Clinical Psychologist

Job summary

Crisis is the national charity for homeless people. We know that homelessness is not inevitable. We know that together we can end it.

Aim/Influence

To promote and support Psychologically Informed Environments (PIEs) andapproaches

To provide training, advice and consultation on clients formulation andpsychological management to non-psychological colleagues

To provide specialist psychological assessment and therapy for clients thatcontributes to ending their homelessness

To participate in research and the evaluation of evidence generated practice to helpdemonstrate and improve the effectiveness of our services

Main duties of the job

We are looking for people who are community focused and driven by our shared values. You will look forward to engaging with individuals who have very difficult lives and have struggled to access traditional forms of support. You will have the skills to offer creative and flexible individual work, alongside consultation and reflective practice to core groups, multi-agency networks and the wider system. You will be excited about joining a local team of people who share a commitment to end homelessness and a national team of psychologists led by a Lead Psychologist.

We believe diversity is a strength, and our aim is to make sure that Crisis truly reflects the communities we serve. We are actively working towards our organisation being a place where everyone can thrive and make their best contribution to our mission of ending homelessness for good. We know that the more perspectives, voices, and experiences we can bring to this work, the better. We particularly welcome applications from people who have lived experience of homelessness, and people from all marginalised groups, communities and backgrounds.

About us

Crisis is the national charity for homeless people. We know that homelessness is not inevitable. We know that together we can end it.

We are a dynamic, innovative and values-led organisation, with the opportunity and flexibility to develop our services to meet the needs of the people we work with. As part of our commitment to end the homelessness of more people using our direct services, including people with complex needs, we are seeking a Practitioner Psychologists or Psychological Therapists to join our fantastic Clinical Psychology teams in locations around the UK.

You will join an extraordinary team of frontline lead workers with a focus on people facing homelessness who have survived a range of difficult and traumatic experiences.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job responsibilities

Professional and training

1. To provide on the job support, guidance and consultation to other team members,including facilitating group reflective practice.

2. To contribute to in the development of a high quality, responsive, engaging andaccessible service, advising Crisis colleagues on those aspects of the service wherepsychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.

3. To fully engage in clinical supervision with a qualified psychologist in accordancewith BPS recommendations.

4. To maintain registration with the HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist (or equivalent)and engage fully in CPD in line with HCPC requirements.

5. To ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology within theservice area and contribute across the service by exercising the skills of a reflexiveand reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervisionand appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments inthe field of clinical or counselling psychology and related disciplines.

6. To offer placements and clinical supervision for trainee psychologists.

Therapy

1. To practice applied psychology as an autonomous Health and Care ProfessionalsCouncil (HCPC) registrant at a specialist level (or equivalent), employing methodsbased upon evidence-based practice.

2. To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to and within theteam based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration ofpsychological data from a variety of sources including self-report measures, ratingscales, direct and indirect structured observations.

3. To formulate and implement plans for the management of a clients mental healthproblems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clientsproblems, and employing methods of proven efficacy and to share those formulationswith others to enable psychological explanations of factors implicated in accommodationmaintenance and loss.

4. To evaluate options for intervention taking into account theoretical and therapeuticmodels and highly complex factors concerning biopsychosocial and historicalprocesses that have shaped the individual.

5. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and toprovide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of riskassessment and management.

6. To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in orderto develop and review care plans.

7. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerningthe assessment, formulation and treatment options for clients.

Service Delivery and Research

1. To participate in the establishment, implementation and monitoring of operationalpolicies to support the delivery of Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE)across Skylight services.

2. To maintain and promulgate the highest standards of clinical record keepingincluding electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsibleexercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes ofpractice of the British Psychological Society and Crisis policies and procedures.

3. To evaluate own practice utilising clinical outcome measures.

4. To work with our Research and Evaluation teams to help us frame and identify themeaningful outcomes required by our clients and participate in the evaluation ofevidence-generated practice to ensure our services are effective.

5. To contribute to wider Crisis activities, within Client Services and other Directorates,as required.

General responsibilities

1. Actively encourage and support member involvement within Crisis

2. Develop an understanding of homelessness and Crisis aims

3. Follow Crisis policies and procedures, including health and safety and safeguarding

4. Carry out other reasonable duties that may be required

Person Specification

Essential

1. Registration with a relevant professional body (HCPC/BABCP/UKCP)

2. Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or itsequivalent for those trained prior to 1996) with relevant practical experience. Orcore professional qualification ( nursing, social work, occupational therapy) plusadditional therapy training.

3. Experience of evidence based therapeutic interventions including (one or more of)Systemic Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Positive Behaviour Support,Mentalisation Based Treatment (MBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, CognitiveAnalytical Therapy, and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy.

4. Knowledge of relevant legislation and best practice in relation to mental health andsafeguarding.

5. Knowledge and skills of proportionate risk assessment and management and theability to take considered and appropriate risks when innovating psychologicalapproaches and treatment.

6. Knowledge and application of standardized assessments.

7. Experience and ability to engage individuals who have experienced complex traumaand who may test services and be hard to reach, by demonstrating patience,persistence, empathic and flexible approaches to maximise inclusiveness of services.

8. Experience of teaching, training, facilitating reflective practice and professional andclinical supervision.

9. Willingness to contribute to the Crisis-wide research and evaluation to support thedevelopment of evidence-based psychologically informed practice

10. Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team and ability to operate as partof the local leadership team

11. Self-management skills. The ability to prioritise workload and manage own stresses.

12. Resilience in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challengingbehaviour.

13. Able and willing to work flexible hours and to travel across region if required, as wellas to travel nationally to engage in Crisis-wide events

14. A commitment to Crisis values

Desirable

15. Experience of working with people experiencing homelessness with complex needs,including: substance misuse, personality disorders diagnoses, survivors of domesticabuse and Modern Day Slavery, refugees and asylum seekers.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

1. Registration with a relevant professional body (HCPC/BABCP/UKCP) 2. Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) with relevant practical experience. Or core professional qualification ( nursing, social work, occupational therapy) plus additional therapy training.

Experience

Essential

Experience of evidence based therapeutic interventions including (one or more of) Systemic Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Positive Behaviour Support, Mentalisation Based Treatment (MBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Cognitive Analytical Therapy, and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy. Knowledge of relevant legislation and best practice in relation to mental health and safeguarding. Knowledge and skills of proportionate risk assessment and management and the ability to take considered and appropriate risks when innovating psychological approaches and treatment. Knowledge and application of standardized assessments. Experience and ability to engage individuals who have experienced complex trauma and who may test services and be hard to reach, by demonstrating patience, persistence, empathic and flexible approaches to maximise inclusiveness of services. Experience of teaching, training, facilitating reflective practice and professional and clinical supervision. Willingness to contribute to the Crisis-wide research and evaluation to support the development of evidence-based psychologically informed practice Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team and ability to operate as part of the local leadership team Self-management skills. The ability to prioritise workload and manage own stresses. Resilience in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour. Able and willing to work flexible hours and to travel across region if required, as well as to travel nationally to engage in Crisis-wide events A commitment to Crisis values

Desirable

Experience of working with people experiencing homelessness with complex needs, including: substance misuse, personality disorders diagnoses, survivors of domestic abuse and Modern Day Slavery, refugees and asylum seekers.

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