Senior Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner in London

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Talk Changes, City & Hackney IAPT service and contribute to the provision of a stepped-care service for psychological problems. Talk Changes is a well-established department with a commitment to service innovation as well as the development of applied psychology professions. You will be working alongside four other Senior PWPs taking a leading role in providing day-to-day support to a team of 40 trained and trainee PWPs. Overall, the service has Clinical/Counselling Psychologists, CBT Therapists and PWPs/Psychology Assistants and has ready access to specialist supervision. We also have good links with regional clinical/counselling psychology training courses and substantial in-service training programmes. Continuing professional development, including service-related research, is actively encouraged. The post is based at St Leonard's Hospital in Hoxton but may involve travel to other community and primary care sites in Hackney. Staff will be expected to work from home for three days per week and work on-site two days per week.

Main duties of the job:

• Operational supervision of the service's telephone assessment centre
• Contributing to the development of treatment resources
• Service audit
• Coordinating professional development for the PWP team under direction from the Low Intensity Lead
• Delivery of step 2 clinical interventions for people with common mental disorders of all ages
• Supporting the delivery of low-intensity interventions, (e.g. cCBT clinics and psycho-educational group workshops) delivered by PWPs
• Liaise with other relevant services in both the statutory and independent sectors and support arrangements to improve referral pathways
• Support PWPs and PWP trainees in operational aspects of their roles
• Conducting case management supervision, clinical skills supervision and supporting trainee PWPs with their placements

The post-holder will be part of a workforce of PWPs, Psychologists and CBT Therapists. Candidates must have a PG Certificate in Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment or equivalent and experience of working as a PWP in a stepped-care psychological therapy service post qualification.

About us:

Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a high performing and flourishing organisation serving the population of Hackney, East London, The City and beyond. We are extremely proud of the fact that Homerton Hospital has recently attained the highest possible rating of "Outstanding" from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Our integrated Trust provides comprehensive hospital and community health services for its local population and a range of specialist services for a wider group of patients. In addition, the Trust manages services out of St Leonard's Hospital and the Mary Seacole Nursing Home. Homerton aims to ensure equality and value diversity, and we are committed to inclusion for all of our staff. This is reflected in our policies, procedures and People Plan. All of our staff are expected to embody our Trust values at all times. We are also committed, through our Fair Recruitment Standards, to ensuring all applicants are treated fairly. Homerton has a proud tradition of supporting and developing its staff, including its well-regarded and valued nursing community, and all staff are able to take advantage of a great range of benefits. Homerton is proud to have been included on the HSJ & Nursing Times Best Places to Work list.

Person Specification:

• Education / Qualifications:
• Essential: Undergraduate degree or equivalent, PG Cert in Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment or equivalent
• Desirable: A recorded/registered qualification in one of the following at graduate level in nursing, social work, occupational therapy, or arts therapy or within a psychological therapy.
• Skills/ Abilities:
• Essential: Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills, Analytical - able to interpret data and synthesise information from different sources, Use of basic counselling skills to engage patients in constructive therapeutic relationships, Skills for delivering protocol-based CBT (or other) short-term interventions, Ability to work independently in settings away from the team base, Experience of working with adults with common mental health problems.
• Experience:
• Essential: Post qualification experience working as a PWP in an IAPT service
• Desirable: Post qualification experience working with physical health conditions/Long COVID.
• Knowledge:
• Essential: Understanding of the nature of common mental health problems, An understanding of the demographics & environmental features of Hackney or similar areas & their impact on Mental Health, Knowledge of evidence-based treatments for common mental health problems in primary care.