Clinical Counsellor and Psychotherapist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Role summary

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder NMOSD) is an auto-immune, inflammatory condition affecting the central nervous system particularly the optic nerves and the spinal cord. Patients may develop severe visual impairment and mobility problems from relapses. Although patients can become blind and wheelchair bound with attacks, immunosuppressive therapies have a marked effect on reducing relapses.

In 2010 a National service was commissioned to be run between Liverpool and Oxford with the AQP4 antibody assay being performed in Oxford. Each centre has been funded to run a multidisciplinary service involving neurologists, paediatric neurologists, psychology, ophthalmology teams, specialist nurses, NMO clinical fellows, diagnostic NMO research team, occupational therapists and physiotherapists and administrational support.

A person centred, approach governs support for service users, families and carers. Psychology offers a humanistic and holistic approach which recognises the importance of the whole person, and aims to provide a clinically informed person centred approach to ensure interventions are tailored to the specific needs of the individual and their family, addressing the emotional and life changing impact which can result from NMO relapses that may cause severe visual loss, or permanent disability.

The counselling/psychotherapy sessions for NMO will help patients who are having difficulty with their condition emotionally, psychologically to improve their well-being and psychological adjustment. The therapeutic support will be according to clinical need.

Key responsibilities

Clinical:

1. To provide specialist outpatient psychological assessments of patients referred to the NMOSD team in the NMOSD clinics.

2. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a patients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.

3. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

4. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients.

6. To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to patients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

7. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all patients of the service.

8. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual patients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspect of risk assessment and risk management.

9. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients.

Teaching, training, and supervision:

1. To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior member of British Association of Counselling Psychotherapies (BACP).

2. To gain additional highly specialist experience and skills relevant to clinical counselling/psychotherapy.

3. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working within NMOSD team.

Management, recruitment, policy and service development:

1. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring, service valuation and audit.

Research and service evaluation:

1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

2. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.

3. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.

IT responsibilities

1. To maintain professional and personal records on computer, as appropriate

2. To enter data onto local Trust IT systems and databases, as appropriate

3. To utilize IT methodologies, such as e-mail and the internet, to access clinical and professional information and to communicate with colleagues.

General

1. To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice.

2. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Association of Counselling Psychotherapists, The Health Professions Council and Trust policies and procedures.

4. 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.

Additional notes:

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with the manager.

This job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing service requirements and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder.

The post holder is expected to comply with all relevant Trust policies, procedures and guidelines, including those relating to Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety and Confidentiality of Information, clinical governance including research governance.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in Psychology or Counselling & Psychotherapy, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and psychotherapy, as accredited by the BACP.
• Qualification and experience of delivering CBT.
• Registered with relevant professional body
• Masters level qualification in relevant subject or equivalent experience

Desirable

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of counselling / psychotherapy assessment and treatment of clients with complex physical health conditions.
• Knowledge of research methodology and design.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of working within the context of a multi-disciplinary team.
• Evidence of continued professional development as recommended by the relevant professional or registering body
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group
• Expertise in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Well developed and effective communication skills, oral and written, to communicate complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Good oral communication skills based on fluency on the English Language
• Proficient in use of IT systems including word processing, email and local electronic patient information systems
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of service governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Ability to self-reflect, use clinical supervision appropriately and consider complex organisational and team dynamics
• Ability to adhere to and demonstrate Trust values and behaviours
• Ability to travel across sites efficiently and across Trust boundaries to attend meetings, etc.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
• Experience & evidence of undertaking relevant research
• Experience and evidence of audit
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of cognitive behavioural therapy in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
• Experience and demonstrable evidence of teaching/training.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

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

Employer details

Employer name

The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Address

The Walton Centre

Lower Lane

Liverpool

L9 7LJ

Employer's website

https://www.thewaltoncentre.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)