Clinical Psychologist

Devon Partnership Trust; Exeter; Hybrid; GBP 49,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

Devon Partnership Trust in Exeter is recruiting a Band 7 Clinical Psychologist to join the Learning Disability multidisciplinary teams, supporting wellbeing and service development.

You will provide specialist psychological assessments and interventions, lead clinical governance, supervise trainees and staff, and contribute to service development across Devon.

The role requires HCPC registration and a Doctorate/Masters in clinical psychology, with extensive experience in learning disabilities.

Qualifications

• Doctorate or Masters in clinical/counselling psychology.
• Eligible for registration with HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council).
• Experience with learning disabilities and multi-disciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide psychological therapies to people with learning disabilities within the MDT.
• Provide clinical leadership, coordination and supervision for staff, trainees and volunteers.
• Carry a specialist caseload and provide advice and consultancy to clients and professionals.
• Work autonomously within professional guidelines and governance of psychological practice.

Skills

Communication skills

Leadership

Assessment skills

Education

Doctorate/Masters in clinical psychology

HCPC registration

Job description

We are looking for a Band 7 Clinical Psychologist to join the Exeter and East Devon multidisciplinary Learning Disability teams, to help us support the wellbeing of this vulnerable and marginalised group.

You will be a senior part of the Clinical Psychology team across Devon, working in and sharing the clinical leadership of your MDTs. You will be part of a rich multi-disciplinary team including Nursing, Psychiatry, Occupational therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech and Language therapy. We have a caring and mutually supportive culture which is a vital foundation for the challenging but rewarding work that we do.

Main duties of the job

To improve the psychological health & wellbeing of people with Learning disabilities and provide psychological services to people who use services and staff in your area Intensive Assessment and Treatment Team (IATT).

This will be achieved in this post by:

1. Ensuring the systematic provision of a high quality psychological service to people with Learning Disabilities in Devon as a key component of Health and Social Care Partnership services.

2. Providing clinical leadership, co-ordination and supervision for staff, trainees and volunteers employed by or attached to the psychology service.

3. Carrying a specialist caseload of clients, and providing advice and consultancy to clients and professionals.

4. Working autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the team.

5. Receiving regular professional and clinical supervision in accordance to Trust policy and to Professional Practice Guidelines set out by the Health Professions Council/British Psychological Society.

6. Contributing to the management of psychology services in the locality.

About us

We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.

We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do

Our values

We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader.

Job responsibilities

Duties andResponsibilities

Communication and Working RelationshipSkills

• To communicate in ahighly skilled and sensitive manner complex and sensitive informationconcerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of people withlearning disabilities under the services care.
• To communicate in a highlyskilled and sensitive manner to people with learning disabilities who maypresent with behaviour that challenges service delivery or who may havecomplex neurological deficits which affect their understanding, communicationand behaviour

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

• To undertake highlyskilled assessments and make highly skilled evaluations and decisions aboutassessment, treatment and discharge, and about the psychological managementof clients (including management of risk).

Planning and Organisational Skills

• To plan, organiseand prioritise own workload, balancing the demands of direct client care,support and guidance of carers and professionals, service research anddevelopmental activities.

Responsibilityfor Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy

• To providePsychological Therapies to the community team for people with learningdisabilities, developing specialist psychological formulations andassessments of people with learning disabilities, formulating plans for theirpsychological treatments and implementing specialist psychologicalinterventions for individuals, carers, families and groups.
• To providespecialist psychological advice, guidance, and consultation to otherprofessionals, paid and non-paid carers contributing directly to a serviceusers formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

Responsibility for Policy and ServiceDevelopment Implementation

Policy& service:

• To follow policy guidance in own role and to identify andcomment on proposed policy changes and service developments.

Responsibility for Finance, Equipmentand Other Resources

• Careful use ofequipment and resources as provided

Responsibilityfor Human Resources, e.g. Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management

There is a requirement to support learners on a regular basiswhich includes the achievement and updating of profession specific trainingto the required standard to fulfil this role.

• In common with all Clinical Psychologists, thepost holder will receive regular professional and clinical supervision inaccordance to Trust policy and Professional Practice Guidance set out by theBritish Psychology Society and the Health Professions Council. The postholder will be supported by the senior psychologists within the specialityand will be expected to use the expertise of others within the service tofurther develop their clinical skills with this group of people who useservices.
• To supervise thework of Assistant Psychologists and/or Trainee Clinical Psychologists asrequired. To provide supervision and Consultancy to Health and Social Carecolleagues within the area ATT

Responsibility for InformationResources and Administrative Duties

• To be responsiblefor using an email account to generate, monitor, and respond to the e-mailtraffic by which the Trust conducts much of its internal communication.

Responsibility for Research andDevelopment

• To undertakeservice relevant research and development activity agreed with the LearningDisability Health and Social CarePartnership, and to organise the R&D activities of assistants and/ortrainees as required

Freedom to Act

• The post holder is accountable for their ownprofessional actions, acting within Trust policies and procedures andProfessional Practice Guidelines.
• To work autonomously withinclinical professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for thegovernance of psychological practice within the Health and Social CarePartnership for People with Learning Disabilities.
• To provide expert and specialistclinical psychology intervention, expertise and advice guidance andconsultation on psychological aspects of clinical care to colleagues, otherservice providers, clients, supporters and families.

Any Other Specific Tasks Required

• To ensure thatskills and techniques relevant to clinical work and demands of this post arecontinuously updated.

Person Specification

Knowledge

• Knowledge of the Mental Health and Mental Capacity Act and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to people with learning disabilities and mental Health.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation in relation to people with learning disabilities and mental health.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological approaches in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. people who may present with challenging behaviour; personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities).
• High level knowledge of theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
• Knowledge and skills in risk assessment and risk management.

Physical Skills

• Mobility to travel across sites.
• Ability to carry out psychometric assessments.

Experience

• Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of people who use services across the full range of care settings.
• Experience of teaching, training and supervision.
• Experience of working with a wide range of people who use services across the who life course and who present with issues that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing issues, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience gained during supervised training or working with people with learning disabilities.
• Experience of working in services for people with learning disabilities.

Communication and Working Relationship Skills

• Skills in the ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to people who use services, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and care system groups.
• Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with individuals and departments within and outside Devon Partnership Trust.
• Ability to work independently and use initiative with a service consisting of a network of teams.
• Ability to tolerate ambiguity and maintain own morale and motivation in challenging service delivery contexts.

Qualifications

• Doctorate/Masters level or equivalent qualification in clinical/counselling
• Eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Further training in assessment and interventions with people with learning disabilities

Analytical and Judgemental Skills

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. (e.g. people who may present with challenging behaviour; personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities).
• Masters level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multi-variate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.

Planning and Organisational Skills

• Ability to be flexible and cope with multiple demands and manage own workload.
• Understanding of the responsibility that clinicians have to be accountable for documenting and evidencing their clinical work and capacity to make use of information technology to keep required records up to date.

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.

Clinical Psychologist and Development Lead

£49,387 to £56,515 a yearpro rata (30 hours per week)