High Intensity Therapist

South West London & St George's Mental Health NHS Trust; City of Westminster; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health service provider in Westminster seeks a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join their team. This role includes responsibilities like providing psychological assessments, implementing treatment plans, and consulting with other professionals. Ideal candidates should hold a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and be skilled in evidence-based therapies for mental health. The position offers flexible working hours and opportunities for continuous professional development.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Career development opportunities

Supportive and inclusive work environment

Qualifications

• Must provide specialist psychological therapy assessments.
• Knowledgeable about DSM-V diagnosis of common mental health problems.
• Proficient in using NICE recommended therapies for anxiety and depression.

Responsibilities

• Deliver psychological therapy assessments to clients.
• Implement and formulate treatment plans for mental health issues.
• Provide expert psychological advice to other professionals.

Skills

Knowledge of CBT treatment strategies

Ability to clinically formulate client problems

Experience with evidence-based psychological treatments

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Tools

NICE guidelines

DSM-V

Job description

Overview

We are looking for an enthusiastic and skilled Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or CBT Therapist to join our committed and friendly team of clinicians.

Responsibilities

• To provide specialist psychological therapy assessments to clients referred to the NHS Talking Therapies service based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources. This will include client self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi- structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care.
• To provide at least one NICE recommended psychological therapy for anxiety disorders and/or depression.
• To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client's mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client's problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.
• To be knowledgeable about DSM-V diagnosis of common mental health problems (as relevant to NHS Talking Therapies) and skilled in the differential diagnosis of clinical disorders.
• To be able to clinically formulate clients' problems and develop and implement plans for the formal Step 3 treatment and/or management of a client's problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy.
• A good understanding and ability to apply CBT treatment strategies (or other Talking Therapies evidence based approach to appropriate presentations) flexibly across the whole range of disorders seen in NHS Talking Therapies, particularly common mood disorders, including group interventions.
• To be responsible for implementing psychological interventions for individuals, couples, carers, and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations and drawing upon relevant explanatory models.
• To be able to use a specific psychological therapy for anxiety and/or depression, in line with NICE guidance, at a specialist level in assessments and interventions, including 1:1 and group interventions.
• 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, couple or group.
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
• To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals in order to support accurate diagnosis, formulation and treatment plan.
• To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients in line with the service's risk management policy, and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of treatment.
• To assess and deliver highly complex, sensitive and contentious information. e.g. deciding whether clients are suitable or unsuitable for particular services, having to break confidentiality at times e.g. referring clients to Social Services regarding safeguarding issues.
• To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the treatment team.

Organisation and Equalities

At South West London St Georges Mental Health Trust we are committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Committed Employer, and welcome applications from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We are Members of Stonewall Diversity Champions and Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.

As part of the Trust's commitment to Equalities and Diversity, the Trust supports the establishment of Staff Networks groups to promote diversity in the workplace:

• BME (Evolve) Staff Network
• Christian Staff Network
• DiverseAbility
• Deaf Staff Network
• Mental Health Staff Forum
• Women's Staff Network
• LGBTQIA+

We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant.

We provide reasonable adjustments to the interview process for any candidates with a disability.

Important Notices

• That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received
• That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system
• That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
• That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
• That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
• That your employment is offered subject to successful completion of a Probationary Period depending on your Band (except medical roles)
• That we are a smoke-free Trust

Contract and Service Details

NHS AfC: Band 7

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.

We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' however we aim to be 'outstanding'.

Our Values

We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".

When you join us, you'll be part of something special - an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.

As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working.

Role Details

You will be providing Step 3 diagnostic assessments and evidence-based CBT treatment on an individual and group basis to clients aged 18 and over presenting with depression, anxiety disorders and PTSD. You will also be involved in the clinical supervision of Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, Low Intensity Trainees and High Intensity Trainees, for which training will be provided. There will be opportunities to develop areas of interest such as working with long term health conditions, working with clients with learning disabilities, working with perinatal clients, by contributing to project groups or taking a Champion role. The 5 services in SWLSTG Trust work closely together to develop care pathways and share expertise.

High quality supervision and CPD are a priority for the team. You will receive regular weekly individual clinical supervision from one of our band 8a or 8b Clinical/Counselling Psychologists or CBT Therapists working within the service. You will also have the opportunity to attend a monthly clinical training session facilitated by lead clinicians from across the SWLSTG Trust and to attend quarterly CBT training workshops. You will be supported to undertake and obtain accreditation in further modalities, e.g. EMDR, IPT, BCT, and the majority of TT clinicians in the Trust have received funding to train in a number of further modalities of interest to them.

Working for our organisation

We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.

We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'. This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services.

We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.

We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.

Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.

Wandsworth Talking Therapies service for Wandsworth - offers evidenced-based psychological treatments, including CBT, IPT, DIT, NET, EMDR and BCT to its residents. The service is professionally led by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and operationally led by a Clinical Manager. The high performing Talking Therapies (TT) team provide evidence-based psychological treatments to people with common mental health problems including depression, anxiety disorders and PTSD within a stepped-care model. The clinical team includes qualified TT High Intensity CBT Therapists, Clinical and Counselling Psychologists, and Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners, who provide evidence-based psychological interventions in line with NICE guidance.

The service operates from 8am - 8pm Monday to Thursday, and Friday 8-5pm. Shift patterns are from 8am - 4pm and 12noon - 8pm and the post holder will be required to work flexible hours in line with this. Typically we expect full time staff members to work two days 12-8pm and three days 8-4pm. Your working pattern can be negotiated and many of our clinicians prefer to work condensed hours to allow for a better work/life balance.

It would be desirable if you have completed a top up TT course like the Long term conditions training or hold an accreditation in another modality of treatment such as IPT.