Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to work on the Older Adult wards in the Mental Health Inpatients Psychological Therapies Team at Prospect Park Hospital in Reading. This developmental role would suit a candidate who is keen to apply a broad range of psychological skills, which would include consultation, formulation, behavioural support, neuropsychological assessment, therapeutic interventions, and contribution to service development.
We welcome applications for this band 8a Specialist Psychologist role.
We would also consider applications from newly qualified psychologists who would like to apply for a Band 7 developmental post, with the opportunity to progress to band 8a when developmental competencies are met. Please see attached 'Developmental Roles Progression Process - notes to the applicants'.
There are opportunities for flexible working patterns which would include face-to-face clinical work as well as home working. We are also flexible in accommodating requests for part-time working days.
Inpatients Psychological Therapies Team overview
There are currently 14 Psychologists and an art therapist working across the hospital, where we support people experiencing a mental health crisis across seven wards: adult acute, older adult acute, older adult dementia and Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).
Main duties of the job
Job satisfaction can come from numerous areas in this diverse role.
Under supervision of a principal psychologist, you will take on a clinical caseload with older adults with complex mental health presentations and/or dementia. You will provide regular input to the multi-disciplinary team on your ward in the form of consultation, team formulation sessions, teaching and joint working. You will be part of the Inpatients Psychological Therapies team, supervise the Assistant Psychologist on your ward, and also receive peer support from other ward Clinical/Counselling Psychologists. You will contribute to and/or lead on service development projects.
Main Duties Include:
-
Offer psychologicalconsultation tocommunity and hospital staff (e.g. team formulation, teaching sessions, joint working,supervisionand staff support groups).
About us
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated 'outstanding' by the CQC, we're committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we're committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
- Caring for and about you is our top priority
- Committed to providing good quality, safe services
- Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
- Flexible working options to support work-life balance
- 27 days' annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
- Generous NHS pension scheme
- Excellent learning and career development opportunities
- 'Cycle to Work' and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
- Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
- Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
- Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
- Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
- Free parking across Trust sites
Job description
Job responsibilities
Themust haves for you to be considered for this role:
- Postgraduate doctoral qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or equivalent)
- You will have experience working with adults and/or older adults with complex mental health problems, cognitive impairment or other disabilities and have excellent therapeutic and management skills.
- You will enjoy working in teams and providing psychological consultation, teaching and supervision.
- Calm, confident and assertive in emotionally demanding situations, you will be astute at setting and maintaining professional boundaries and will be efficient at dealing with distressing or hostile situations and behaviour.
- Self-motivated and confident, you will show initiative and a determination to support clients and their families through creative engagement. This includes an ability to work integratively in your clinical work.
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
Were committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed. Please contact Dr Claudia Kustner if you have any questions or queries: claudia.kustner@berkshire.nhs.uk
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Themust haves for you to be considered for this role:
- Postgraduate doctoral qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or equivalent)
- You will have experience working with adults and/or older adults with complex mental health problems, cognitive impairment or other disabilities and have excellent therapeutic and management skills.
- You will enjoy working in teams and providing psychological consultation, teaching and supervision.
- Calm, confident and assertive in emotionally demanding situations, you will be astute at setting and maintaining professional boundaries and will be efficient at dealing with distressing or hostile situations and behaviour.
- Self-motivated and confident, you will show initiative and a determination to support clients and their families through creative engagement. This includes an ability to work integratively in your clinical work.
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
Were committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed. Please contact Dr Claudia Kustner if you have any questions or queries: claudia.kustner@berkshire.nhs.uk
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications/Training
Essential
- For Clinical/Counselling Psychologist: Post graduate doctorate in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996 or for those who completed their training overseas)
- Registered as a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council
- (Eligibility for) Chartered Membership of British Psychological Society (BPS)
- Additional training and accreditations (or working towards these) in relevant therapeutic approaches or psychological models to reflect post qualification interests/ specialism (e.g., specific therapy models, Health Psychology, Neuropsychology etc.)
- Clinical supervision training for doctorate psychology trainees (BPS Registered course) and other qualified clinicians
Continuous Professional Development
Essential
- Evidence of post-qualification training and expert knowledge in multiple psychological models and therapeutic approaches relevant to the post and service area.
- Comprehensive and up to date knowledge of the current evidence-base and developments within the area of specialism
- Training, and where relevant, accreditation in clinical supervision
Experience
Essential
- Demonstrable post qualification experience working as a qualified specialist practitioner in the area of specialism
- Experience of working in evidence-based ways with services users (and their carers/families) presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of settings, 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 dealing with highly distressing or emotional circumstances, such as serious mental illness, child and sexual abuse, exploitation, and complex family dynamics
- Experience of delivering interventions across different modalities (e.g. individual, group and systemic-based approaches)
- Experience of working effectively in multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environments
- Experience of providing specialist advice and consultation to multi-disciplinary and multi-agency colleagues to support the psychological care of service users
- Experience of providing effective clinical supervision, mentoring and leadership to junior staff
- Experience of developing and delivering teaching to a range of staff groups
- Experience of carrying out clinical audit, evaluative research and applying the findings
- Experience of service evaluation, quality improvement work and of implementing change from this and from a national and local health or social care change agenda that impacts across services and professions
- Experience of working with and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working with diversity, multiculturalism, and equality of access to service
Desirable
- Experience of line managing staff (including junior psychological roles)
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Demonstrable knowledge, skills and abilities in the practice of highly specialised assessment, formulation and intervention, relevant to the specialist modality and service area
- Up to date knowledge of evidence, theory, research, policy and legislation in relation to the service area
- 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
- Well-developed verbal and written communication skills enabling the sensitive communication of complex, technical and/or sensitive information to multiple stakeholders both within and outside the NHS
- Well-developed interpersonal skills with the ability to support, influence and engage with clinicians, stakeholders and service users to create change and improvement.
- The ability and skills to act as an advocate for the service, to engage and foster positive relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of the service within the wider health care system
- Advanced IT skills and the ability to navigate various systems and software packages (such as RiO, Outlook, databases, MS Office/Teams, One Consultation and the Internet)
Additional Requirements
Essential
- Able to work flexibly around working patterns as required
- Ability to travel independently between locations in Berkshire to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position
Person Specification
Education/Qualifications/Training
Essential
- For Clinical/Counselling Psychologist: Post graduate doctorate in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996 or for those who completed their training overseas)
- Registered as a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council
- (Eligibility for) Chartered Membership of British Psychological Society (BPS)
- Additional training and accreditations (or working towards these) in relevant therapeutic approaches or psychological models to reflect post qualification interests/ specialism (e.g., specific therapy models, Health Psychology, Neuropsychology etc.)
- Clinical supervision training for doctorate psychology trainees (BPS Registered course) and other qualified clinicians
Continuous Professional Development
Essential
- Evidence of post-qualification training and expert knowledge in multiple psychological models and therapeutic approaches relevant to the post and service area.
- Comprehensive and up to date knowledge of the current evidence-base and developments within the area of specialism
- Training, and where relevant, accreditation in clinical supervision
Experience
Essential
- Demonstrable post qualification experience working as a qualified specialist practitioner in the area of specialism
- Experience of working in evidence-based ways with services users (and their carers/families) presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of settings, 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 dealing with highly distressing or emotional circumstances, such as serious mental illness, child and sexual abuse, exploitation, and complex family dynamics
- Experience of delivering interventions across different modalities (e.g. individual, group and systemic-based approaches)
- Experience of working effectively in multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environments
- Experience of providing specialist advice and consultation to multi-disciplinary and multi-agency colleagues to support the psychological care of service users
- Experience of providing effective clinical supervision, mentoring and leadership to junior staff
- Experience of developing and delivering teaching to a range of staff groups
- Experience of carrying out clinical audit, evaluative research and applying the findings
- Experience of service evaluation, quality improvement work and of implementing change from this and from a national and local health or social care change agenda that impacts across services and professions
- Experience of working with and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working with diversity, multiculturalism, and equality of access to service
Desirable
- Experience of line managing staff (including junior psychological roles)
Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Demonstrable knowledge, skills and abilities in the practice of highly specialised assessment, formulation and intervention, relevant to the specialist modality and service area
- Up to date knowledge of evidence, theory, research, policy and legislation in relation to the service area
- 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
- Well-developed verbal and written communication skills enabling the sensitive communication of complex, technical and/or sensitive information to multiple stakeholders both within and outside the NHS
- Well-developed interpersonal skills with the ability to support, influence and engage with clinicians, stakeholders and service users to create change and improvement.
- The ability and skills to act as an advocate for the service, to engage and foster positive relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of the service within the wider health care system
- Advanced IT skills and the ability to navigate various systems and software packages (such as RiO, Outlook, databases, MS Office/Teams, One Consultation and the Internet)
Additional Requirements
Essential
- Able to work flexibly around working patterns as required
- Ability to travel independently between locations in Berkshire to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position
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).
