Principal Clinical Psychologist

Job description

Job responsibilities

*To provide specialist neuropsychological assessments of patients with stroke referred to the Clinical Neuropsychology Service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests (and neuropsychological tests, if appropriately trained), self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with service users, family members and others involved in the client's care.

*To formulate and implement plans for the formal neuropsychological treatment and/or management of a patient's acquired neurological deficits, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client's problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

*To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individual patients, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

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

*To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.

*To provide specialist psychological advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to the formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan for adults with acquired neurological injury.

*To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.

*To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.

*To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans and goal setting.

*To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, highly complex information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
• Current registration with the HCPC under the appropriate domain specific title
• Evidence of regular post-qualification development
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS/HCPC
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists

Desirable

• MSc/PgDip Clinical Neuropsychology
• The Division of Neuropsychology (DoN) Qualification in Clinical Neuropsychology (QiCN) and eligibility to be entered onto the BPS Specialist Register of Clinical Neuropsychologists
• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, particularly neurological conditions, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, inpatient and residential care settings
• Experience of delivering NICE adherent interventions for psychological problems
• Experience of maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems and verbal and physical abuse
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment
• Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision
• Experience of delivering evidence-based specialist psychological assessment and therapy with people

Desirable

• Experience of working within specialist multidisciplinary services for clients with stroke, brain injury and neurological conditions
• Experience of working with patients with dual diagnosis, e.g. including drug and alcohol related disorders, mental health conditions and learning disabilities
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts

Additional Criteria

Essential

• Willingness to use technology to improve standards of care and support to our patients
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic setting
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour
• Own transport available for work purposes
• Full UK driving licence

Desirable

• Personal experience of mental health problems
• Ability to provide accessible non-stigmatising services to patients, families and their carers

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Address

South Petherton Hospital

Bernard Way

South Petherton

Somerset

TA13 5EF

Employer's website

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