Trainee Cognitive Behavioural Therapist

Job summary

Are you an experienced mental health professional (, Nurse, OT, Social Worker) looking for an opportunity to progress into a clinically focused role at Band 7 and who would like to develop specialist skills in delivering evidence based psychological therapies for people with serious mental health problems?

We are excited to be able to create these exciting new posts with specific Health Education England funding as part of our transformation of care for people with Serious Mental Health Problems under the Community Mental Health Framework (CMHF). One of the aims of this transformation is to increase access to psychological therapies as part of a model of care focused on delivering effective interventions to people who use our services.

This is a development post (Band 6) during which you will undertake a 2-year PGDip in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for people with serious mental health problems (CBTSMHP) provided by the University of Southampton. The training will include specialising either in working with people with psychosis or with people with personality disorder. The training is fully funded, and specialist supervision will be provided. Whilst training you will work as a trainee psychological therapist with protected time to develop your emerging skills and competences under supervision.

Main duties of the job

he Trainee High-Intensity Therapist will be a core member of the Service, undertaking training to provide high-intensity interventions - initially Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), whilst working in a training role working with clients who have a range of anxiety and depression-related problems for which CBT is demonstrated to be clinically effective.

The post involves providing psychological assessments and evidence-based interventions for people with common mental health problems and people living with long term physical health conditions (on the telephone and in an individual and group setting). Some of your role can be provided from home and you will also work out of Keystone Hub venues within Oxfordshire.

You will have a core profession at graduate level in, for example, nursing, social work, or occupational therapy and be committed to undertaking a psychological therapy qualification at post graduate level. You should be able to demonstrate your commitment to the use of evidence-based practice in community adult mental health settings. You will be willing to work towards accreditation with the British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). Perhaps most importantly you will have a passion for working with people with severe and/or complex mental health problems in an empowering and person-centred way.

About us

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust provides physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset.

Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people's homes, delivering care as close to home as possible

Our vision is that no matter who you are or where you are, you will tell us that you receive: "Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team"

Our values are: "Caring, safe and excellent"

At Oxford Health we offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing. These include:

Excellent opportunities for career progression Access to tailored individual and Trust wide learning and development 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailers Competitive pension scheme Lease car scheme Cycle to work scheme Employee Assistance Programme Mental Health First Aiders Staff accommodation (please note waiting lists may apply) Staff networking and support groups hosted by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team Job description

Job responsibilities

Please see the Job Description and the Person Specification for detailed information.

Core Professionals : Potential candidates will hold a recorded/registered qualification in one of the following at graduate level: nursing, social work, occupational therapy, art therapy or within a psychological therapy.

You will have experience of working with adults with mental health difficulties in addition to being able to evidence the ability to work towards the full range of skills and competencies as laid out in the competence framework for CBT (Roth and Pilling, 2007).

The course you will be completing at the University of Southampton as part of this role is a Level 2 accredited course with BABCP. This means that upon completion of the course trainees will meet criteria to apply for provisional accreditation as a CBT therapist with the BABCP.

To apply, you must meet the criteria for CBT training and also have a BABCP-recognised professional background in mental health or related areas. This means having a BABCP recognised Core Profession.

If you do not have a BABCP-recognised Core Profession, you must complete a portfolio of evidence to show that you have equivalent training and experience. This is known as the Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes portfolio (KSA).

Prior to this interview, you must have completed self-statements for the KSA criterion required based on your experience. Please see the BABCP website above for guidance and exemplars.

Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners (PWPs) cannot be recruited as High-Intensity IAPT trainees until two years post qualification and are expected to have practised in this role for two years to consolidate their skills. These two years of practice commence only at the date of confirmation of the full PWP qualification by the University,notat the end of the teaching timetable. This standard is monitored nationally by the BABCP.

All successful candidates will undertake an intensive one-year Post-Graduate Diploma IAPT: High-Intensity Psychological Therapies at the University of Reading (please visit the University of Reading website for further information on course registration requirements). Post-holders must be able to attend all university training as required. Most teaching will be 2 days per week in conjunction with a minimum period of high-intensity CBT clinical practice per week working within the service. You will also receive clinical supervision from the University and TalkingSpace Plus from BABCP accredited supervisors.

When completing the supporting information section of the application form, candidates should relate directly to the person specification requirements in the job description and should be answered in the same order as the specification. The qualifications, training and experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.

Alongside colleagues across the Multi-Disciplinary Team including other psychological therapists, you will ensure that community mental health services achieve their key objectives of delivering integrated, safe, accessible, responsive, effective and caring services to people in Oxfordshire. You will ensure the service you provide is of high quality and meets national guidance as well as local and nationally agreed targets.

After completion of the PG diploma in CBT course, you will then have an opportunity to develop your CBT skills further by delivering CBT groups, offering consultations to other staff. Post holders will then progress to a band 7 position.

The Primary Care Mental Health Teams are an innovative approach to providing joined-up, holistic and person-centred care within the community. You will be working within an integrated setting with colleagues from primary care, voluntary and community mental health services. We are a trauma-informed organisation. Visit our website to find out more:Keystone Mental Health & Wellbeing hubs - Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

We positively encourage applications from all areas of the community, regardless of gender, race, faith, disability, age or sexual orientation and we encourage applications from users of mental health services. This is part of our commitment to equality and reflecting the diversity of our population.

Oxford Health is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment

Interviews for this post will be conducted jointly by Oxford Health and the University of Southampton and it is a condition of continuing employment that you complete the PGDip qualification. The course is delivered remotely with some face-to-face time for clinical skills development.

For further details / informal visits contact:

Clare Crole-Rees, Consultant Counselling Psychologist in Oxfordshire,

*Please note, interviews will be held in June /July 2024 and you will need to be able to start in post in the week commencing 9th September 2024 at the latest.*

Person Specification

Knowledge requirements

Essential

Demonstrates an understanding of serious mental health conditions and how they may present in Primary Care Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post

Qualifications

Essential

A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following at graduate level in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy or within a psychological therapy. Evidence using the career framework of training in mental health and experience working in a stepped care service for anxiety and depression

Experience

Essential

Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets Ability to manage own caseload and time Able to write clear reports and letters to referrers Demonstrable experience of delivering CBT based interventions under supervision

Desirable

Experience of working in Primary Care Services

Skills

Essential

Ability to evaluate and put in place the effect of training Computer literate Has received training (either formal of through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients

Contract/other requirements

Essential

Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. Able to attend other Trust and community premises for work and training purposes

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