Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/Psychotherapist

Job summary

It's an exciting time to join us: KMPT has been rated Outstanding for Caring and Good overall in our most recent CQC are excited to be recruiting a band 7 Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist to our expanding Secondary Care Psychological Therapies Services for working age adults with severe and complex mental health difficulties in North Kent. We would be particularly keen to hear from those with experience of working with adults with severe and enduring mental health problems.

You will join a dynamic team of 6 qualified clinicians - clinical psychology, psychoanalytic and CBT psychotherapies - and an assistant psychologist. We have good liaison with the local doctoral training course in Clinical Psychology with Chris Church University and have a few first and third year trainees placements available annually.

Main duties of the job

To participate in the provision of psychological services to adults with severe and enduring mental health difficulties within the North Kent locality served by the Trust.

In particular:

To be responsible for the systematic provision of a Specialist Psychology Service to clients with complex and longstanding mental health difficulties as referred from the secondary care mental health service within the West Kent Psychological Therapies service To undertake high quality direct (assessment and therapeutic) and indirect (consultative, advisory and evaluative) specialist psychology interventions in these services making autonomous clinical decisions about own professional practice To ensure the clinical effectiveness of own practice and of service functioning by undertaking research and development activities relevant to the service area To work as part of the multi-disciplinary team of the West Kent Secondary Care Community Mental Health Team.

About us

Come and work with us in the Garden of England where we combine exceptional professional development opportunities with a tremendous quality of life.

We are Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT), providing mental health, learning disability and specialist services, serving million people across the county.

The Trust (rated Good overall by the CQC and Outstanding for care) has 3,283 staff working in 66 buildings across 33 locations, covering an area of 1,450 square miles.

You will be joining friendly, passionate colleagues, rich in their diversity, who are committed to providing excellent care to our service users and their loved ones.

The nature of our work attracts kindness and compassion as standard and everyone from our cleaners and porters to the chief executive and chairman are recognised as playing a vital role in providing an exemplary service.

What is High Cost Area Allowance?

The High-Cost Area (HCA) allowance, also referred to as London Weighting is a payment made to employees who work in London and the surrounding areas.

As this post is based in Dartford, Gravesham or Swanley, the successful applicant will receive an additional payment each month.

5% of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £1,192 per year and a maximum payment of £2,011 per year (the agreed annual amount will be divided into 12 equal amounts and paid monthly)

The salary listed is inclusive of the High-Cost Area Allowance.

Job description

Job responsibilities

To provide specialist psychological assessment of clients with complex and long standing mental health difficulties referred to the mental health team, utilising information from a broad range of structured psychometric and semi-structured clinical methodologies and integrating it into a psychological formulation of the client and the psychosocial environment, drawing on a range of psychological theoretical perspectives.

To formulate and implement plans of specialist psychological treatment or management of clients mental health problems based on a multi-factorial psychological understanding and current evidence-based best practice.

To contribute highly specialist psychological advice to the multi-disciplinary formulation of appropriate therapeutic approaches or intervention plans, and to be involved in, or oversee specialist psychological aspects of their implementation in collaboration with other staff.

To undertake psychologically based risk assessment and risk management for relevant clients and provide advice on the psychological aspects of risk to the multi-disciplinary team.

When appropriate to consult with and provide specialist psychological guidance to carers and families of service users.

To exercise autonomous professional judgement and responsibility for the psychological management of clients on own caseload.

Please see job description for full details.

You will have your own caseload of individual and group interventions. Experience of Mentalisation based psychotherapy, Structured Clinical Management and EMDR are welcome in addition to core training competencies. Health and Education England funded formal training will be available for those interested towards a higher qualification in specific interventions. In addition to expected delivery of psychological therapy you will have a joint leadership role in the supervision of Mental Health Together interventions delivered by colleagues in VCSE. This is part of a larger Transformation programme delivering care in MHT whilst supervised by experienced clinicians in secondary care. You will join a clinical supervision group already in progress.

The successful candidates will hold a doctoral qualification in clinical or counselling psychology, or equivalent for psychotherapists, experience in secondary care and have membership with relevant organisation such as HCPC/BPC/UKCP/BABCP.

Person Specification

Desirable

Desirable

Experience of group work Experience of Audit & Research Experience of supervising brief interventions

Essential

Essential

Achieved Grades Suitable experience for Secondary Care Experience delivering interventions for SMI Team Player

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