Job summary
Are you passionate about working with older people and working in an established care home support service?
We have a new opportunity to recruit a Principal Practitioner Psychologist to work directly with our Care Home Support Team across Oxfordshire. The service was developed ten years ago from a research study evidencing the formulation based, psychosocial approach implemented.
The role would involve providing clinical supervision to multi-disciplinary mental health and physical health staff and developing the psychology role with the care home teams.
This role would suit someone with established leadership skills, or someone looking to progress their career by developing their leadership skills in a supportive team.
We offer excellent CPD and training opportunities to support career progression.
We support flexible working, recognising the importance of a good work life balance and the need for your work to fit with external commitments.
Main duties of the job
The responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to:
- To work as part of the care home support team to carry out highly specialist psychological assessments of people in care homes referred to the team.
- Use highly specialist psychological and neuropsychological approaches to work with clients in care with cognitive difficulties (dementia) and their carers.
- Supervise and support the psychological assessment, formulation skills and therapy provided by mental health CHSS workers through training and supervision and participate in disseminating skills to the wider service.
- Lead on evaluation of the psychologically informed model and report to senior team and older people mental health leads where appropriate on the efficacy of the approach.
- Develop the psychologically informed model to meet the needs of the service
About us
Oxford Health is a great place to work and to be able to showcase the best of yourself when making an application please read the "candidate guide to making an application" and ensure your supporting statement is tailored to the role you are applying for and addresses any essential criteria.
As a Trust we provide physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and Northeast Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people's homes, delivering care as close to home as possible. Our vision is that no matter who you are or where you are, you will tell us that you receive: "Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team"
Our values are: "Caring, safe and excellent"
We offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing. These include:
o Excellent opportunities for career progressiono Access to tailored individual and Trust wide learning and developmento 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous serviceo NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailerso Competitive pension schemeo Lease car schemeo Cycle to work schemeo Employee Assistance Programmeo Mental Health First Aiderso Staff accommodation (please note waiting lists apply)o Staff networking and support groups hosted by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team
Job description
Job responsibilities
We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the supporting statement element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.
The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview, and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.
Job description
Job responsibilities
We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the supporting statement element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.
The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview, and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.
Person Specification
Qualifications -Academic and Professional Skills
Essential
- Doctoral level training in Clinical or Counselling psychology, or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996, as accredited by the British Psychological Society, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- HCPC Registration
Desirable
- Qualification relating to Supervision
- Training in dementia care mapping
- Training in neuropsychology
- Training or qualification in Leadership skills
Experience
Essential
- Extensive experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of older patients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary or secondary care and in patient settings
- Experience of working within the NHS
- Experience of providing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, systemic therapy and / or IPT to older people
- Experience of working in care homes with older people with mental health problems and/ or dementia, their family/ carers and paid care staff. This includes 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 with people with dementia at different stages of the illness and implementing models of dementia in clinical practice
- Extensive experience of neuropsychological assessment of dementia and behaviours that challenge Experience of providing clinical supervision
Desirable
- Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team
- Experience of supervising staff in groups
- Experience of the application of psychological therapies in different cultural contexts
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework
- Experience of therapeutic group work
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Well-developed skills and understanding in group dynamics and therapeutic groupwork
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the relevant professional body and / or BABCP
- High level of knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology and psychotherapy
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Ability to develop and use complex and multimedia materials for presentation and public, professional and academic settings
- Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours
- Ability to collect routine data and use electronic audit and case management tools in an accurate and timely fashion
Desirable
- High-level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
Personal Qualities
Essential
- 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
- Good organisational and time management skills, ability to plan and prioritise own workload
- Ability to work as part of a team and independently
- Ability to travel between care homes and NHS bases as required
Person Specification
Qualifications -Academic and Professional Skills
Essential
- Doctoral level training in Clinical or Counselling psychology, or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996, as accredited by the British Psychological Society, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- HCPC Registration
Desirable
- Qualification relating to Supervision
- Training in dementia care mapping
- Training in neuropsychology
- Training or qualification in Leadership skills
Experience
Essential
- Extensive experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of older patients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary or secondary care and in patient settings
- Experience of working within the NHS
- Experience of providing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, systemic therapy and / or IPT to older people
- Experience of working in care homes with older people with mental health problems and/ or dementia, their family/ carers and paid care staff. This includes 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 with people with dementia at different stages of the illness and implementing models of dementia in clinical practice
- Extensive experience of neuropsychological assessment of dementia and behaviours that challenge Experience of providing clinical supervision
Desirable
- Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary team
- Experience of supervising staff in groups
- Experience of the application of psychological therapies in different cultural contexts
- Experience of working within a multicultural framework
- Experience of therapeutic group work
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
- Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Well-developed skills and understanding in group dynamics and therapeutic groupwork
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the relevant professional body and / or BABCP
- High level of knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology and psychotherapy
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Ability to develop and use complex and multimedia materials for presentation and public, professional and academic settings
- Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours
- Ability to collect routine data and use electronic audit and case management tools in an accurate and timely fashion
Desirable
- High-level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
Personal Qualities
Essential
- 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
- Good organisational and time management skills, ability to plan and prioritise own workload
- Ability to work as part of a team and independently
- Ability to travel between care homes and NHS bases as required
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).
