Deputy Clinical Lead - Talking Therapies in Bexleyheath

As Deputy Clinical Lead, you will be responsible for providing the leadership, operational management, supervision, training and support of the senior HI CBT therapists, LI CBT therapists and counselors in Mind in Bexley IAPT working closely with the Head of Psychological Therapies and Clinical Lead and Service Lead in delivering the objectives of the service. You are required to work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service/team. In addition, to utilize research skills for audit, policy and service development and to propose and implement policy changes within the area served by the team/service.

We are looking for a highly experienced clinician with exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, who will provide clinical supervision, management and leadership to the senior clinicians and ensures that the service operates in accordance with NICE guidelines. The post involves being able to work flexibly and to be able to work at least one evening session (i.e. 12am – 8pm one day).

Main responsibilities:

• Oversee clinical caseloads of clinical staff and report findings in management meetings as requested.
• Support the Step 2 and Step 3 leads within the office and staff working remotely in ensuring the safe and clinically effective case management of cases, including the oversee of duty supervision.
• Ensure that the fidelity of treatment across the service is upheld and any issues reported.
• Ensure the consistency of supervision decisions across the service and to escalate any reported problems.
• Ensure that staff are regularly informed of any changes to service policies and adhere to protocols.
• Provide specialist psychological advice, guidance, and consultation to staff in primary care, contributing directly to client’s formulation and treatment. This will include assessment, individual and group interventions, risk management and referral on to other mental health services as required.
• Provide specialist advice on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management and including liaising with staff across all sectors of care (for example primary care, secondary care and specialist/tertiary services). This will include support for all staff at Mind in Bexley when present in the office.
• Support the Head of Psychological Therapies IAPT and Clinical Lead and Service Lead with service performance responsibilities and representing the service at the external meetings, e.g. with G.P’s and ICB commissioners and other meetings as needed.
• Support the Safeguarding Lead with Safeguarding staff queries across the organisation with documentation and management. This includes regular attendance at the local safeguarding meetings as required.
• Support the Head of Psychological Therapies as a senior clinician, manager and leader for a team of psychologists, psychological therapists and trainees. This will include governance responsibilities, creating and implementing policies, service development, recruitment, performance reviews etc.
• Working closely with the Head of Psychological Therapies IAPT and the Service Lead to maintain electronic systems for referrals, appointments, activity and outcome monitoring for performance management, including continuous audit and evaluation of service. Ensure appropriate use and administration of such systems by other members of staff within the service and provide support when needed.
• Communicate across language and cultural barriers, including working for sustained periods of time by communicating with patients, carers or groups through professional interpreters or advocates.
• Be responsible for recording, monitoring and reporting on clinical work and communicating in a skilled and sensitive manner, highly complex, sensitive or contentious information concerning the assessment, formulation, treatment plans and progress of patients in both verbal and written formats.
• Support the implementation of national standards for competencies in CBT and Counselling practice across primary care teams by ensuring that team members make use of appropriate supervision, training and outcomes monitoring.
• Work closely with the Head of Psychological Therapies and Clinical Lead in motivating, evaluating and developing high and low intensity services and counselling services.
• To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.
• Employ a broad theoretical knowledge of psychology and specialist clinical skills to develop and support the psychological skills of others (including graduate mental health workers, trainee and qualified psychologists, and members of other staff groups) through the development and delivery of teaching, training and supervision programmes.
• Ensure that all members of multidisciplinary teams have access to a psychologically based framework for the understanding and care of patients and families/carers referred to the service, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.
• Work closely with The Head of Psychological Therapies on developing service areas, including development of referral pathways, delivery of group and individual interventions and systematic governance of psychological practice within the service.
• Ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology within the service area and contribute across the service by exercising the skills of a reflective and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular clinical and professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines.
• Contribute to departmental governance and service management activities such as data collection and reporting of outcomes within community services, commissioners and other stakeholders as appropriate.
• To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder’s professional and service managers in the field of IAPT and related disciplines.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• Doctoral level training in Clinical or Counselling Psychology plus further post graduate level diploma qualification training in a psychological therapy which may be CBT or another IAPT appropriate evidence based therapy (i.e. IPT) and/or Qualification from High Intensity IAPT Course or equivalent of BABCP accredited Post Graduate CBT training course.
• Accredited as a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist by the British Association of Cognitive & Behavioural Psychotherapies (BABCP) or nearing completion of accreditation process.
• Minimum four years post qualification and significant experience working as a fully qualified psychological therapy practitioner and demonstrating the competences as required.
• Significant experience of working within primary care psychology and/or Talking Therapy service.
• Formal training in supervision and experience of training and supervising qualified and pre-qualification psychologists, and/or high intensity and low intensity CBT therapists and counsellors.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for patients’ psychological care and treatment, both as a clinician, supervisor and team coordinator.
• Experience of work in a multi-cultural setting, including working with interpreters.
• Managerial experience and experience in leading a team of therapists and counsellors.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.

Desirable

• Managerial qualification.
• Experience of teaching pre-qualification psychological therapists and other NHS staff.
• Knowledge of key service development issues including mental health and primary care mental health/IAPT Counselling, EMDR and top up LTC training.

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Able to lead a team and make decisions and judgements about the best possible way forward in a complex work environment where the evidence base is evolving.
• Extensive experience of providing CBT to clients with a wide range of mental health problems across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity in primary care, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Computer literate, able to use Word and Excel, ability to use of IAPTus.