Lead Clinical Psychologist

Job summary

We are looking foran 8b Principal Clinical Psychologist to join the leadership of the newregional Learning Disability and Autism Unit, The post is based initially at the Additional Support Unit (ASU) in Exeter for Adults with a Learning Disability and then at the new unit in Dawlish from mid 2025.

You will be asenior part of the Devon LD Clinical Psychology team while working in andsharing the clinical leadership of the regional LDA Unit. You will be part of arich multi-disciplinary team, and provide a Clinical Psychologyservice via complex assessment, intervention, training, consultation andsupervision. Our teams are experienced, cohesive and mutually supportive.

Psychology ishighly valued in the Learning Disability service. We have a caring and mutuallysupportive culture that is a vital foundation for the challenging but rewardingwork that we do. Your LDAU role will be part of a wider Clinical Psychologyteam covering the LDAU and the Intensive Assessment Teams across Devon. We willlink you in with inpatient psychologists across DPT and the UK.

As a key part ofthe wider Multi-Disciplinary Team, psychology is committed to compassionate,respectful and equitable care for people with Learning Disabilities and autistic people using abiopsychosocial model that is trauma-informed and sensitive to the individualcontexts in which distress arises Wehave close links with Plymouth and Exeter Doctoral Programmes.

Interviews will be held 17th June 2024

Main duties of the job

To improve the psychological health & wellbeing of people with learning disabilities or autistic people and to provide psychological services to people are admitted to the regional LDA Unit, a ten bed inpatient assessment and treatment unit.

This will be achieved in this post by:

1. Ensuring the systematic provision of a high quality psychological service to people with Learning Disabilities or autistic people who are admitted into the LDA Unit..

2. Providing clinical leadership, co-ordination and supervision for staff, trainees and volunteers employed by or attached to the psychology service.

3. Taking a leadership role in the development and delivery of psychological interventions for people with Learning Disabilities or autistic people.

4. Overseeing the delivery of psychological support of the patients on the unit, and providing advice and consultancy to patients and professionals.

5. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the team.

6. The post holder will receive regular professional and clinical supervision in accordance with Trust policy and Professional Practice Guidelines set out by the Health Professions Council/British Psychological Society.

7. Contributing to the management of psychology services within the unit.

About us

About Devon Partnership Trust

We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader.

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder will work collaboratively to ensure a whole systems integrated approach to service delivery and development. All staff within the Psychology and Psychological Therapies service will be responsible for ensuring involvement and experience, social inclusion and race equality agendas inform and support their work.

A substantial part of this role will be to manage and take leadership of qualified specialist psychological therapy services to people using the service, to collaborate with Adult Directorate service managers to further develop psychology provision, to work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the services policies and procedures.

Duties and Responsibilities

Communication and Working Relationships

Clients, family and carers :

To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner with clients who may have specific difficulties in understanding and/or communicating and who may be fearful of others, experiencing high levels of distress, unable to articulate their difficulties and who may require imaginative and sensitive approaches to support engagement. Able 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.

Multidisciplinary team colleagues :

To work closely with colleagues in the multi-professional integrated LDA mental health and wellbeing service on a day to day basis, providing support and guidance in the application of psychological principles and techniques, foster reflective person-centred practice and promote staff wellbeing. To motivate and lead staff in developing and changing practice and communicate complex information and support staff who may be anxious or hostile about systems changes. To ensure the team is knowledgeable about and has good lines of communication with key local services.

Health & social care staff :

To communicate with a wide range of health & social care staff in hospital and in community settings in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, complex and sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under the services care. To provide support & guidance in the application of psychological principles and techniques, and to foster reflective practice.

Senior managers & professional staff :

To maintain and build good working relationships with senior professional staff and managers across the LDA Specialist Centre and LD & Autism services, and the organisation as a whole, to foster a positive approach to the integrated LDA Specialist Centre and to enable effective negotiation. To be able to effectively collaborate across different levels of the organisation, across staff groups and with other agencies

Planning and Organisation

The psychology service:

To plan and organise the work of the psychology service within the service setting and to contribute to the development and improvement of provision of psychological services within the commissioned LDA Specialist Centre to best meet the organisations strategy and priorities.

The multidisciplinary service:

To provide psychology leadership to the multi-professional planning, development and marketing of mental health and wellbeing services.

The directorate:

To support Psychology and Psychological Therapies structures to contribute to the planning and implementation of service developments across the Specialist Directorate.

Responsibility for Judgement and Analysis

To be part of a senior management team with responsibility for day to day management of psychology staff based in the LDA Specialist Centre and coordinating smooth running of the local psychology services. To provide specialist clinical psychology expertise and advice to a range of people with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism who are considered for admission or admitted to the LDA Specialist Centre. To provide psychological therapies, developing specialist psychological formulations and assessments of clients, formulating plans for their psychological treatment and implementing specialist psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, including in situations where valuable evidence or data might be unavailable, and where expert opinions may vary. To support the LDA Specialist Centre Senior Management Team by undertaking service development and redesign projects and coordinating the resulting work within the team. Proposing and implementing policy changes within this domain and taking a lead in locality service redesign.

Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy

To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams, To administer psychometric and neuropsychological tests requiring high levels of skill and accuracy in visual discrimination of client responses, manipulating test materials whilst observing and scoring client behaviour. To work within the parameters and protocols of the service as an autonomous professional practitioner with responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.

Policy, Service, Research, Innovation and Improvement

The post holder is accountable for their own professional actions, acting within Trust policies and procedures and Professional Practice Guidelines. Policy and Service: To interpret and contribute to the development of policies and procedures for the provision of psychology and psychological therapy services in integrated multi-professional mental health and wellbeing services. To coordinate the implementation of service policies and procedures. To coordinate the systematic governance of psychological practice within the locality. Responsible for ensuring all relevant health and safety procedures are disseminated and adhered to. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services operational policies and services, through the deployment of skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

Research and Development:

To work with the Clinical Psychology Practice and Strategic Development Lead to organise the Research and Development activities of the LDA Specialist Centre psychology service, and to undertake a research programme as agreed within the service. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work within the service and local mental health services. To lead on project work including specific areas of audit, research or service evaluation As a clinician to be responsible for collecting clinical practice and outcome data that contributes to building practice based evidence and service evaluation. To participate in service audits and relevant research projects. To ensure all psychology staff participate in appropriate audit and evaluation of outcomes of the psychology and psychological therapy services.

Innovation and Improvement:

To support the Practice and Strategic Development Leads by undertaking projects and coordinating work for specific aspects of service delivery as a Clinical Specialist or a lead in coordinating identified service developments for the team.

Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources

Responsible for authorisation of travel claims, timesheets and invoices under the direction of the Practice and Strategic Development Professional Lead and General Manager. Responsibility for financial and physical resources ( stock orders and storing equipment) necessary for smooth running of the service. To contribute to staff recruitment, both in the recruitment, advertising and short-listing process and as a member of interview panels for new members of the service. Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology as accredited by the HCPC (or equivalent qualifications as assessed by the HPC). Registration with HCPC/UKCP/Other Specialist regulatory body Further training or equivalent experience in the administration of cognitive assessment tests for purpose diagnostic assessment of Learning Disabilities.

Desirable

Further training or experience in neuropsychological assessment Experience of working within a Positive behavioural Support and/or Active Support models Further training in at least one psychological approach relevant to people with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism Further training or experience in delivering training programmes IT Skills

Experience

Essential

Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community and in patient settings. Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision. Experience in undertaking leadership roles within clinical psychology/psychological therapy services in the NHS and in contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies and clinical policies in multi disciplinary, multi agency contexts. Experience, and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality.

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