Clinical or Counselling Psychologist

Job summary

Kingston & Richmond Child and Adolescent Children's Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Single Point of Access (SPA)

Band 8a / Part-time & Full-time hours considered / Permanent

The Kingston & Richmond CAMHS SPA provides out-patient and consultation services to children experiencing a range of mental health and neurodevelopmental difficulties.

The CAMHS SPA team provides triage and screening assessments for children, adolescents and their families experiencing a range of mental health, neurodevelopmental and emotional health difficulties. The CAMHS SPA works in collaboration with the trust's Tier 3 CAMHS services, who specialise in the provision of high-quality assessments and evidence-based treatments for children and young people presenting to the service with moderate to severe mental health and neurodevelopmental difficulties and assessment of risk. The CAMHS SPA also works in close partnership with Achieving for Children who provide Kingston & Richmond Tier 2 CAMHS Emotional Health Services and children's Social Care services, including the Multi Agency Support Hub (MASH). As the service that manages the screening for all neurodevelopmental referrals, we also liaise closely with the trust's CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Assessment Team (NDT), which is a specialist ADHD and ASD assessment team, operating across the five London Boroughs within the SWLSTG CAMHS Service Line.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for a committed Clinical Psychologist who is passionate about working with children and young people and has a special interest in neurodiversity. The role will be based in the Kingston & Richmond CAMHS Single Point of Access but will involve close links with the Trust's Neurodevelopmental Assessment team. The successful candidate will be able to contribute to the overall mental health assessment service but will develop leadership specifically on the neurodevelopmental screening care pathway.

There will also be opportunities to take on other activities (, therapeutic work) within the local community tier 3 CAMHS service.

This role is open to qualified clinical psychologists with the following:

Qualification as Clinical Psychologist registered with the HCPC. Experience of working with children and young people Experience of work within a multi-disciplinary team The ability to relate and provide accessible services to a diverse community. The ability to efficiently manage a caseload. Knowledge and skills in risk management and safeguarding Ideally a special interest in child neurodevelopment and neurodiversity The ability to adapt to the fast-paced nature of CAMHS SPA work, with good IT and computer recording skills to navigate between the various IT record systems within CAMHS, SWLSTG Trust and Achieving for Children

About us

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'.

This is a great time to join us. 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 inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. 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 ofbenefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

About our locations:

The position will be based in Woodroffe House, Tolworth Hospital. To create the very best environment to care for our patients, this site's layout will be transformed in 2026 to add a number of wards to the existing three. Tolworth has a canteen and is near shops, the A3, Tolworth station, and is a bus ride from Surbiton station, with fast connections to Clapham Junction and London Waterloo.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Clinical

To provide specialist assessments of children/ young people and their parents/carers referred to the service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complexdata from a variety of sources including psychological and where appropriate, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews in line with CYP IAPT methodology. To formulate and implement plans for evidence-based interventions, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, to improve the parent/child relationship. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychotherapeutic interventions employed individually and in synthesis, maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses, adjusting and refining formulations or understandings, drawing upon different explanatory models and employing methods of intervention that are based upon evidence of efficacy. 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 and the family. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans To provide specialist mental health advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to the care of the young child and their parents/carers To contribute to and/or use evidence-based, integrated working tools and processes, to ensure young children and their parents/carers receive holistic and co-ordinated services in response to their mental health needs. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for young children and their parents/carers. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of young children and their parents/carers who are under their care. To monitor progress during the course of interventions, ensuring that all interventions are fully assessed, planned, implemented and evaluated in conjunction with CYP IAPT minimum dataset standards. To maintain accurate and accessible health care records according to Trust policy and Information Governance requirements. To demonstrate high level communication skills, both written and verbal, within all agencies. Teaching, Training, and Supervision To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior colleagues. To gain additional experience and skills relevant to the profession and/or the service (as agreed with the responsible professional and team manager) in accordance with the CAMHS Directorates common expectations for P&P staff. To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work as appropriate. If required, to provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings. Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services operational policies and services (as directed), through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit. To contribute to a culture that is therapeutic, productive, accessible, inclusive and flexible to meet the needs of the local population. 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. Person Specification

TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS

Essential

oQualified Clinical or Counselling Psychologist registered with the HCPC as an applied psychologist oEvidence of continuing professional development. oPost qualification training in the clinical supervision of trainees.

Desirable

oTraining as part of a CYP IAPT collaborative in a recognised evidenced based approach. oFormal training in the supervision of a psychotherapeutic modality. oFurther training in a recognised evidence-based psychological therapy.

EXPERIENCE

Essential

oConsolidated 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. oConsolidated experience 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. oDemonstrate further specialist training and experience by having received a minimum of 50 hours of clinical supervision of working as a specialist psychologist or psychotherapist over a minimum of 18 months.

Desirable

oExperience of teaching, training and/or supervision. oExperience of service development or of a leadership role.

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