Job summary
We are seeking to recruiting a band 8a Clinical Psychologist for the Family Intensive Support Service for ASC (known as FISS-ASC)
The Service provides specialist assessments and interventions, where children and young people with autism are presenting behaviours that challenges and which adversely impacts on their functioning, and risks their access to educational and social opportunities.
The FISS-ASC team aims to support keeping children and young people with their families and living local communities, therefore improving outcomes for all family members. The service provides early intervention and intensive support to families reaching crisis, with short term interventions which support a step up and step-down approach throughout their care journey.
Main duties of the job
Interventions include: consultation, specialist assessments & behaviour, support plans, workshops, groups and individual therapeutic interventions.
The team provides specialist psychological, functional and behavioural consultation, assessment and direct support to children and young people with autism, their families, and their systems of support, across the local community.
We are looking for a keen/innovative 8a psychologist, who has excellent knowledge of neurodevelopmental disorders, and proven skills and expertise in working with children and young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and their families, to take a lead in this new service.
They will have experience in leading in projects and service development, and supervising psychologists and other professionals, and to be able to represent the service in multi-agency forums, is therefore important. The work of the service will include in particular working with autism- specific problems associated with social communication and interaction problems, repetitive behaviours and executive functioning difficulties including emotional dysregulation, and being able to distinguish these from comorbid mental health problems and how these present in the context of ASD.
It will therefore include working with behaviours that challenge, often in the context of autism specific anxiety, such as demand avoidant behaviours, dysregulated behaviour and functional symptoms such as tics.
About us
Sussex Partnership provides mental health and learning disability care for all age groups across Sussex and for children and young people. We'd love you to join our Trust, rated good overall and outstanding for caring by the CQC. Our staff agree; in our recent staff survey 82% told us that they recognise that care for patients is our top priority.
Other key survey results:
- 70% highlighting flexible working as a key point for satisfaction at work
- 79% reporting feeling able to make suggestions to improve the work in their team
- 77% identifying opportunities to show initiative in their role
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will also be expected to have an in-depth knowledge of inherent and acquired differential diagnostic psychological models, in order to be able to identify, formulate and work with other comorbidities. We would also expect excellent psychological assessment, formulation and intervention skills, including psychometric/neuropsychological and neuro-disability, in the context of a well-developed knowledge of CBT, systemic and attachment-based models. Experience of being able to deliver individual, family and group work/workshops will be important, as well as being able to offer consultation and training to other professionals and agencies.
The post holder will also be expected to have well developed audit and evaluation skills, to be able to monitor and evaluate all aspects of service delivery, and to have a good knowledge of the application and analysis of quantitative and qualitative outcome measures, to inform service change and development and report to managers and commissioners.
The post holder will be come a member of the wider Brighton & Hove Psychology team, which is a lively and active team of psychologists working within Specialist CAMHS, Learning Disability, Community Child Health and Neuro-developmental diagnosis, Social Services, Acute Paediatrics
The successful candidate will have particular skills in the assessment and delivery of evidenced based treatment for understanding and supporting challenging behaviour, alongside skills in working with complex networks and systems.
They will also contribute to the development of systems, processes and procedures, which will support the FISS-ASC service in the delivery of its key objectives and will contribute to the development of individual case formulations for all CYP, integrating clinical assessment data with evidence-based models; in order to plan interventions for CYP and families/networks, and collaboratively engage them in intervention.
They will develop, plan and lead workshops and groups with CYP and families and provide consultation, and where appropriate, supervision and training, to other professionals and clinicians.
They will maintain a high degree of professionalism when working in settings where there is a highly emotive atmosphere and be flexible in approach and have resilience under pressure.
Job description
Job responsibilities
The post holder will also be expected to have an in-depth knowledge of inherent and acquired differential diagnostic psychological models, in order to be able to identify, formulate and work with other comorbidities. We would also expect excellent psychological assessment, formulation and intervention skills, including psychometric/neuropsychological and neuro-disability, in the context of a well-developed knowledge of CBT, systemic and attachment-based models. Experience of being able to deliver individual, family and group work/workshops will be important, as well as being able to offer consultation and training to other professionals and agencies.
The post holder will also be expected to have well developed audit and evaluation skills, to be able to monitor and evaluate all aspects of service delivery, and to have a good knowledge of the application and analysis of quantitative and qualitative outcome measures, to inform service change and development and report to managers and commissioners.
The post holder will be come a member of the wider Brighton & Hove Psychology team, which is a lively and active team of psychologists working within Specialist CAMHS, Learning Disability, Community Child Health and Neuro-developmental diagnosis, Social Services, Acute Paediatrics
The successful candidate will have particular skills in the assessment and delivery of evidenced based treatment for understanding and supporting challenging behaviour, alongside skills in working with complex networks and systems.
They will also contribute to the development of systems, processes and procedures, which will support the FISS-ASC service in the delivery of its key objectives and will contribute to the development of individual case formulations for all CYP, integrating clinical assessment data with evidence-based models; in order to plan interventions for CYP and families/networks, and collaboratively engage them in intervention.
They will develop, plan and lead workshops and groups with CYP and families and provide consultation, and where appropriate, supervision and training, to other professionals and clinicians.
They will maintain a high degree of professionalism when working in settings where there is a highly emotive atmosphere and be flexible in approach and have resilience under pressure.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology [or its equivalent for those trained before 1996 or outside the UK*] as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
- *For forensic psychologists working in forensic settings: Masters degree (with the award of the British Psychological Society qualification in forensic psychology or equivalent).
- Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HCPC).
Knowledge/Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
- Demonstrate specialist experience gained postqualification of working as an applied psychologist with evidence of having received a substantial amount of clinical supervision (normally in the region of approximately 50 hours).
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity 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 teaching, training and/or supervision
- Experience of the application of applied psychology in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework
- Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- Experience or demonstrable knowledge of working with the particular client group served by the team/service
- Knowledge of guidance and legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc)
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
- High level of knowledge and skills in neuropsychology and evidence of further practice and/or training since qualification.
- Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology [or its equivalent for those trained before 1996 or outside the UK*] as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
- *For forensic psychologists working in forensic settings: Masters degree (with the award of the British Psychological Society qualification in forensic psychology or equivalent).
- Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HCPC).
Knowledge/Experience
Essential
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
- Demonstrate specialist experience gained postqualification of working as an applied psychologist with evidence of having received a substantial amount of clinical supervision (normally in the region of approximately 50 hours).
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity 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 teaching, training and/or supervision
- Experience of the application of applied psychology in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework
- Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
- Experience or demonstrable knowledge of working with the particular client group served by the team/service
- Knowledge of guidance and legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc)
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies
- High level of knowledge and skills in neuropsychology and evidence of further practice and/or training since qualification.
- Formal training in supervision of other psychologists.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.
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).
