Psychosexual Psychotherapist in Preston

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire, with services covering the local authority areas of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. The Trust is part of the Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) supporting a population of around 1.6 million people. We have three main hospitals providing acute services to around 330,000 local residents. The organisation also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services, delivers community health services to over 445,000 residents including those in North Lancashire and hosts the National Artificial Eye Service across England. Plus, we provide urgent and emergency care services to an estimated 18 million people who visit the seaside resort each year. We employ over 7000 people from 68 different countries. We welcome and encourage applications from anyone with protected characteristics, as well as supporting reservists and Veterans who are looking for a rewarding and challenging career within the NHS. Blackpool Teaching Hospitals encourages flexible working in all our roles to support staff in maintaining a healthy home-life balance. Working patterns such as part time working, self-rostering, compressed hours, annualised hours, term time, reverse term time and flexitime working can be explored.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and self-motivated individual to join our dynamic and progressive psychosexual service. The successful candidate will provide evidence-based therapy for individuals and couples referred into the service and maintain and manage a set caseload efficiently and productively. The post holder will be required to explore and reflect on their outcomes analysis and productivity data to enable a vibrant modification approach to their work that empowers insight and appropriate adaptations to support their value within the organisation and the NHS in the current climate.

Main duties of the job:

• The post holder will have specialist qualification and knowledge to accurately provide assessment, formulation and intervention for clients presenting with psychogenic and/or organic sexual disorder and to address relationship issues precipitating to or maintaining sexual disorder and/or intimacy issues.
• The post holder will be capable of working professionally and autonomously to provide direct clinical care and support to clients demonstrating high level, expert therapeutic skills and knowledge.
• The post holder will maintain a specific and significant caseload and manage such reporting to the Principal Therapist.
• The post holder will be a team contributor responsible for the provision of a high quality, efficient, effective and specialist service for clients with sexual disorder and relationship issues referred from primary and secondary care within the geographical footprint of Lancashire and Blackpool.

We are a small but dynamic team who provide excellent care to the clients that we help. Our service user outcomes and feedback demonstrate the quality and care that we provide. This is the main ethos of the service and we would only welcome into the team a practitioner who strives professionally with the same aims and drivers. Whilst driven and hard working, we are team focused and the wellbeing of the staff at all times remains a priority. We learn from each other and best practice is shared at every opportunity. We have historically provided clinical placements for trainee therapists. We hold an annual service conference, have in-service group supervision and an established framework for individual supervision and we support at every given opportunity the professional development of our team members.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• To act as an expert practitioner in Psychosexual Therapy.
• To maintain a specific caseload and manage such reporting to the Principal Therapist.
• To work effectively with multidisciplinary colleagues to provide an efficient and high quality standard of care for clients referred into the service.
• To maintain a high standard of personal clinical practice including access of regular supervision as specified by the College of Sex and Relationship Therapists (COSRT).
• To contribute to the maintenance of a positive and efficient service waiting list.
• To provide evidence of effective service delivery through ongoing monitoring and evaluation in line with key performance indicators.
• To support the governance and quality improvement agenda for the organisation.
• Ensure supervision and Care Quality Commission standards and regulations are embedded in practice.
• Adhere to Trust clinical and management policies and procedures.
• To support innovation and change within clinical practice in line with Trust requirements, and emerging national priorities and guidance.
• To ensure that all clinical interventions carried out are evidence based and clinically effective.
• Possess the skills and wide range of clinical knowledge to work as an autonomous practitioner to undertake independent, direct consultation and provision of care.
• Formulate, provide and evaluate intervention/treatment for complex patients including rationale for decision making.
• To adopt the concept of customer care and challenge performance or interactions which fail to deliver a quality service to internal and external customers.
• Be a role model for the service demonstrating a clear understanding of organisational goals and represent the beliefs and values of the organisation.
• Comply with all training to identify and manage risk including safeguarding concerns ensuring policies and procedures are adhered to.
• Maintain own professional registration and hold responsibility for own continued professional development meeting requirements to maintain a professional portfolio and demonstrating evidence of reflective practice.

Person specification:

• Post Graduate Qualification in Sex and Relationship Therapy awarded from COSRT accredited course.
• COSRT accreditation or UKCP registered MSC Psychosexual Therapy Qualification in clinical supervision and/or extensive experience in role to provide competencies to provide supervision.

• A comprehensive understanding of the range of presenting psychosexual and relationship issues and experience of direct client contact and provision of specialist therapeutic interventions.
• A good and effective understanding of the range of psychosexual therapeutic interventions and their application.
• A good understanding of physiological and psychological sexual disorder and the ability to develop a framework of care that identifies the predisposing, precipitating and maintaining factors using evidence based theoretical knowledge.
• A sound understanding of human sexuality.
• An absolute understanding of confidentiality.
• An exact understanding of safeguarding and the integration of practice and procedure.
• Experience of assessing psychosexual referrals and the ability to differentiate between appropriate and non-appropriate referrals.
• Experience of working with clients presenting with a range of sex and relationship difficulties.
• Experience of working with a diverse client group with a wide range of presenting problems and significant levels of distress.
• Experience of using a range of therapeutic interventions and approaches with clients with sexual disorder.
• Experience of working with the dyad.
• Experience of multidisciplinary working.
• Experience of applying research based knowledge into appropriate practice.
• Experience of policy development and implementation.
• Experience of regular supervised practice including receipt and provision of clinical supervision in a variety of settings i.e. peer, individual and group.
• Experience of teaching/mentoring less experienced qualified or trainee therapists.
• Previous experience of working within an NHS/healthcare setting.
• Experience of contributing toward service development, audit and outcome measures.

• Developed ability on the collation of information, efficient, accurate and selective composition of correspondence, letters, reports.
• An ability to address matters of a confidential nature including highly developed interpersonal skills whilst addressing sensitive subject matter and maintaining relevant communication both within and outside the organisation (both written and verbal) including email.
• Accountability for accurate record keeping and information governance integral to Trust policy and procedure.
• To have the skills to develop problem solving frameworks of care including solution focus approaches.
• Ability to maintain concentration and therapeutic integrity, responding appropriately and participating as required.
• To be able to meet deadlines and deliver objectives.
• Ability to use the clients' emotional states sensitively but within case development to attain service user goals.
• To wholly recognise the remit of persuasion within the therapeutic arena and be selective and ethically aware of its place within the therapeutic relationship and dynamic.
• Sound experience of being able to regularly respond to and work effectively with distressed and anxious clients and their partners.
• Ability to respond effectively and efficiently to external and internal queries from staff, clients and other agencies/partners.
• Knowledgeable regarding equality and diversity legislation and be empathetic to the individual needs of all service users.
• An ability to use self-reflection and demonstrate availability within the supervisory process.
• Ability to effectively contribute toward the management of a diverse caseload and effectively contribute to the overall reduction of the service waiting list.
• Sound IT skills.
• Ability to ensure compliance with CQC requirements.
• Proven ability to manage and mitigate clinical risks.
• Experience of using outcome measures and service user feedback to drive change.
• Knowledge of mental health referral pathways and procedures.