Principle Group Psychotherapist

Job summary

The post holder will belong to the Psychotherapy Team in Adult Complex Service that clinically provides psychoanalytic assessment consultations for individuals and regular psychoanalytic psychotherapy in the forms of individual and group therapy with a wide range of frequencies from intermittent, once weekly, twice weekly and three times weekly, and of weekly group therapy.

The Psychotherapy Team also provide supervisions, clinical team meetings and consultations to trainees in various clinical courses held by DET (Department of Education and Training) in Tavistock Clinic, to honorary clinicians and internal and external colleagues in various settings.

The post holder will be expected to take on troubled and challenging patients with complex needs emotionally on psychoanalytic assessment consultations and regular psychoanalytic psychotherapy for group and individual.

The post holder will be expected to offer consultations and clinical management discussion to those colleagues whose patients encounter risk management issues such as crisis and adult and child safeguarding.

The post holder will be expected to offer regular supervisions to those trainees in various levels of their training particularly group therapy. They would also be expected to devise and run workshops on the theory and clinical practice of group psychoanalytic work.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will hold their own complex caseload within the team including responsibilities for risk management and clinical governance, planning and prioritising these.

Undertake clinical assessments of service users/patients and offer highly skilled treatment or therapy using appropriate therapeutic modalities.

Review cases where patients have impasses, complaints, or disputes with their clinical care.

To ensure, where appropriate, agreed standardised assessment questionnaires are completed with clients as per team protocol and to systematically collect data on caseload as required by the team manager.

Formulate specialised plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a service user/patient's psycho-social difficulties taking into account multiple theoretical and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.

Communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, complex condition- related information concerning the assessment, formulation, and treatment plans of service users/patients under their care who may be hostile or present with challenging behaviours and to monitor, evaluate and report as appropriate.

Maintain a high standard of clinical records, preparing reports for internal use and for external agencies as required and maintaining good communications with referrers and other professionals involved.

About us

The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We are particularly keen to attract candidates from underrepresented backgrounds to better meet the needs of the service users and students that we serve. The Trust aims to ensure that all job applicants, employees or clients are treated fairly and valued equally regardless of sex, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, domestic circumstances, age, race, colour, disablement, ethnic or national origin, social background or employment status, sexual orientation, religion, beliefs, HIV status, gender identity, political affiliation or trade union membership. Selection for training and development and promotion will be on the basis of the individual's ability to meet the requirements for the job. You are responsible for ensuring that the Trust's policies, procedures and obligation in respect of promoting equality and diversity are adhered to in relation to both staff and services.

The Tavistock and Portman is caring, compassionate and committed to co-creating the care and training we offer. We are passionate about the quality of our work and committed to openness, the use of evidence and the application of improvement science. We value all our staff, are concerned for their wellbeing, and seek to foster leadership, innovation and excellence in our workforce.