Principal Practitioner Psychologist (Gastroenterology) in Manchester

As an experienced Practitioner Psychologist, you will be responsible for establishing a new psychological care pathway (within the specialism of Gastroenterology – Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Functional Gastrointestinal Disorder and Nutrition Support Team) supporting those with difficulties associated with IBD / FGID / Nutritional Support, including pre- and post-surgery support, symptom management and psychological wellbeing approaches. The role will predominantly involve integrating psychological thinking and working within the wider MDTs, alongside provision of a consultation service (including assessment and formulation drawing on biopsychosocial models) to both staff and service users. Detailed scoping of the service pathways will be critical, working alongside members of the MDTs (including exploring the potential of co-production with service users).

Main duties of the job

• Conduct comprehensive psychological assessments to evaluate the emotional, behavioural and cognitive impact of living with IBD/FGID/NST, recognising how factors such as stress and coping style influence disease experience, in both newly diagnosed patients and those with chronic disease.
• Support patients in managing the social and behavioural consequences of IBD/FGID/NST, including navigating daily life challenges, role changes, social relationships and the impact of fluctuating symptoms.
• Provision of a highly specialist psychological assessment/formulation/intervention pathway using evidence-based approaches.
• Work collaboratively within the multidisciplinary teams, contributing psychological expertise to holistic care planning and ensuring psychological needs are addressed alongside medical and nursing care.
• Support IBD patients undergoing emergency surgery, providing psychological support when faced with emergency surgery/coping with a stoma.
• Provide guidance and support for families or carers, where appropriate, to help them understand the psychological aspects and support the patient effectively.
• Ensure the maintenance of highly specialised skills through CPD, including attendance at conferences and other training events, receiving regular supervision and carrying out research and audit projects.
• Work with autonomy and accountability for own clinical decisions with guidance from broad occupational policies, peers and a clinical supervisor.

Important Information about working for GMMH:

• All positions within the Trust are subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks.
• The Trust mandates all post holders who require a DBS for their role to subscribe to the DBS Update Service.
• Applicants are encouraged to apply for posts at Greater Manchester Mental Health who have direct experience of mental health, learning disability or drug and alcohol services either as a service user or a carer.
• The Trust is committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults.
• We are aspiring to ensure our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve.