Job responsibilities
To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post-holders professional and service manager(s).
To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology/psychological therapy across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal, and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology/psychological therapy and related disciplines.
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 HCPC, BABCP, UKCP, BPS and Trust policies and procedures.
To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues.
To attend and contribute to relevant professional meetings.
To develop and maintain good working relationships with colleagues within Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust and in the statutory and voluntary services with the aim of promoting high standards of care and clinical practice
To maintain professional registration as a Clinical Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council OR to maintain accreditation as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist with the British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) OR to maintain professional registration as a Psychotherapist with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).
Principal duties
Clinical
To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of service users referred to the At Risk Mental State (ARMS) Team, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and psychometric tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with service users, family members and others involved in the persons care.
To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a service users problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the persons problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across a full range of care settings.
To work on a daily basis in face to face individual, family and/or in group therapy settings with service users presenting with highly complex and distressing psychological problems, including low mood, paranoia, unusual anomalous experiences, anxiety, trauma, emotional sensitivity / regulation and bipolar experiences, and social exclusion.
To be responsible for implementing a range of specialist 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 different 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 service users whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals (both psychologists/therapists and non-psychologists) contributing directly to service users formulation, diagnosis and treatment plans.
To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all users of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the service user group.
To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual service users and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
To coordinate, where appropriate, complex intervention plans, taking responsibility for initiating planning and reviews of plans, and including service users, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.
To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of service users under their care and to monitor progress during both the course of uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
Teaching, Training and Supervision
To receive regular clinical professional supervision in accordance with professional practice (HCPC / BACP / UKCP), BPS and Trust guidelines
To provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work, as appropriate.
To provide supervision for trainee clinical psychologists OR trainee psychotherapists, as appropriate.
To provide clinical supervision to less experienced qualified clinical psychologists/therapists, counsellors, assistant(s), or other professionals.
To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical psychology/CBT therapy/ psychotherapy, as appropriate
To provide highly specialised advice, consultation and training to staff (including both psychologists/therapists and non-psychologists) working with the service user group across a range of agencies and settings.
Management, Recruitment, Policy, Organisational and Service Development
To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of aspects of the teams clinical practice through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
To contribute to the governance of psychological practice within their own team by developing and collecting relevant measures of outcome and audit and to provide consultation to other health and social care professionals to enable them to develop their own effective systems of governance.
To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
To manage any waiting lists within the team and participate as a senior clinician in the allocation of cases taking into account skill mix and caseload. To respond to referrals, making autonomous professional and clinical judgements based upon complex information, prioritising accordingly and contributing to multidisciplinary decision making.
To implement the policies and propose changes to working practices/procedures concerning professional good practice for the provision of psychological services as applicable to The At Risk Mental State (ARMS) Team, in order to ensure the highest standards of service to the service user group.
To propose policy or service changes which impact beyond own area of activity by participation in Trust working parties and other local development groups.
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 appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.
To supervise DClinPsy research projects, as appropriate.
To initiate, undertake and supervise project management, service evaluations and complex audits with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.
To disseminate research findings through publications and conference presentations.
Working Environment
To provide psychological care to service users and their carers in the least restrictive and least stigmatising environment in the At Risk Mental State (ARMS) Team, including home visits, community locations, GP surgeries, community mental health bases, and in-patient settings. The job role will involve working alone in situations where there may be some risk of verbal or physical aggression from service users, carers, and the general public.
Job description review
This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities and in discussion with the manager the postholder may be required to undertake other duties which fall within the banding of the post. The job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing service requirements and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder.
The post holder should be comfortable in the use of computer technology, have basic keyboard skills and have the ability to use email.
All employees are expected to observe the following:
