Clinical Psychologist in Learning Disabilities.

Job summary

Merton Integrated Learning Disabilities Team gives an interesting opportunity to work within a truly multi-disciplinary team of health and social work professionals all working together to support adults with learning disabilities. It is a friendly, supportive team where psychology is valued in terms of clinical work, joint working and consultation. The post is equivalent to a Band 8a NHS post, and the post-holder will be working within the Behaviour Support Service (alongside a PBS practitioner and a speech and language therapist) as well as taking on wider pieces of LD psychology work. We offer placements to trainee clinical psychologists and meet regularly with other LD psychologists in the region. Professional development is encouraged with internal access to wide-ranging CPD as well as external training funding relevant to the post. Regular supervision will be provided by the Lead Clinical Psychologist. This post is suitable for someone already working in learning disabilities as an 8a or wanting to step up from a Band 7 position.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team across a wide range of settings. They will provide a specialist Clinical Psychology service to service users aged 18 and over with a Learning Disability. The Behaviour Support Service (BSS) supports individuals and their networks when there are behaviours that challenge. The post-holder will coordinate the running of BSS, taking supervisory and line management responsibility for a PBS Practitioner. The post-holder will also take on additional pieces of work from the wider LD psychology caseload.

The clinical work will involve working with the person, their professional network, family and carers. It will involve working in an integrated team of social work and health professionals. The post-holder will provide specialist assessment and therapy, psycho-educational work, staff training and monitoring of caseload and clinical/service outcomes. Joint working with other team members and wider service and networks is essential.

The post-holder should have clear experience of working as a clinical psychologist with people with learning disabilities including with people whose behaviour creates post-holder will be HCPC registered.

About us

We are Merton United, One Borough one Team at an exciting pointin our journey. Working for Merton means youll be making a difference tothe lives of local residents and businesses. Together we are finding new waysto work more efficiently to serve our community.

We are an excellent andfair employer that celebrates and values diversity. Equality, Diversity andInclusion are really at the hart we do.

Through Mertons wellbeing schemeand inclusion strategies and framework, we continue to create a safe, healthyand collaborative environment; helping to ensure that Merton is a great andsafe place to work, where you can grow and develop.

We really believe in makingMerton a great place for everyone to work. To help achieve this, we provide ourpeople with an extensive number of benefits:

*An Inclusive staff networks tohelp to nurture and value diversity in the Council workforce (6)

*Local Government Pension Scheme- one of the most generous in the country

* flexible working

* generous leave entitlement

* employee assistance programme

*discounted membership to ourleisure centres

* cycle to work scheme

* Among others

If you have the skills &experience we are looking for and want to be part of this journey, we want tohear from you.

Job description

Job responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

To coordinate and clinically work within the Behaviour Support Service. This forms part of the psychology service within the wider multi-disciplinary team for people with learning disabilities. This service aims to meet the needs of those referred to MILD whose behaviour challenges services. The post-holder will be responsible for coordinating the input provided by this team and auditing the teams effectiveness.

The post-holder will have a responsibility to prioritise and manage referrals of those requiring assessment and intervention from the BSS. This will be done via monthly BSS meetings attended by the post-holder and other BSS staff (currently a Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner and a Speech and Language Therapist). The post-holder will need to report back on referrals and case management to the Lead Clinical Psychologist.

The post-holder will manage and provide supervision to the Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner working within BSS.

The postholder will also take on pieces of work from the LD Psychology caseload and will be integral in representing psychology within the MILD Team.

The post-holder will be expected to liaise with a wide range of services both to support service users health needs but also to maintain professional and care networks to benefit service users. These will include our local mental health services, employment services, schools and colleges, providers offering day opportunities, personal assistants and accommodation support.

To be involved in developing and managing all the policies and protocols of the BSS team and auditing the teams effectiveness.

The post-holder will manage and provide supervision for the Trainee Clinical Psychologists on placement with the team as needed. As the service develops there may be a need to manage and provide supervision to additional psychology staff.

The post-holder will use their specialist psychological knowledge based on evidence-based practice to inform assessment and intervention at an individual level as well as multi-disciplinary input to managing complex cases. This will include using evidence-based assessments and interventions that incorporate cultural and systemic factors and are sensitive to individual needs, learning disability and co-occurring neurodiversity.

The post-holder will need to communicate complex and sensitive information about their assessments and interventions clearly and, if appropriate, in an accessible format to the service user, their carers and networks. This communication will be in verbal and written formats as required. Reports will include psychological formulation, professional opinion and summaries of assessments, interventions and risk management.

The post-holder will be expected to provide a variety of specialist training to other professionals and carers based on their specialist psychological and PBS related knowledge.

The post-holder will be expected to evaluate their interventions through the use of appropriate outcome measures for individual pieces of work. At a service level, this will include audit and data analysis of these outcomes.

The post-holder will be expected to contribute to the management and development of the learning disabilities team through being a senior member of the team.

The post-holder will be expected to work alongside other professionals in completing risk assessments, monitoring and managing risk, developing care-plans and safeguarding vulnerable adults.

The post-holder must adhere to all safeguarding polices and procedures to ensure the welfare of both vulnerable adults and children.

The post-holder will be required to be professionally accountable for their work recognising their professional boundaries and seeking advice as appropriate.

The post-holder may be expected to undertake specialist training in completing Best Interests Assessments. When this training has been completed they will be required to undertake regular Best Interests Assessments which may be for service users who do not have ASD or a learning disability.

The post-holder will be expected to attend (or chair when required) case conferences, reviews, team meetings and any other relevant networking or liaison meetings which are appropriate to their work. These may be face-to-face or via video conference as appropriate.

The post-holder will be expected to manage their own caseload in addition to their other responsibilities.

The post-holder will be expected to use various forms of IT software in order to write clinical notes, care-plans, reports, to use online platforms for communication and training and to collect data. The post-holder will be expected to maintain high standards of clinical record keeping as per council and professional policies.

The post-holder will be required to have excellent skills in developing good relationships with partner organisations and agencies who interact with our service.

The post-holder will be expected to lead and develop service initiatives and evaluations and, if appropriate, to evaluate these developments through use of suitable research methodology or data analysis.

The post-holder will be expected to undertake mandatory and relevant training and development in order to meet council requirements and to maintain and develop skills and knowledge required of a Clinical Psychologist working in the specialist learning disability field.

The post-holder must keep their membership of the HCPC up-to-date. The post also requires Enhanced DBS clearance. The post-holder is expected to maintain their own Continuing Professional Development (CPD) records and to adhere to council, professional and ethics standards.

The post-holder will be expected to develop their own personal/professional development to maintain and develop skills and knowledge appropriate to the needs of the service within the context of a regular appraisal system. They will also be expected to engage with and utilise regular clinical supervision provided by the Lead Clinical Psychologist.

The post is based at Merton Civic Centre (with some home-working available) but will require travel around the local community, including home visits.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

-Are you a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist? -Are you fully qualified and have already held a Band 7 (or equivalent) post?

Desirable

N/A

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