Clinical Psychologist

Job description

Job responsibilities

The post holder will work with adults with learning disabilities and their families and carers across Bedfordshire. They will provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations and therapies, specialist risk assessments and advice on risk management, and provide psychological advice and consultation to others involved in service user care. The post holder will be part of a multi-disciplinary team and will contribute to psychological thinking within the MDT.The geographical area covered by the service requires the post-holder to drive.

The post holder will provide specialist advice and consultation to other professions and carers.

The post holder will utilise research skills for audit, policy, research and service development within the service as a whole and specifically for psychology within the service.

The post holder will participate in CPD and other developmental activities, keeping up to date with relevant psychological research and national guidance. They will attend clinical, professional and managerial supervision.

Clinical

1. Provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments, based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources (including psychological/neuropsychological tests, measures/rating scales, direct and indirect observation and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and involved others.

2. Formulate plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of people with a learning disability across a range of care settings, based upon a broad theoretical knowledge base to analyse, interpret and compare complex information in order to design specialist programmes of intervention for individuals, groups and families tailored to individual need.

3. To be responsible for implementing a broad range of evidence-based specialist psychological interventions which require the formulation and modification of plans and strategies as practice and experience demands. This will require the adjustment and refinement of complex formulations which draw on different explanatory models, and the maintenance of a number of provisional hypotheses.

4. To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other multidisciplinary professionals contributing directly to service users formulation and intervention plans.

5. To ensure that multidisciplinary colleagues have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding the care of service users.

6. To undertake risk assessment and management and to provide specialist advice for psychologists and other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.

7. To be responsible for providing and receiving highly complex, sensitive, distressing and emotionally challenging information in relation to health issues where there are often barriers to acceptance.

8. To spend sustained amounts of time with service users who may be experienced as aggressive and hostile, who may have poor communication skills, poor self-care and complex physical and/or mental health needs.

9. To be mindful of the needs of individuals and families from a wide range of racial, cultural, sexual, religious, disability and social backgrounds and to develop with colleagues innovative ways of working across language, cultural and communication barriers.

10. To be responsible for developing and maintaining knowledge of local resources and developing working relationships with relevant statutory, voluntary and community groups and organisations. Provide expert consultation about the psychological care of the service user group to external staff and organisations.

11. To be responsible for recording, monitoring and reporting on clinical work and communicating complex clinical information to a variety of recipients, e.g. service users, families and carers, other professionals, formal panels and statutory and voluntary organisations, orally, in writing and/or electronically.

Teaching, Training and Supervision

1. Provide specialist consultation, training and (where agreed) clinical supervision to other multidisciplinary professionals for their provision of psychologically-based interventions for service users.

2. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

3. Develop and deliver, jointly with other clinical psychologists where necessary, teaching events for clinical psychology Doctoral training programmes.

4. Ensure the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes.

5. In line with professional practice guidelines and HCPC registration requirements, take part in regular professional supervision and appraisal.

1. To receive regular clinical, professional and managerial supervision in line with good practice guidelines.

2. To work in a coordinated and co-operative way with other psychologists employed within local services and the wider psychology services in the Trust. This will involve participation in the effective development and organisation of the Trusts Psychology Services by attendance at meetings as required.

1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in direct and indirect interventions, during consultations, in MDT work and during meetings.

2. To monitor the effectiveness of the clinical work undertaken either personally or jointly with other members of the multi-disciplinary team to ensure that it reflects the best available evidence for practice.

3. To participate in data collection, audit and clinical research designed to improve the understanding and effectiveness of services delivered to service users. This will be agreed with the Trust according to clinical governance guidelines and in agreement with the post-holders service and professional managers.

4. To disseminate research from work that the post-holder has been involved in, in a way that will benefit the services provided by the Trust. This will include feedback from any training opportunities that the post-holder has been able to attend as part of their employment with the Trust.

Information Technology

1. Provide accurate and timely clinical information as required and input into Trust electronic record systems. Ensure that supervisees meet the required standards for recording.

2. Use information technology in line with Trust and NHS information governance requirements, and maintain up to date knowledge of systems and governance requirements.

3. Collate and report on information across service area using information systems to a high standard.

4. Prepare teaching materials and presentations to a professional level.

Person Specification

essential

Essential

• oDoctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent (statement of equivalence or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) and able to demonstrate eligibility for BPS CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist)
• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist (for newly qualified candidates we are aware that this may be still being processed and appropriate actions can be taken in these cases)
• Able to draw upon a broad theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of highly complex information or situations to arrive at appropriate formulations. Able to compare and select from a range of intervention options, based on formulation.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis. Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to patient group Knowledge of legislation and its implications for clinical practice with this client group.

Desirable

• Pre or post-qualification experience working in a multi-disciplinary team for people with a learning disability.

essential

Essential

• oDoctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent (statement of equivalence or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) and able to demonstrate eligibility for BPS CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist)
• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist (for newly qualified candidates we are aware that this may be still being processed and appropriate actions can be taken in these cases)
• Experience of assessment, formulation and intervention with people (and families/carers) with a learning disability.
• Knowledge of the assessment of capacity to consent and issues pertinent to people with learning disabilities.
• Research and audit experience.
• Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
• Experience of liaison and joint work with other statutory agencies, including crisis management.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised areas of psychological practice with adult clients who are diagnosed with a learning disability.
• Working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act, Best Interests and DOLS legislation.
• Able to provide & receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information in a highly emotive and sometimes hostile atmosphere, in a range of relationships and settings. Able to use highly specialist skills of empathy to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
• Able to draw upon a broad theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of highly complex information or situations to arrive at appropriate formulations. Able to compare and select from a range of intervention options, based on formulation.
• Able to plan, organise and prioritise own workload.
• Able to travel between work sites and to community settings for the delivery of services (car driver essential).

Desirable

• Training in clinical supervision for doctoral clinical psychology trainees.
• Post-doctoral training in one or more relevant specialist areas of psychological practice.
• Quality improvement training
• Pre or post-qualification experience working in a multi-disciplinary team for people with a learning disability.
• Knowledge and experience of specialist neuropsychological assessment with adults with impairments in cognitive functioning and/or learning disabilities, e.g. dementia baseline, diagnostic and follow-up assessments
• Knowledge and experience of the assessment of autism in people with a diagnosis of a learning disability.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

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).

Employer details

Employer name

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Clinical resource Centre, Twinwoods

Milton Road

Bedford

MK41 6AT

Employer's website

https://www.elft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)