Clinical Psychologist

As a Clinical Psychologist you will provide a service for adults with complex mental health needs. The post holder will work autonomously within professional guidelines and service policies, providing psychological assessment, formulation and evidence-based psychological interventions. The Psychologist will provide consultation and advice to multidisciplinary colleagues and liaise with managers, carers and external agencies where appropriate. The role includes contributing to multidisciplinary care planning, psychological formulation, outcome measures and the development of psychologically informed care.

Main duties of the job

• To work collaboratively with a broad range of health and social care professionals and agencies, including within multidisciplinary teams and specialised clinical settings.
• To undertake structured clinical interviews, psychological assessments and behavioural observations of individuals and groups.
• To develop psychological formulations of clinical presentations and contribute to the development and implementation of care plans, including psychologically informed treatment plans.
• To determine and implement appropriate psychological interventions based on clinical formulation and evidence-based practice.
• To deliver psychological interventions, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) informed interventions and other appropriate therapeutic approaches, in both individual and group formats where appropriate.
• To support Assistant Psychologists in undertaking semi-structured interviews, assessments and delegated clinical tasks, and provide supervision and guidance where appropriate.
• To contribute to the development of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) plans and behavioural analyses when required to support risk management and improved patient outcomes.
• To contribute to multidisciplinary risk assessments and psychological risk formulations, supporting safe and effective care planning.

About us

Our acute inpatient Mental Health service provides a safe and stabilising environment for men and women who are in crisis, experiencing an acute episode of mental illness and requiring an emergency admission. Service users may be informal or detained under the Mental Health Act. The ethos across our service is about assessing and treating service users in the least restrictive environment and planning for discharge in a robust and timely fashion. With a focus on stabilisation, we support service users to manage their mental health, reinforce daily living skills and prepare for independent life back in the community. Our teams work closely and collaboratively with service users, their families and the referrer to provide a seamless pathway from referral to discharge. Our approach is recovery focused and supported by comprehensive multi-disciplinary teams, contributing to shorter lengths of stay. Our short-term psychological interventions are underpinned by a range of therapeutic programmes.

Job responsibilities

• To represent the Psychology Department within multidisciplinary meetings, ward rounds and case conferences and produce psychological reports where required.
• To provide psychologically informed consultation and guidance to other professional groups and staff teams.
• To contribute to training programmes for staff teams in order to promote psychologically informed practice and improve service delivery.
• To maintain accurate and timely clinical records in accordance with organisational policies and professional standards.
• To work as an active member of the multidisciplinary team and contribute to collaborative decision-making.
• To follow a person-centred, trauma-informed and evidence-based approach to care.
• To work in accordance with national policies, organisational procedures and relevant professional and regulatory standards including those of the HCPC and British Psychological Society where applicable.
• To contribute to service development, clinical audit, outcome monitoring and quality improvement initiatives where appropriate.
• To work in emotionally demanding environments, frequently encountering distressing situations, while maintaining a high level of professionalism.
• To work in situations where there may be exposure to aggression or challenging behaviour and to manage such situations in accordance with organisational procedures.

Person Specification

Experience

• Full registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a Practitioner Psychologist in Clinical, Forensic or Counselling Psychology.
• Doctoral level qualification (or equivalent) in Clinical, Forensic or Counselling Psychology.
• Chartered membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS) is desirable.
• Additional training in CBT, DBT, trauma-informed approaches, EMDR or Positive Behaviour Support is desirable.
• Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team in mental health services.
• Experience working with individuals with complex mental health needs, including personality difficulties and neurodiverse presentations such as Autism Spectrum Conditions or Learning Disabilities.
• Experience delivering psychological assessments, formulations and evidence-based psychological interventions.
• Experience supervising Assistant Psychologists or trainee psychologists is desirable.
• Experience working within inpatient, rehabilitation, forensic or specialist mental health services is desirable.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.