High Intensity Therapist

Job description

Job responsibilities

Post Title: IAPT High Intensity Therapist

Band: 6 or 7 depending on experience

Reports to: Senior High Intensity Therapist, Clinical Lead and Director of Operations

Key Relationships: IAPT Team, Primary Care teams

Location: The Meads Business Centre, Farnborough (Base) and surrounding areas in North East Hampshire and Farnham.

Hours: 37.5 per week

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. CLINICAL

1.1. Accept referrals via agreed protocols within the service.

1.2. Assess clients for suitability for psychological interventions.

1.3. Make decisions on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the departments referral protocols, and refer unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the referral agent as necessary.

1.4. Formulate, implement and evaluate therapy programmes for clients.

1.5. Use highly developed communication skills in working with people to understand their personal and often very sensitive difficulties.

1.6. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment and treatment of clients in line with the service.

1.7. Educate and involve family members and others in treatment as necessary, conveying CBT and other psychological formulations with sensitivity in easily understood language.

1.8. Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered, and clinical sessions carried out per week in order to minimise waiting times and ensure treatment delivery remains accessible and convenient.

1.9. Attend multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or clients in treatment, where appropriate.

1.10. Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.

1.11. Keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols.

1.12. Work closely with other members of the team ensuring appropriate step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care approach.

1.13. Assess and integrate issues surrounding work and employment into the overall therapy process.

1.14. Carry out clinical audits of service performance, including service user surveys and evaluations, and help to collate and disseminate the results for feedback.

1.15. Liaise with other health and social care staff from a range of agencies in the care provided clients.

1.16. Provide specialist advice and consultation to other professionals / individuals / groups / committees across Mental Health Trusts, Primary Care Trusts and other voluntary agencies regarding service matters related to the practice and delivery of specific agreed therapeutic modalities and service provision.

1.17. Provide weekly duty slot(s) where incoming referrals are screened and providing the team with support in choosing treatment pathway and risk management.

2. TRAINING AND SUPERVISION

2.1. Contribute to the teaching and training of mental health professionals and other staff working in the service.

2.2. Prepare for and attend clinical skills supervision and case management supervision as outlined in service policy.

3. PROFESSIONAL

3.1. Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any regulating, professional and accrediting bodies (e.g. BABCP), and keep up to date on new recommendations/guidelines set by the Department of Health (e.g. NHS plan, National Service Framework, National Institute for Clinical Excellence).

3.2. Ensure that client confidentiality is protected at all times.

3.3. Be aware of, and keep up to date with advances in the spheres of CBT and other psychological therapies.

3.4. Ensure clear professional objectives are identified, discussed and reviewed with senior therapists on a regular basis as part of continuing professional development (CPD).

3.5. Attend clinical/managerial supervision on a regular basis as agreed with Manager.

3.6. Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives.

3.7. Keep up to date all records in relation to CPD and ensure personal development plan maintains up to date specialist knowledge of latest theoretical and service delivery models/developments.

3.8. Attend relevant conferences / workshops in line with identified professional objectives.

3.9. Participate in service improvement by highlighting issues and implementing changes in practice.

4. ADVISORY / LIAISON

4.1. Provide an advisory service on matters related to the practice and delivery of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to individuals/groups/committees across mental and physical health services and other voluntary agencies.

4.2. Promote and maintain links with Primary Care and Secondary Care Staff to help co-ordinate the provision of an effective Psychological Therapies Service.

5. GENERAL

5.1. To contribute to the development of best practice within the service.

5.2. To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and procedures in relation to Mental Health and Primary Care Services.

5.3. All employees have a duty and responsibility for their own health and safety and the health of safety of colleagues, patients and the general public.

5.4. All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed for both patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the Data Protection Act (2018) and Security and Confidentiality Policies.

5.5. It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for personal gain, to seek advantage of further private business or other interests in the course of their official duties.

5.6. This Job Description does not provide an exhaustive list of duties and may be reviewed in conjunction with the post holder in light of service development.

Person Specification

Knowledge and skills

Essential

• Full range of skills and competencies as laid out in the competence framework for CBT (Roth and Pilling 2007) Computer literate
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Has received training (either formal or through experience) and carried out risk assessments within scope of practice
• Able to develop good therapeutic relationships with clients
• Demonstrates an understanding of anxiety and depression and how it may present in Primary Care
• Demonstrates a knowledge of the issues surrounding work and the impact it can have on mental health / benefits & employment systems
• Knowledge of medication used in anxiety and depression and other common mental health problems
• Demonstrates an understanding for the need to use evidence based psychological therapies and how it relates to this post
• Knowledge of child protection issues and other relevant legislation
• Good record of Continuing Professional Development and willingness to continue this
• High level of enthusiasm and motivation
• Advanced communication skills
• Ability to work within a team and foster good working relationships
• Ability to use clinical supervision and personal development positively and effectively
• Ability to work under pressure
• Regard for others and respect for individual rights of autonomy and confidentiality
• Ability to be self reflective, whilst working with service users, & in own personal and professional development and in supervision
• The ability and skills to act as an advocate the service, to engage and foster good professional relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of this service with the wider health care system
• Ability to travel to and from different clinical settings within working hours.

Desirable

• Accredited with a professional psychological therapy organisation or working towards accreditation
• Completed clinical audits within a service
• Fluent in languages other than English
• Experience of working with diverse communities and within a multicultural setting

Qualifications

Essential

• Band 6/7 Therapist:
• Qualification from High Intensity IAPT Course (Post Graduate Diploma)
• Relevant experience in Primary Care treating anxiety and depression

Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable experience of working in mental health services
• Ability to meet agreed/specified service targets
• Ability to manage own caseload and time
• Demonstrates high standards in written communication
• Able to write clear reports and letters to referrers
• Experience with routine outcome monitoring

Desirable

• Worked in a service where agreed targets in place demonstrating clinical outcomes
• Experience of teaching and liaising with other professional groups

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.

Employer details

Employer name

North Hampshire Urgent Care

Address

The Meads Business Centre

19 Kingsmead

Farnborough

GU14 7SR

Employer's website

https://www.nhuc.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)