Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to provide specialised psychological input to a pan-London Integrated Community Pathways Service (ICPS), incorporating the Core-Offender Management (Core-OM) service, as well as Standard and Enhanced Intensive Intervention and Risk Management Service (IIRMS), as part of the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) pathway. This input will focus on supporting the effective management and engagement of people on probation who present with complex personality difficulties and a high risk of harm to others, with the joint aims of reducing offending and improving psychological wellbeing.
Please note, as well as DBS checks you will also be expected to undertake HMPPS security vetting.
Development opportunities:
We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. Opportunities for ongoing in-house training and development are offered to all staff on the OPD Pathway, where you will be able to develop your skills and build on your experience.
Flexible working:
As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage.
Main duties of the job
Within the Core-OM provision, the postholder will be responsible for contributing to the delivery of a consultation and liaison service to Probation Service London (PSL). This will involve undertaking of evidence-based screening of caseloads, facilitation of individual and group consultation/formulation meetings, and promotion of workforce development. There will also be a requirement to contribute to multiagency working, where appropriate.
Within the IIRMS provision, the postholder will be responsible for providing a specialist psychological service to the multi-disciplinary team and to people on probation with personality difficulties. This work will involve the completion of comprehensive and holistic clinical assessments/formulations/risk management plans, informed by best practice in risk assessment and literature on working with personality disorder, with an emphasis on desistance. The service also provides opportunities for developing specialism in particular aspects of service delivery, and contributing to the delivery of the Enhanced IIRMS treatment programme.
Generally within the post, the postholder will utilise research skills to enhance service development and delivery. They will oversee the work of clinical practitioners working with individuals presenting with the highest level of risk and need, and will also be required to supervise and direct the work of assistant psychologists, as required.
About us
The London Pathways Partnership (LPP) is a consortium of five NHS Trusts co-delivering a pan-London ICPS for the OPD Pathway. The OPD Pathway provides services to men and women with complex psychological difficulties and serious offending histories, and to multi-agency professionals working with them.
The South West ICPS is a multidisciplinary team made up of psychologists, probation officers, clinical practitioners and specialists from other sectors (e.g. housing). We deliver consultation, training and joint casework to PSL, and stabilisation/therapeutic interventions to people on probation. We have active social inclusion and user involvement programmes developed in partnership with service users and the PSL in line with desistance principles. LPP's Social Inclusion projects include the development of community 'Hubs' in north and south London offering a range of socially inclusive activities and support to service users. We cover the following areas: Hounslow; Kingston & Richmond; Merton & Sutton; Wandsworth; Lambeth; and Croydon.
Blue Star House is based in south London, zone 2 and is close to a vibrant high street with lots of shops and restaurants. It is within walking distance of Brixton rail and tube station, Stockwell tube station and Clapham High Street rail station, offering easy transport links. Please note the postholder will be expected to regularly travel across London to other settings, such as approved premises and probation offices.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Direct clinical:
- To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team 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.
- To formulate and implement 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 evaluate and make 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 autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically-based care plans.
- To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
- 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.
- 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 communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
Indirect clinical:
- To support probation practitioners in screening caseloads managed by PSL using the recognised OPD screening tool.
- To monitor referrals to treatment interventions and third sector organisations and report back monthly to the quadrant lead.
- To monitor attendance and adherence to local CORE PD training and report to LPP workforce development team.
- To provide both individual and group consultation to probation officers and other members of multidisciplinary team contributing directly to the formulation of clients risk management plans, including advice on psychological aspects of risk assessment, personality difficulties and risk management, across outpatient and community settings.
- To provide specialised Offender Personality Disorder training to all PSL staff, Approved Premises (AP) staff and allied agencies (e.g. police), including the National Core PD Pathway modules; KUF Basic Awareness Training and Womens KUF training.
- Provide a psychological perspective and a specialist psychologically-based framework for understanding clinical care, service/team dynamics, or service/team organisational systems in various teams and groups of which the psychologist is a member, to benefit the clients served by the service/team.
- Develop and maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to forensic and general mental health services and the criminal justice system.
- Develop and maintain knowledge of local resources and relationships with relevant statutory, voluntary and community groups and organisations.
Teaching, training and supervision:
- To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues, as well as line management from the identified line manager.
- To continue to gain wider post-qualification experience of clinical psychology over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post-holder is employed.
- To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work, as appropriate.
- To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant/graduate psychology staff and, as appropriate, to contribute to the supervision of individual cases for trainee clinical psychologists.
Management, recruitment and service development:
- To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
- To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
- To help manage the workloads of assistant psychologists, within the framework of the team/services policies and procedures.
- To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of assistant psychologists/graduate psychology staff.
- To be involved in service development projects as agreed by the professional lead.
IT responsibilities:
- To be proficient in the use of IT for email, intranet and clinical record purposes. To be familiar with word processing, database and statistical packages, and to use such packages for complex data analysis as necessary. To use appropriate computer software to develop and create clinical or other service-related reports or documents.
- To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.
Research and service evaluation:
- To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
- To undertake research as appropriate within the service, Directorate or multi-centred research across Trusts and to supervise research and audit projects.
- To initiate, implement and contribute to the evaluation, monitoring and development of the service, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and across the service, to help develop and improve services to clients and their families.
- To contribute to the evaluation, monitoring and development of the multi-disciplinary team.
- To contribute to the development, implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the Directorates and Trusts operational policies and services.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Direct clinical:
- To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team 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.
- To formulate and implement 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 evaluate and make 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 autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically-based care plans.
- To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
- 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.
- 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 communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
Indirect clinical:
- To support probation practitioners in screening caseloads managed by PSL using the recognised OPD screening tool.
- To monitor referrals to treatment interventions and third sector organisations and report back monthly to the quadrant lead.
- To monitor attendance and adherence to local CORE PD training and report to LPP workforce development team.
- To provide both individual and group consultation to probation officers and other members of multidisciplinary team contributing directly to the formulation of clients risk management plans, including advice on psychological aspects of risk assessment, personality difficulties and risk management, across outpatient and community settings.
- To provide specialised Offender Personality Disorder training to all PSL staff, Approved Premises (AP) staff and allied agencies (e.g. police), including the National Core PD Pathway modules; KUF Basic Awareness Training and Womens KUF training.
- Provide a psychological perspective and a specialist psychologically-based framework for understanding clinical care, service/team dynamics, or service/team organisational systems in various teams and groups of which the psychologist is a member, to benefit the clients served by the service/team.
- Develop and maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to forensic and general mental health services and the criminal justice system.
- Develop and maintain knowledge of local resources and relationships with relevant statutory, voluntary and community groups and organisations.
Teaching, training and supervision:
- To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues, as well as line management from the identified line manager.
- To continue to gain wider post-qualification experience of clinical psychology over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post-holder is employed.
- To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work, as appropriate.
- To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant/graduate psychology staff and, as appropriate, to contribute to the supervision of individual cases for trainee clinical psychologists.
Management, recruitment and service development:
- To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
- To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
- To help manage the workloads of assistant psychologists, within the framework of the team/services policies and procedures.
- To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of assistant psychologists/graduate psychology staff.
- To be involved in service development projects as agreed by the professional lead.
IT responsibilities:
- To be proficient in the use of IT for email, intranet and clinical record purposes. To be familiar with word processing, database and statistical packages, and to use such packages for complex data analysis as necessary. To use appropriate computer software to develop and create clinical or other service-related reports or documents.
- To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.
Research and service evaluation:
- To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
- To undertake research as appropriate within the service, Directorate or multi-centred research across Trusts and to supervise research and audit projects.
- To initiate, implement and contribute to the evaluation, monitoring and development of the service, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and across the service, to help develop and improve services to clients and their families.
- To contribute to the evaluation, monitoring and development of the multi-disciplinary team.
- To contribute to the development, implementation, evaluation and monitoring of the Directorates and Trusts operational policies and services.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Entry-level qualification in applied psychology (Doctorate or MSc + Diploma) or Entry-level qualification in psychotherapy
- Registered with relevant professional body
Desirable
- Formal/informal post-qualification training in treatment modality/trauma/PD
Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment
- Experience of managing distressing situations effectively
- Experience of working with PD and/or history of trauma/DSH
- Experience of working effectively in multidisciplinary settings
- Experience of having clinical responsibility over SU care/treatment
Desirable
- Experience of working within criminal justice/forensic settings
- Experience of working with SU's as part of service development
- Experience of teaching/training
- Experience of offering supervision
- Experience of applying psychology in cultural contexts
Knowledge
Essential
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology
Desirable
- Knowledge of theory/practice of 2 specialised psychological therapies
Skills
Essential
- Skills in delivering psychological intervention (1:1 and group)
- Skills in oral and verbal communication to service users and other professionals
- Skills in providing consultation and advice to other professionals
- Ability to conduct risk assessment and management as part of forensic work
- Ability to work with complexities in SU's including violent and self-harming behaviours
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Entry-level qualification in applied psychology (Doctorate or MSc + Diploma) or Entry-level qualification in psychotherapy
- Registered with relevant professional body
Desirable
- Formal/informal post-qualification training in treatment modality/trauma/PD
Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment
- Experience of managing distressing situations effectively
- Experience of working with PD and/or history of trauma/DSH
- Experience of working effectively in multidisciplinary settings
- Experience of having clinical responsibility over SU care/treatment
Desirable
- Experience of working within criminal justice/forensic settings
- Experience of working with SU's as part of service development
- Experience of teaching/training
- Experience of offering supervision
- Experience of applying psychology in cultural contexts
Knowledge
Essential
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology
Desirable
- Knowledge of theory/practice of 2 specialised psychological therapies
Skills
Essential
- Skills in delivering psychological intervention (1:1 and group)
- Skills in oral and verbal communication to service users and other professionals
- Skills in providing consultation and advice to other professionals
- Ability to conduct risk assessment and management as part of forensic work
- Ability to work with complexities in SU's including violent and self-harming behaviours
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).
