Job summary
This post is offered as either a fixed-term 3-year post or a 3-year internal or external secondment.
Due to the part-time secondment of the existing service lead and the clinical and strategic expansion of the service, we are seeking a committed and enthusiastic Clinical/ Counselling Psychologist with expertise in service development, eating disorders and other mental health difficulties. You will be working in our close-knit and innovative Community Eating Disorders service.
At West London NHS Trust we want to employ talented, passionate and skilled professionals, so that we can provide the best service possible to those who use our services.
In return, we invest in and support our staff. In this role, we offer:
- Access to relevant specialist training, e.g. CBTE, MANTRA, and DBT.
- Close support and development from operational and psychology leadership across Community & Recovery services.
- A realistic approach to flexible working (e.g. 60% office-based)
- An exceptionally welcoming, psychology-led team, with a high level of skills and commitment.
- Access to service development and strategic leadership opportunities which would make you highly competitive for future 8c roles.
- A values driven environment - Togetherness, Responsibility, Excellence and Caring underpin how we treat each other and our patients
- Regular line management and supervision
- We will consider both full-time and part-time applicants.
Main duties of the job
You will provide joint clinical and operational leadership of the specialist outpatient Eating Disorders service. You will ensure systematic management of the service, and NICE-adherent, accessible and high quality psychological and dietetics provision. You will be actively involved in the consolidation of service developments in line with the Community Transformation, including our Freed Pathway, Disordered Eating Pathway and our partnership working with community providers and Mental Health Integrated Network Teams.
You will hold a caseload of clients who require a highly experienced practitioner, and will deliver assessments and specialist evidence-based individual and group interventions, managing and advising others on the associated physical and psychiatric risks autonomously and effectively. You will initiate and lead on appropriate Quality Improvement (QI) projects, and provide clinical and professional supervision to staff members in the service. You will support and/or lead on recruitment, and capability reviews, complaints and incident reviews.
This role requires extensive experience and advanced skills working as a qualified Clinical/Counselling psychologist in Eating Disorders, and advanced skills working with variations in severity, diagnoses, complexities and risk.
About us
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK. We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.
Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country. We'rerated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Together, we're committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.
We are much enriched by a diverse workforce and we are committed to equality, diversity and anti-racism. We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and lived experience of psychological distress.
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will be based in the team base in Ealing Hospital, with some travel to community sites in Ealing and Hounslow. Some therapy is provided online to increase accessibility, but client choice and clinical suitability are always prioritised.
Local Amenities and Transport Links
The hospital site has cafes and shops and is a short walk to the amenities of Central Hanwell.
Hanwell Station on the Elizabeth Line is close by and served by trains every 15 minutes. The Elizabeth Line serves stations from Reading and Heathrow in the west across London, through central London all the way to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.
The team base is a short bus ride from Brentford Station (south-west rail to Clapham Junction, Waterloo and Hounslow); Boston Manor Tube Station (Piccadilly Line); and Ealing Broadway Tube Station (District, Central Lines).
There is a beautiful local canal and park nearby.
Job description
Job responsibilities
You will be based in the team base in Ealing Hospital, with some travel to community sites in Ealing and Hounslow. Some therapy is provided online to increase accessibility, but client choice and clinical suitability are always prioritised.
Local Amenities and Transport Links
The hospital site has cafes and shops and is a short walk to the amenities of Central Hanwell.
Hanwell Station on the Elizabeth Line is close by and served by trains every 15 minutes. The Elizabeth Line serves stations from Reading and Heathrow in the west across London, through central London all the way to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.
The team base is a short bus ride from Brentford Station (south-west rail to Clapham Junction, Waterloo and Hounslow); Boston Manor Tube Station (Piccadilly Line); and Ealing Broadway Tube Station (District, Central Lines).
There is a beautiful local canal and park nearby.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- A recorded/registered Doctorate in Clinical/ Counselling Psychology
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
- Training in clinical supervision for Doctoral, and equivalent, trainees
Desirable
- Other qualifications relevant to the client group (e.g. CBTE, MANTRA; DBT)
Experience
Essential
- Demonstrable substantial clinical experience with the Eating Disorder client group.
- Relevant post-qualification experience.
- Substantial experience with clients with Complex Emotional Needs, complex trauma, anxiety, and depression
- Experience of delivering CBT and DBT therapy groups.
- Experience in managing risk to self and others and creating safety plans, in collaboration with the service user and professional agencies
Knowledge
Essential
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of assessment and intervention in Eating Disorders and other mental health difficulties
- Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for work in the current setting
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Excellent engagement and verbal communication skills, including with persons who may be highly distressed, hostile and/or experience barriers in relationships and communication.
- Advanced skills in delivering therapies for Eating Disorders.
- Able to make complex clinical judgements both alone and with MDT or supervisory consultation, at an appropriate level.
- Able to plan, prioritise and organise own workload, including clinical, administrative and other aspects.
- Able to independently manage the competing demands of the leadership role.
- Able to function in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g. in dealing with service users with serious mental illness, histories of homicide and serious violence, self-harm, sexual abuse).
- Strong written communication skills
- Ability to provide on-going treatment in complex and frequently changing circumstances.
- Ability to liaise with and manage complex professional networks.
- Ability to use audit and evaluation to identify and plan service improvements, especially with regards to waiting time and service equity.
- Ability to represent the service in a range of professional and consultation forums.
Other Requirements
Essential
- Demonstrable enthusiasm for and commitment to working with service users with Eating Disorders and where relevant highly complex levels of need.
- Demonstrable enthusiasm for supporting the clinical work and skill development of team members and junior colleagues.
- Demonstrable enthusiasm for the role of psychological therapies in supporting people with Eating Disorders.
- Must be capable of being guided by precedent, clearly defined policies, procedures and codes of conduct
- Able to reflect on own professional practice
- 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.
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- A recorded/registered Doctorate in Clinical/ Counselling Psychology
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council
- Training in clinical supervision for Doctoral, and equivalent, trainees
Desirable
- Other qualifications relevant to the client group (e.g. CBTE, MANTRA; DBT)
Experience
Essential
- Demonstrable substantial clinical experience with the Eating Disorder client group.
- Relevant post-qualification experience.
- Substantial experience with clients with Complex Emotional Needs, complex trauma, anxiety, and depression
- Experience of delivering CBT and DBT therapy groups.
- Experience in managing risk to self and others and creating safety plans, in collaboration with the service user and professional agencies
Knowledge
Essential
- Specialist theoretical and practical knowledge of assessment and intervention in Eating Disorders and other mental health difficulties
- Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for work in the current setting
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Excellent engagement and verbal communication skills, including with persons who may be highly distressed, hostile and/or experience barriers in relationships and communication.
- Advanced skills in delivering therapies for Eating Disorders.
- Able to make complex clinical judgements both alone and with MDT or supervisory consultation, at an appropriate level.
- Able to plan, prioritise and organise own workload, including clinical, administrative and other aspects.
- Able to independently manage the competing demands of the leadership role.
- Able to function in highly emotionally distressing circumstances on a frequent basis (e.g. in dealing with service users with serious mental illness, histories of homicide and serious violence, self-harm, sexual abuse).
- Strong written communication skills
- Ability to provide on-going treatment in complex and frequently changing circumstances.
- Ability to liaise with and manage complex professional networks.
- Ability to use audit and evaluation to identify and plan service improvements, especially with regards to waiting time and service equity.
- Ability to represent the service in a range of professional and consultation forums.
Other Requirements
Essential
- Demonstrable enthusiasm for and commitment to working with service users with Eating Disorders and where relevant highly complex levels of need.
- Demonstrable enthusiasm for supporting the clinical work and skill development of team members and junior colleagues.
- Demonstrable enthusiasm for the role of psychological therapies in supporting people with Eating Disorders.
- Must be capable of being guided by precedent, clearly defined policies, procedures and codes of conduct
- Able to reflect on own professional practice
- 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.
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
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).
Additional information
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).
