Clinical Psychologist or Psychotherapist - Young People's Hostels

Job responsibilities

A. OUTLINE OF POST AND PRINCIPAL CONTRACT TERMS

Job Title: Clinical or Counselling Psychologist /

Child & Adolescent Psychotherapist / Adult Psychotherapist Homeless Young People

Grade: Band 7 equivalent

Contract: 24-months fixed term

Hours: 21 hours or 0.6FTE (based on a 35-hour week).Includes attendance at team meetings on Tuesdays from10.00am to 1.30pm, to include some evening work up to 7:30pm on two days.

Locations: Community Locations in the London Borough of Camden;Brandon Centre

Reports to: Clinical Director

Accountability: The post holder shall be accountable to the Council of Management of the Brandon Centre through the Clinical Director

Salary: £45,895 per annum pro rata

B. JOB SUMMARY

This is an exciting opportunity for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist, or Psychotherapist, with a strong interest in community-based work with young people who have experienced displacement, trauma, and social adversity. The post focuses on supporting young people living in hostels in Camden, including care leavers, young people experiencing homelessness, and those who were previously unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

The postholder will work creatively and flexibly, drawing on psychological knowledge and therapeutic skills to meet a wide range of needs. Hostels have been identified in partnership with the London Borough of Camden based on levels of need. Interventions will vary in length and format, ranging from one-off consultations to brief (up to 6 sessions) and moderate-duration interventions (approximately 1216 or 1620 sessions), depending on the young persons presentation and circumstances.

In addition to direct clinical work, the role may include consultation, reflective practice, and training for hostel staff, as required. The post is funded by a generous grant from Comic Relief and offers a valuable opportunity to contribute to innovative, trauma-informed psychological support within a community setting.

BRANDON CENTRE OVERVIEW

The principal objective of the Brandon Centre, since it was founded in 1969, has been to provide a professional, accessible and flexible service which responds to the psychological and social needs of young people under the age of 25.

Services include:

• Counselling and psychotherapy for young people
• Systemic integrative treatment for families
• Parenting programmes
• Consulting and training to other charities working with young people

Benefits of working at the Brandon Centre include:

• 28 days annual leave pro rata
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Employer Pension Contributions
• Weekly individual clinical supervision
• Weekly CPD session (1 hour: Balint Group / Reflective Practice / External training)

D. PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Clinical tasks

1. To provide highly developed and specialised assessments of the psychological and emotional wellbeing of young people under the age of 25 living in selected hostels in Camden.

2. To provide assessments of young people based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including self-report measures, rating scales, observations, and guided clinical inquiry methods with young people, and where appropriate, family members and others involved in the young persons care.

3. To make decisions about treatment options for young people, considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the young person. This will include the recognition and understanding of the impact of race, religion, age, disability, gender, class, culture, ethnicity and sexual orientation on the young person.

4. To provide continuing psychotherapy or decide on appropriate intervention, either through referring to another professional in the service or if necessary, making a referral to another appropriate agency.

5. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide both general and specialist advice for other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.

6. To provide consultation to key workers of young people as clinically appropriate.

7. To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to a young persons formulation and treatment plan.

8. To maintain clinical records and to keep all client information confidential in accordance with statutory and professional standards. Whenever there is the possibility that the confidentiality of these records might be affected to discuss it with their manager.

9. To liaise with GPs, referrers and other professional workers as appropriate, with the consent of the young person.

10. To provide reports and communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans.

11. To participate in weekly case discussions with the multidisciplinary team in the psychotherapy service.

12. To manage and prioritise own caseload in relation to the needs of the service.

Monitoring and evaluation

1. To participate in the monitoring and evaluation activities in the service.

2. To become familiar with the range of feedback and outcome measures used in the service, and to integrate them into clinical practice.

Supervision, training and teaching

1. To engage in regular clinical supervision and support with case management from the service lead and other senior colleagues, where appropriate.

2. To use supervision as required by the post-holders respective professional body regulations and the requirements of the service.

3. To gain highly specialist experience and skills relevant to the post and/or the service as agreed with the service lead.

IT responsibilities

1. To use computers to write reports and record data.

2. To use email to communicate with other professionals as required.

3. To use the database to record feedback and outcome measures and understand the graphical presentation of data for patient outcomes.

4. To be aware of and use password protection and data protection when recording or sending identifiable information within or across services.

General responsibilities for all Brandon Centre staff

All employees of the Brandon Centre are required to observe legislation, Brandon Centre Policies, standards and guidelines relating to confidentiality, information governance, risk management, safeguarding children, safeguarding adults, equal opportunities, data protection, freedom of information, health and safety, infection control, and the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (previously known as the Hygiene Code).

Confidentiality and data protection

All Brandon Centre employees are required to ensure that personal data and personal information concerning service users and staff is protected at all times, to maintain confidentiality in accordance with the Brandon Centres policy on confidentiality and information governance, and data protection legislation.

Staff are required to obtain, process and/or use personal information in a fair and lawful way, to hold personal information only for the specific registered purpose, and to only share or disclose data to authorised persons or organisations following the strict guidelines and principles as outlined in Brandon Centre policies as instructed.

All Brandon Centre employees are expected to sign a confidentiality agreement on taking up their post at the Centre.

Safeguarding of children and adults

All staff have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children and adults that they come into contact with during the course of their work at the Brandon Centre. The post holder will receive the appropriate level of training, both at induction and on an ongoing basis. She/he is responsible for ensuring that they are familiar with, understand and always work within the safeguarding policies of the organisation.

Health records, record keeping and record management

All staff have an obligation to ensure that patient records (both paper and electronic) are maintained in accordance with Brandon Centre policies, to facilitate clinical care and effective administration, and to ensure that confidentiality is protected at all times. All staff are advised to compile records on the assumption that they are accessible to patients in line with the Access to Health Records Act 1990.

Equality and Diversity

The Brandon Centre is committed to equality in employment and service delivery. Its Equal Opportunities Policy aims to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, race, colour, religion, marital status, sexuality, age or disability and is not placed at a disadvantage by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justified. All those working for Brandon Centre are expected to actively promote equality and diversity in all aspects of their work.

Health and Safety

Employees must be aware of the responsibilities placed on them under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974), and to ensure that agreed safety procedures are carried out to maintain a safe environment for employees, patients and visitors.

Infection Control

The post holder will ensure compliance with the Brandon Centres Infection Prevention and Control policies and procedures, and the Health and Social Care Act 2008, ensuring that the risk of healthcare-associated infection to service users and staff is minimised.

Waste disposal

All staff must ensure that waste produced within the Centre is disposed of in such ways that control risk to the health or safety of staff and the public alike in accordance with relevant legislation and procedures contained within the policy.

Smoke-free environment

There is a no smoking policy in operation in the Brandon Centre. In accordance with this policy, smoking is positively discouraged and is not permitted on the premises.

Qualifications

Essential

• 1) UK recognised postgraduate training in clinical or counselling psychology, child & adolescent psychotherapy qualified to doctorate level or with equivalent experience.
• 2) Registered as clinical/counselling psychologist with the HCPC, or child & adolescent psychotherapist / adult psychotherapist registered with relevant professional body (e.g. ACP; BACP; UKCP; BPC).

Desirable

• 3) Additional formal training since qualification in a recognised psychological therapy.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• 1) Awareness of issues and interest in the provision of psychological therapies with young people under the age of 25 in a community setting.
• 2) Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management.
• 3) An ability to offer brief and moderate duration therapies (6 / 12-16 / 16-20 sessions) to young people, considering their treatment goals.
• 4) An ability to conduct risk assessments with young people and families and develop risk management plans.
• 5) An ability to formulate and provide treatment within at least one model of psychological therapy and to adapt the model to work with adolescents and young people.
• 6) An ability to administer and interpret psychometric and self-report data from young people and others, and to use this information alongside other clinical information to inform formulation and intervention.
• 7) Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to adolescents/young people, carers and professionals involved in their care.

Desirable

• 8) An awareness of relevant legislation and its implications for clinical practice.
• 9) Skills in providing consultation/training to other professional and non-professional groups.
• 10) Knowledge of the psychologically informed environments (PIE) model.

Experience

Essential

• 1) Clinical experience providing psychological therapy with children, adolescents and young people with a range of mental health difficulties in a community setting.
• 2) Experience of psychological / psychotherapeutic assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and young people with a wide range of mental health problems, of varying severity and complexity.
• 3) Experience, understanding and sensitivity to working in a multi-cultural community.

Desirable

• 4) Pre-qualification experience of working with adolescents and young people as a youth worker or social worker, or in a similar capacity, which involves supporting young people who experience personal, familial, educational or social difficulties.
• 5) Post-qualification experience at Band 7 or above (specialist level) in a community setting that offers services to adolescents and young people.
• 6) Understanding and experience of issues related to refugee care.
• 7) Understanding and experience of issues related to homeless young people.
• 8) Experience of working in hostels.
• 9) Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team.
• 10) Experience of service monitoring and evaluation.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential

• 1)Awareness of issues and interest in the provision of psychological therapies with young people under the age of 25 in a community setting.
• 2)Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management.
• 3)An ability to offer brief and moderate duration therapies (6 / 12-16 / 16-20 sessions) to young people, considering their treatment goals.
• 4)An ability to conduct risk assessments with young people and families and develop risk management plans.
• 5)An ability to formulate and provide treatment within at least one model of psychological therapy and to adapt the model to work with adolescents and young people.
• 6)An ability to administer and interpret psychometric and self-report data from young people and others, and to use this information alongside other clinical information to inform formulation and intervention.
• 7)Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to adolescents/young people, carers and professionals involved in their care.

Desirable

• 8)An awareness of relevant legislation (e.g. safeguarding) and its implications for clinical practice.
• 9)Skills in providing consultation/training to other professional and non-professional groups.
• 10)Knowledge of the psychologically informed environments (PIE) model.

Other requirements

Essential

• 1) Able to prioritise, work independently, and on own initiative.
• 2) Ability to work well under pressure and/or in times of crisis.
• 3) Flexibility, creativity, and preparedness to be innovative in a developing organisation.
• 4) Ability to be reliable, cooperative and consistent both as an independent clinician and in team settings.
• 5) Ability to demonstrate commitment to own personal & professional development.
• 6) Computer literate (e.g. MS Office and Video Calling Software)
• 7) Ability and willingness to work in-person in community settings including until 7:30pm.

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).