Principal Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist

Job summary

Are you looking for new challenges? Do you want to feel that you really make a difference? Are you someone with a passion for trauma-informed work, who wants to be part of changing young people's lives?

This might be the job for you... We are looking for a Principal Clinical, Counselling or Forensic Psychologist to join us as part of the integrated Health and Wellbeing team within HMYOI Feltham.

This is a unique and exciting opportunity to be part of this innovative model and also to use all of your clinical and interpersonal abilities, develop new skills and work with young people and staff who need and deserve high quality psychological care.

You could make a difference. This is a varied role working within a rich multidisciplinary team using a formulation-driven, trauma systems approach according to the SECURE STAIRS framework, within the YOI.

The post is based primarily on Feltham A (15-18 year-old boys), though may be required to provide some consultancy and support to the wider healthcare team across the site.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

Main duties of the job

Working within an integrated team affords us the benefit of being able to work in a truly holistic and responsive manner. The post holder will have previous experience in a relevant setting. They will provide specialist psychological assessment and therapy at the same time as offering advice and consultation to non-psychologist colleagues.

The post holder will be responsible for leading on the provision of a psychologically-informed treatment approach on residential units within the establishment. This will include supporting staff to develop skills in reflective practice and understanding of key theories, such as trauma-informed care and adolescent development. The successful candidate will have excellent oral and written communication skills; and a proven ability to make evidence-based, informed decisions within a complex, rapidly changing and demanding environment.

It takes a very special, dedicated, resilient and caring clinician to provide care in such an intense, dynamic environment and you will be joining like-minded exceptional healthcare professionals in a dedicated and supportive team.

Experience working with children with additional neuro-developmental needs, such as Learning Disabilities (LD), ADHD, social communication and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) would be beneficial to this role due to the diverse needs of the population.

About us

Our motto? Caring not judging.

What we Offer

Excellent training and development Ongoing supervision and appraisals Hidden Gem and annual award ceremonies Excellent staff benefits: our benefit packages are amongst the best in London and include: childcare vouchers, health and wellbeing services, season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme and relocation package. We are also proud to support our employees with continued professional development opportunities and further education subject to service needs. We welcome flexible working. Job description

Job responsibilities

The successful candidate will have excellent oral and written communication skills; and a proven ability to make evidence-based, informed decisions within a complex, rapidly changing and demanding environment. The post-holder will be expected to act as part of the senior leadership team, providing supervision and support to multi-disciplinary team members within the service and contribute to the strategic vision of the service. You will also be expected to contribute to the multi-disciplinary CPD programme.

See attached Job Description for further details.

Person Specification

Education & Quailifcations

Essential

oAn honours degree in Psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS). oDoctoral level training in clinical/counselling/forensic psychology or equivalent, including specifically models of psychopathology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, equivalent to that accredited by the BPS. oEvidence of significant post-qualification specialist training, experience and developing expertise in a specialist area of clinical practice relevant to this role. oHCPC Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist. oCompletion of supervisor training course.

Desirable

oOther relevant CPD qualifications, pre- or post-training. Especially training in working with people with trauma and/or neurodiverse presentations, research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.

Other

Essential

oAbility to work in a secure environment, in line with HMPS policy and procedures and obtain and maintain enhanced security clearance.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE Paid/unpaid relevant to job

Essential

oSubstantial assessed experience of working as a qualified psychologist including at a highly specialist level or an alternative agreed by the Chief Psychologist oExperience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings oExperience 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. oExperience of teaching and training. oExperience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care oExperience of working effectively in multidisciplinary settings. oAdvanced knowledge, experience and expertise in at least one relevant specialist area of clinical practice gained through specialist training and supervised practice ( psychotherapy, neuropsychology, risk assessment, clinical supervision). oExperience of leading on projects of service design or improvement. oExperience of leadership, management and supervision of trainees and qualified staff including those from other disciplines. oExperience of working together with service users to ensure that they are equal partners in service design, evaluation, research and training oExperience of working within a multicultural framework.

Desirable

Awareness of institutional dynamics Research/publications on relevant issues. Experience of working indirectly with staff groups Experience of working within secure environments and/or forensic mental health and of supporting and developing psychological services in such Experience of working with children Expertise in delivering gender sensitive services Experience of using a trauma informed approach Experience and expertise in in the specialist area of learning disability and/or neurodiversity.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES

Essential

oAdvanced skills 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, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS. oSkills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups. oDoctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology. oPossesses range of clinical knowledge, skills & information technology expertise relevant to demands of senior post. oAbility to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings. oAbility to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour. oBroad knowledge of models of assessment, management and treatment of those in the criminal justice system with mental health difficulties and personality disorder. oAbility to work intensively with people who present challenges in the complexity of their problems and needs, including sexual and violent offending and self-harming and suicidal behaviours. oHigh level of ability to plan and organise clinical service provision to meet service demands, and to maintain high quality professional practice. oEvidence of continuing professional development relevant to the forensic population as recommended by the HCPC. oAn understanding of the social determinates of health inequalities and relevant psychological theory and practice oExcellent IT skills.

Desirable

oWell developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult-to-treat groups. oCan apply psychological knowledge creatively in developing new initiatives. oAbility to write reports for varied audiences, including courts and purchasers of services.

ATTITUDES, APTITUDES PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Essential

o Excellent interpersonal skills. oAbility to work flexibly according to changing demands and to work well within a team.

---