Service Evaluation

To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.

Quality and Governance

To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of psychology and related disciplines. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice and Trust policies and procedures. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies, and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health. To fully participate in the Trusts performance review and personal development planning process on an annual basis. Undertake training as necessary in line with the development of the post and as agreed with the line manager as part of the personal development planning process. To achieve and demonstrate agreed standards of personal and professional development with agreed timescales. To contribute positively to the effectiveness and efficiency of the teams in which he /she works.

Trust Mandatory On-going Requirements

To undertake any other reasonable duty, when requested to do so by an appropriate Trust Manager.

To understand and comply with all Trust policies, procedures, protocols and guidelines.

To understand the Trusts strategic goals and how you can support them.

To understand the need to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and adhere to all principles in effective safeguarding.

To carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with Equal Opportunities, Equality and Diversity and dignity in care/work policies and principles.

To avoid unlawful discriminatory behaviour and actions when dealing with the colleagues, services users, members of the public and all stakeholders.

To access only information, whether paper, electronic, or, in another media, which is authorised to you as part of the duties of your role.

Not to communicate to anyone, inside or outside the NHS, information relating to patients, services users, staff, contractors or any information of a commercially sensitive nature, unless done in the normal course of carrying out the duties of the post and with appropriate permission.

To maintain high standards of quality in corporate and clinical record keeping ensuring information is always recorded accurately, appropriately and kept up to date.

To ensure their day-to-day activities embrace sustainability and reduce the impact upon the environment by minimising waste and maximising recycling; saving energy; minimising water usage and reporting electrical faults, water leakages or other environmental concerns to the facilities department or their line manager.

Take reasonable care of the health and safety of yourself and other persons.

See attached detailed job description and person specification:

Staff benefits

Pay Enhancements 30% additional for Evenings (8pm onwards) and Saturdays and 60% additional for Sundays and Bank holidays.

27 days annual leave plus bank holidays rising to 29 after 5 years and 33 days after 10 years

Excellent pension

Cycle to work scheme

Salary sacrifice car scheme

Wellbeing programme

Blue Light Card Discounts

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

oProfessional qualification in Clinical /Counselling Psychology at Doctoral level (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS. oFurther post-qualification, post-graduate training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice. oRegistered with the Health and Care Professions Council as a 'Practitioner Psychologist'.

Desirable

oTraining in trauma focused interventions ( CBT, EMDR) oFormal training in supervision of other psychologists. oTraining in perinatal mental health

Experience

Essential

oExperience of working as a qualified clinical/counselling psychologist, including relevant experience in service area. oExperience of working with client groups experiencing moderate-severe mental health problems across the life span. This includes maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the possible threat of physical abuse. oExperience of working with trauma and providing trauma-focused psychological therapy. oExperience in the application of cognitive-behavioural approaches. oExperience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment. oExperience of working within a multidisciplinary team. oExperience of providing supervision and training.

Desirable

oExperience of working in perinatal mental health services. oExperience of working in a secondary care service (Psychology/CMHT)

Knowledge

Essential

oDoctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology. oKnowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies. oEvidence of CPD as recommended by BPS & HCPC.

Desirable

oKnowledge of policy and legislation in relation to service specialism and of relevant mental health legislation.

Skills and Abilities

Essential

oSkills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration. oWell-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS. oAbility to organise time effectively. oAbility to use own initiative and to work under supervision where appropriate. oAbility to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team and to liaise effectively with other professionals.

Desirable

oSkills in providing consultation to other professional groups. oSkills in supervising others oSkills in compassionate leadership

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