Job summary
We have a permanent post at Band 8c full-time for a dynamic and creative clinical psychologist working in an innovative community learning disabilities team (CLDT) in Bexley. You would be working with other clinical psychologists and psychological therapists, alongside other colleagues in the multi-disciplinary teams. You will have a key leadership and consultation role as a senior psychologist in the team.
Based at Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup in Bexley for your clinical caseload but also working across the boroughs of Bromley and Greenwich, you will provide professional and clinical leadership for the psychologists working in the Bexley CLDT. You will ideally have a car available, but it is essential that you can travel throughout the Oxleas area, using public transport where necessary.
We have a thriving learning disability psychology speciality with 27 wte clinical staff working in three community learning disability teams across three boroughs. Group systemic supervision is provided to all psychologists in the service and individual supervision by experienced colleagues. The psychology speciality is a creative and innovative one, encouraging research and service evaluation, with a strong focus on measuring outcomes.
You will be a valued member of the leadership team in helping to shape the vision for the service, meeting service user needs as well as promoting the service outside of Oxleas NHS Trust.
Main duties of the job
To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within Bexley ALD service and to ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical and professional supervision and support of all other psychological therapies staff within these services, including the community intensive service team (ICST) lead psychologist, for which the post holder has designated professional responsibility, including clear systems for effective recruitment, professional appraisal, and the identification of Continual Professional Development (CPD) needs. To ensure the systematic provision of a high-quality specialist clinical psychology service within Bexley ALD service, across all sectors of care. As a major requirement of the job, to carry out audit, policy and service development and research activities and/or programmes. To propose and implement policy and service development changes within Bexley ALD service. The person may be designated as overall clinical lead for ALD in an area of clinical expertise.
About us
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.
Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:
- We're Kind
- We're Fair
- We Listen
- We Care
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the service, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological (and neuropsychological) tests, self-report measures, rating scales direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care. The use of neuropsychological tests involves the use of specific highly developed skill requirements for accuracy.
- To formulate plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients 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 individuals, 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 make highly skilled evaluations and 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.
- To exercise full responsibility and autonomy for the treatment of and discharge of clients whose problems are managed as a psychologically based standard care plan, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and interventions, communicating with the referral agent and others involved with the care on a regular basis.
- To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
Job description
Job responsibilities
- To provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the service, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological (and neuropsychological) tests, self-report measures, rating scales direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care. The use of neuropsychological tests involves the use of specific highly developed skill requirements for accuracy.
- To formulate plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients 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 individuals, 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 make highly skilled evaluations and 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.
- To exercise full responsibility and autonomy for the treatment of and discharge of clients whose problems are managed as a psychologically based standard care plan, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and interventions, communicating with the referral agent and others involved with the care on a regular basis.
- To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
Person Specification
Education/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.
- Registered with HPC as a clinical psychologist
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Experience
Essential
- Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist for a minimum of six years, including at least 3 years post qualification experience within the designated specialty where the post is located.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, 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, in-patient and residential care settings 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 exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.
Desirable
- Experience of professional management of qualified and pre-qualified clinical psychologists.
- Experience of multi-professional management of teams or services within the designated specialty.
Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
Essential
- Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, and two or more distinct psychological therapies.
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
Desirable
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities and severely challenging behaviours etc.)
Person Specification
Education/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.
- Registered with HPC as a clinical psychologist
Desirable
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Experience
Essential
- Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist for a minimum of six years, including at least 3 years post qualification experience within the designated specialty where the post is located.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, 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, in-patient and residential care settings 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 exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.
Desirable
- Experience of professional management of qualified and pre-qualified clinical psychologists.
- Experience of multi-professional management of teams or services within the designated specialty.
Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
Essential
- Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, and two or more distinct psychological therapies.
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
Desirable
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities and severely challenging behaviours etc.)
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.
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).
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.
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).
