Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist

NHS; Ealing; On-site; GBP 59,000 - 67,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Ealing is seeking a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist to join their CAMHS-LD team. This role involves providing assessments and interventions for children and young people with learning disabilities and mental health challenges. The successful candidate will work collaboratively with families and other professionals, offering support to maintain high standards of care. Opportunities for professional development and flexible working arrangements are available.

Qualifications

• Experience working with children and adolescents with mental health difficulties.
• Eligible to work as a Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical).

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist CAMHS assessments and interventions.
• Hold a clinical case load of young people with Learning Disabilities.

Skills

Communication

Consultation

Psychological Assessment

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical psychology

Training in supervision

Training in research methodology

Job description

The Ealing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service for Learning Disabilities (CAMHS LD) team is a small, expanding, well respected, supportive, hard-working team based at Carmelita House (London W5 2PJ). CAMHS-LD provides assessment and intervention for children and young people with learning disabilities and their families where there are concerns about mental health difficulties and/or behaviours that challenge. We have excellent links with our colleagues in Education, Health and Social Care and we work collaboratively and jointly for many of the clients under our care. The team believe strongly in the importance of accessible, equitable, high quality care for children and young people with learning disabilities.

Carmelita House is in a convenient central Ealing location, very close to many transport options, shops and green spaces.

The CAMHS-LD team considers ongoing CPD to be very important and we have an active CPD programme; we will support the post holder/s to access CPD/training relevant to this post. Furthermore, West London CAMHS has developed new ways of working; our staff provide a combination of face-to-face clinical contact as well as clinical contact via virtual platforms, resulting in a combination of onsite and remote working.

We welcome all enquires and are happy to answer any questions you may have; you are welcome to apply for full or part time hours.

Main duties of the job

The Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist will join the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service for Learning Disabilities (CAMHS-LD) Team that provides assessment and intervention for children and young people with disabilities and their families where there are concerns about emotional, behavioural and psychological difficulties, including challenging behaviours, mental health difficulties and social/family difficulties.

The Clinical Psychologist will hold a clinical case load of young people with a Learning Disability up to the age of 18, with a range of mental health and behavioural difficulties in the Ealing CAMHS-LD team and could also offer clinical work in the Ealing ITSBS which aims to enable children with Learning Disability and challenging behaviour to remain in the community, preventing family placement breakdown and a move to residential care.

The Clinical Psychologist will provide specialist CAMHS assessments and interventions for children, young people and their families with significant and complex problems. The successful applicant could also offer supervision to more junior staff, will receive regular professional and management supervision, and will support with team and service development as appropriate.

About us

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ 4,500 staff, of whom 56% are BME. Our turnover for 2023-24 is £426m.

The Trust is rated as 'Good' overallby the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Job responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.

The link below will also provide useful information.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services staff share their stories of working for the NHS. (youtube.com)

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society, or equivalent if trained overseas.
• Eligible to work as a Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical) as approved by the Health Care Professions Council.
• Training in supervision.
• Training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.

Experience

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and their families across a range of care settings, (e.g. outpatient, community, primary care, in patient settings).
• Experience of working with children, adolescents and their families which will have involved maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience working as a specialist clinical psychologist in CAMHS.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
• Further specialist experience in CAMHS, including: Experience working with children, adolescents (and their families) with learning disability and/or neurodevelopmental conditions (e.g. ASD, ADHD, etc.) in a CAMH setting. Experience of working with other agencies and providing consultation. Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts. Experience of working with children/young people with special educational needs and challenging behaviour or mental health difficulties and their families.

Knowledge & Skills

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Knowledge and skills in administration, interpretation, writing up and dissemination of a range of cognitive assessments.
• 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.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practised within the clinical fields of psychology.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the HCPC.
• Knowledge and skills in specialist psychological assessment and treatment of specific groups (e.g. looked after children, learning disabilities, neurodevelopmental disorders, adolescent mental health, trauma, anxiety and mood disorders).
• High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
• Knowledge of application of therapeutic models to children who have special educational needs and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Other requirements

• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Commitment to provide support to children, their families/carers and linked professionals and maintain high levels of aspiration for the population referred to the service.
• Commitment to working flexibly and collaboratively with team colleagues and to support innovative ways of working.

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.

£59,490 to £66,239 a yearpa inclusive of 15% HCAS