Practitioner Psychologist - band 7/8a in Wakefield

We are looking for a talented Band 7/8a Practitioner Psychologist to join our Inpatient Forensic Psychology Team at Fieldhead Hospital. The Inpatient psychology team works across three sites; Newton Lodge, a 90 bedded Medium Secure Service for men and women; The Bretton Centre, a 38 bedded male Low Secure service; and Newhaven, a 15 bedded Low secure service for men with learning disabilities. The service offers a unique opportunity to work with service users within a forensic setting, who have mental health difficulties, attachment difficulties, experiences of trauma and learning disabilities through various stages of their recovery. The psychology department is progressive and continuously undergoing positive change and development. We are implementing a Trauma Informed Care approach and a clinical pathway that provides direct psychology input and indirect MDT activity, to service users and teams across the service. There is a lot of scope for involvement in shaping service delivery and research.

The successful candidate will provide assessment and therapeutic interventions for the inpatient group, and service level consultation, supervision, reflective practice and training. The post will have a particular focus on our recovery pathway, and the post-holder will receive regular clinical supervision from practitioner psychologists based within the Forensic Service. Experience of working with complex mental health needs and of working in secure settings would be desirable but enthusiasm for working with people with complex presentations is essential as well as the ability to develop and communicate complex formulations. The post is suitable for a psychologist already working at 8a who wishes to develop their skills further in a forensic setting, or a newly qualified psychologist undertaking their first qualified role.

We are a specialist NHS Foundation Trust that provides community, mental health and learning disability services for the people of Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield. We also provide low and medium secure services and are the lead for the West Yorkshire secure provider collaborative. Our mission is to help people reach their potential and live well in their communities; we do this by providing high-quality care in the right place at the right time. We employ staff in both clinical and non-clinical services who work hard to make a difference to the lives of service users, families and carers. We encourage and welcome applications from all protected characteristic groups, we value diversity and want our workforce to be reflective of our communities.

Being a foundation Trust means we’re accountable to our members, who can have a say in how we’re run. Around 14,300 local people (including staff) are members of our Trust. Join us and you will be one of over 4,500 staff committed to supporting and improving the mental, physical and social needs of the thousands of people we meet and help each year. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expect all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment.

The post holder will provide a high quality specialist clinical psychology service to clients as part of the multidisciplinary team within the service. Provide highly specialist psychological assessment and intervention. Provide advice and consultation on psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues, and other non-professional carers, working autonomously within professional guidelines, and the overall framework of the team and trust's policies and procedures. Supervise and support Psychology Assistants, Trainees and Band 7 HCPC Registered Clinical Psychologists. To utilise research skills for audit, policy, service development and research within the areas served by the team/service.

KEY RESULT AREAS:

• To provide highly specialist psychological assessment and treatment for service users experiencing moderate, severe and complex mental health/psychological problems based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect observation and semi-structured interviews with service users, their family and/or carers.
• To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological intervention and/or management of mental health/psychological and/or behavioural difficulties based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and exercising expert clinical judgement based on the highest standards of evidence-based practice across a full range of care settings.
• To establish rapport and build effective working relationships with service users and all those involved in their psychological, emotional and behavioural well-being.
• To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes.
• To work jointly with other team members and professionals in delivering the most appropriate clinical service to service users and, where appropriate, their families/carers.
• To follow appropriate local Safeguarding Adults and Children policies in all clinical work, including close liaison with all relevant agencies.
• To provide specialist risk assessment of, and intervention to, service users who may present in local acute settings in line with agreed procedures.
• To liaise and consult with the wider professional network in the care of service users, offering consultation and supervision where necessary.
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychological interventions and to autonomously manage a caseload of clients.
• To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all service users, the settings in which they present, and agencies involved in the psychological, emotional and behavioural well-being.
• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to effectively evaluate progress.
• To participate in the multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment of service users.

For full job description, please see attached supporting documents.