Clinical Psychologist/Cognitive Behaviour Therapist

There’s a place for you at CNWL. We’re passionate about delivering first-class patient-centred, safe and effective care, whether it is in a hospital setting, in a community clinic or in the patient’s own home. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Providing top quality care depends on our ability to employ the best people. We’re always looking to recruit outstanding people who will go the extra mile to support our patients, colleagues, teams and the Trust.

With a diverse culture and equally diverse range of opportunities across mental health, community services, addictions, eating disorders, learning disabilities and more – whatever stage of your career you’re at, there’s always a place for you at CNWL.

CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London’s population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run. Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference.

We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page.

CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.

We are looking for an enthusiastic clinical psychologist/accredited CBT therapist to work in the ARMS pathway in our Brent Early Intervention Team. Brent Early Intervention Service (EIS) is a clinical team providing a service for young people aged 14-35 who have developed a First Episode of Psychosis. For the ARMS pathway, we aim to provide a comprehensive assessment for anyone suspected to be experiencing symptoms of prodromal psychosis within two weeks. For those who meet criteria for an At-Risk Mental State we offer holistic treatment and support to clients and carers for up to two years. This is made up of psychological therapy, practical key-working support, and medical and pharmacological care where appropriate.

The post-holder will be expected to provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for clients meeting ARMS criteria. They will administer initial comprehensive assessments of ARMS using a semi-structured assessment tool. They will also provide appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required. They will act as named worker for ARMS clients, taking responsibility for regular monitoring (either by phone or in person), initiating planning and review meetings, and in some cases supporting with practical matters such as housing or finances.

Main duties of the job:

• To provide a specialist psychology service to young people at risk of developing psychosis, including assessment, intervention, formulation, and monitoring of outcomes.
• To promote understanding and early detection of at-risk mental state (ARMS) within the borough, and to contribute to service promotion in achieving this.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate.
• To undertake service evaluation, audit and research.
• To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by the policies and procedures of the service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions with support of clinical supervisor.

Along with the fully established benefits such as Monthly supervision; Annual personal development plans/appraisals; Support and guidance with Revalidation; Hidden Gem and annual award ceremonies. We are also able to offer access to a full range of internal and external training opportunities across our services.

The catchment area of the post is the North London borough of Brent.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• To provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for clients meeting At-Risk Mental State (ARMS) criteria, primarily: offering up to 24 sessions of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp).
• To administer initial comprehensive assessments of ARMS using a semi-structured assessment tool. Training will be provided in the delivery of this assessment tool.
• To provide appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required, including structured family therapy/family intervention following a theoretical model.
• To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
• To act as key worker for ARMS clients, taking responsibility for regular monitoring (either by phone or in person), initiating planning and review meetings, and in some cases supporting with practical matters such as housing or finances.

Contributing to team or service clinical functioning:

• To contribute to the effective working of the Brent EIS Team, and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.
• To contribute to the team or service’s delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.
• To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.
• To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans, as well as in promoting the Brent EIS service.

Policy and service development:

• To contribute to the Brent EIS service, through liaising closely with other services working with young people in the borough. This includes primary care, community mental health services, colleges and universities, and various other third sector organisations.
• To develop relationships with NHS and non-NHS services within Brent Lambeth, with the aim of raising awareness of the early warning signs of psychosis.
• To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.
• To promote service user involvement within the team, and to contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
• To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects and audits.

Care or management of resources:

• To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust’s equipment and physical resources.
• To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

Management and supervision:

• To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of an assistant psychologist or MSc clinical placement student if required, under supervision from a more senior psychologist.
• To supervise Trainee Clinical and Counselling Psychologists after completion of the relevant Course’s Supervision Training.

Teaching and Training:

• To deliver occasional teaching on prodromal psychosis, early intervention, and psychological approaches if required; predominantly at Masters level.
• To provide occasional specialist training in psychological approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.
• To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

Person specification:

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent), as accredited by the BPS OR Substantial specialist knowledge, theory and skills of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy acquired through completion of a diploma / degrees with BABCP accreditation or have completed a BABCP accredited high intensity CBT course or diploma.
• HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist OR Full or provisional accreditation with the BABCP.
• Substantial specialist knowledge, theory and skills of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, including CBT for psychosis.
• Critical understanding of the relevance of studies of human development, psychopathology, psychology, social issues and evidence based practice.
• Training in Family Interventions.
• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.

• Skills in the use of methods of cognitive behavioural therapy assessment, intervention and management.
• Well-developed skills in the effective communication of highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to a wide variety of recipients in a range of settings.
• Skills in providing advice and consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to work as a lone practitioner.
• Awareness of other models of Psychotherapy.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the speciality and mental health generally.

• Experience of specialist cognitive-behavioural psychotherapeutic assessment and treatment of adult patients in a mental health setting and presenting with problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
• Experience delivering evidence-based interventions to clients with psychosis, including CBTp.
• Experience of the application of psychotherapy in different cultural contexts.
• Experience of working within an MDT setting.
• Experience of delivering family interventions for psychosis.
• Experience of setting up and running groups.
• Experience of teaching, training and supervision.

The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.

Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible. Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. Before submitting your application and to avoid disappointment please check that you are eligible under the UKVI points based system.

Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period. If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

You must have appropriate UK professional registration. This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.