Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

South West London & St George's Mental Health NHS Trust; Teddington; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent mental health service provider in the UK is seeking a Clinical Psychologist to join its Richmond Psychology & Psychotherapies services. The role involves providing psychological assessments and treatments for clients with severe mental health conditions, offering flexibility in the workplace and opportunities for career growth in a supportive environment. Ideal candidates should hold a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and be registered with the HCPC. Experience in trauma-informed care and multidisciplinary settings is highly valued.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

Career development opportunities

Inclusive workplace

Commitment to diversity and equality

Qualifications

• Trainee Clinical Psychologists can apply if in final year.
• Less than 18 months post-qualification experience acceptable for Band 7 preceptorship.

Responsibilities

• Conduct psychological assessments for clients referred to the team.
• Implement psychological treatment plans based on evidence.
• Provide psychological advice and consultation to other professionals.
• Participate in multidisciplinary meetings.

Skills

Trauma-informed care

Multidisciplinary team (MDT) working

Psychological assessments

Risk assessment and management

Communication skills

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Job description

We are looking for a dedicated Clinical Psychologist to join the Richmond Psychology & Psychotherapies services based in the Richmond Integrated Recovery Hub and Kingston and Richmond Early Intervention Services. The advertised post is split between two teams - the Richmond Integrated Recovery Hub provides secondary mental health care for adults experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties; the Kingston and Richmond Early Intervention Services provides multidisciplinary care to adults experiencing their first episode of psychosis in the line with the National Standard for Early Intervention in Psychosis.
It is an exciting time to join our trust, as we are preparing to implement the trust's community transformation plans in line with the Community Mental Health Framework, to improve access and provision for clients with severe mental health difficulties. In doing so we will be strengthening relationships with primary care and developing new links with the voluntary sector.
This post is established at 8a level but we welcome applications from final year Trainee Clinical Psychologists, and from Clinical / Counselling Psychologists with less than 18 months post qualification experience, who could progress from a Band 7 preceptorship to a Band 8a in this post., The successful applicant will be committed to MDT working and to advancing trauma informed care across the trust. You will contribute to the delivery of evidence-based psychological therapies for severe and enduring mental health conditions, including psychosis & bipolar affective disorder, personality disorders, and complex mood, anxiety disorders & PTSD. The role is dynamic and will require you to attend multidisciplinary meetings and to offer supervision, consultation, and training to clinicians within the wider MDT team.
Flexible working:
As one of the few Trusts in London we are proud to offer flexible and agile working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working at the interview stage., 1. To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, 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.
2. 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, across the full range of care settings.
3. To be responsible for implementing a range of 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 provisional hypotheses.
4. 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.
5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based care plans.
6. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients' formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
7. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving this client group of people with severe and enduring mental health problems.
8. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
9. To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.
10. 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 both uni- and multi-disciplinary care, integrating the contribution of other professionals on the basis of client need.
11. To effectively draw on a variety of sources to establish care plans and treatment formulations in a context in which much data may be unavailable because of the client's inability to express themselves and because of the loss of much historical information, when early life has been extremely disrupted.
12. To be able to overcome a variety of barriers to communication when working with clients who are fearful of others, unable to articulate their problems or who think within a very different frame of reference, requiring imaginative and sensitive approaches towards engagement.
13. To provide a service that operates in a range of community settings; individual homes and hostels, community houses, inpatient units and team base requiring particular attention to issues of risk and confidentiality.
14. To manage time effectively and efficiently as a sparse resource in a context of high level demand.
15. To contribute to the team's duty system as required.
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.
Please note:
+ 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 3^rd 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

Band 8a or Band 7 preceptorship
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., 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 as we invest a further £120m to upgrade and modernise our estate by 2027.
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.