Highly Specialist Psychotherapist, Practitioner Psychologist

Overview

A Vacancy at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

The Enhanced Recovery Team (ERT) assess and support people (aged 18-65) who have severe and enduring mental health needs and require residential care or high support placements in the London Borough of Lewisham.

ERT work closely with service-users, their carers, and housing providers to help people live fulfilling lives during their rehabilitation and recovery across suitable placements. There are opportunities to work with a diverse range of people and clinical presentations, through assessment, formulation, one-to-one psychotherapy and systemic working.

Summary

This job description is an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities of the post and the post holder may be required to undertake additional duties appropriate to the pay band. The post may change over time to reflect the developing needs of the Trust and its services, as well as the personal development of the post holder.

This job description will be subject to regular review and adjustment.

Key Responsibilities

1. KR 1 Clinical and Client Care
   • To provide highly specialist NICE concordant psychological assessments, formulations, and interventions for clients with enduring/recovery from complex mental health presentations. This will include a range of complex presentations and diagnoses, including psychosis, complex mood, personality disorders, and other presentations.
   • To devise psychologically informed and recovery focussed care-plans, suitable to team delivered psychological interventions. To support care-teams in carrying out such plans.
   • To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients if required.
   • To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
   • To ensure that the views of service users and carers are sought and incorporated into all care delivered.
2. KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning
   • To contribute to the effective working of the team/service via a psychologically informed framework.
   • To advise other members of the service on specialist psychological care of clients.
   • To contribute to the team/service’s delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities, and particularly to those requiring 24-hour support.
   • To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.
   • To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients to develop and review care plans.
   • To utilise theory, evidence-based literature, and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
   • Contribute to/liaise with wider Lewisham AMH Psychology & Psychotherapy colleagues.
3. KR 3 Policy and service development
   • To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.
   • To contribute to Lewisham Enhanced Recovery Team and South London Partnership service development, through attendance of key committees, panels, and workgroups, and through active contribution to/leadership of appropriate projects.
   • To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities’ members and particularly those requiring 24-hour support accommodation.
4. KR 4 Care or management of resources
   • To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust’s equipment and physical resources.
   • To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.
5. KR 5 Management and supervision
   • To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of more junior psychologists with support from a more senior psychologist.
   • To supervise trainee applied psychologists within own area of specialism.
   • To contribute to the appraisal of more junior psychologists, as appropriate.
   • To contribute to the recruitment of more junior psychologists, as appropriate.
   • To provide supervision for the psychological work of other multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.
6. KR 6 Teaching and Training
   • To undertake psychology informed training with other professions, MDT colleagues and care-teams in accommodation/support settings.
   • To undertake teaching and training of pre- and post- qualification psychologists.
   • To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within Lewisham Enhanced Recovery Team, by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychology appropriate to a secondary care client group.
   • To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.
7. KR 7 Record-keeping and Information Governance
   • To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
   • To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.
8. KR 8 Research and development
   • To initiate, undertake, support, and supervise complex service evaluation and audits, as necessary.
   • To initiate and carry out research as appropriate.
   • To provide expertise in a specialist area, which will contribute to the Lewisham Enhanced Recovery Team.
   • To initiate and implement the development of outcome measurement and assessment and assist other staff in the implementation of same.
9. KR 9 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development
   • To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist according to HCPC and Trust guidelines.
   • To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with a professional body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the HCPC ‘Standards for Continuing Professional Development’.
   • To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.
   • To comply with the HCPC ‘Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics’ and ‘Standards of Proficiency’, and ensure professional development in line with these.
   • To adhere to the BPS’s Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.
10. KR10 General
    • To travel to care settings, home visits, community placements, and psychology meetings as appropriate and across the borough or Trust, when required.
    • To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group and follow trust policies relating to its management.
    • To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations and to support others involved in such situations.
    • To work flexibly in terms of clinical provision, to support overall service needs.

This advert closes on Monday 15 Sep 2025