Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist (Perinatal)

South West London and St. George's Mental Health NHS Trust; Tooting; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 35,000; Part time

Job summary

South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust is seeking an experienced Practitioner Psychologist to join its Perinatal Mental Health Service in a part-time capacity. The role focuses on highly specialist psychological care for parents and their infants, with supervision and access to development opportunities.

You will work within a multidisciplinary team, providing assessment, formulation and treatment, while coordinating care pathways and liaising with midwives and obstetricians.

Qualifications

• Specialist psychological assessment across outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
• Experience with severe, complex and long-term mental health problems.
• Minimum 50 hours of clinical supervision over at least 18 months.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments using diverse data sources.
• Formulate and implement evidence-based treatment plans.
• Deliver a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, and groups.
• Attend MDT meetings and triage referrals for the perinatal service.
• Develop care pathways in collaboration with lead psychologists and other services.

Skills

Clinical assessment

Risk assessment

MDT collaboration

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology

HCPC registration

Job description

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.

Job overview

We are seeking an experienced Practitioner Psychologist with a passion for perinatal care to join our specialist community perinatal mental health service in a part time (0.5 WTE) capacity.

We are dedicated to high quality, evidence-based practice. The post holder will have a proven interest in working with parents and their infants and knowledge of infant and adult mental health. Appropriate specialist clinical and professional supervision and opportunities for training and development will be made available.

They will join an experienced and friendly team of psychological therapists who provide a range of highly specialist psychological interventions for service users under the care of the Perinatal Mental Health Team. A key aspect of this role is to provide highly specialist psychological care to parents (and their infants) experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties. An ability to assess and manage risk in this context is crucial and a sound understanding of working with clients presenting with complex emotional needs, the challenges presented during the perinatal period and the interventions available for that.

Main duties of the job

This post offers an opportunity to join the Perinatal Mental Health Service and be involved in service developments in line with the NHS Long Term Plan. The opening is for a Band 8a (0.5 WTE) Highly Specialist Team Clinical or Counselling Psychologist.

If appointed, you will join a passionate and experienced MDT and support the provision of our community based specialist psychology and psychotherapy services for women who are pregnant, or postnatal and are presenting with a wide range of complex and severe mental health problems, as well as systemic support for their partners/significant others. The role involves providing specialist psychological assessment and treatment as well as attending ward and community MDT meetings, triaging referrals, assessing and signposting to other services, and liaising with midwifes, obstetricians, and primary, secondary and third sector care providers.

There will be opportunities for attending specialist training and forums, providing supervision and consultation as well as developing an area of specialist interest and one's own style of working.

There will be a strong focus on supporting the continued development of a psychologically informed trauma focus of care within the service including working alongside our lead psychologist for complex needs to develop a care pathway for this client group within the perinatal service, as well as utilising research skills for audits, service evaluation, and service development.

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.

About our locations:

Springfield University Hospital, Tooting

Unless expressly stated in the job advert the role is not subject to sponsorship, please be advised that all offers of employment are subject to evidence of right to work in the UK.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the service 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.

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 in the treatment of mental health conditions as recommended by NICE guidelines.

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 several provisional hypotheses.

To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based care plans.

To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals, as appropriate, to assist in the formulation, diagnosis and treatment of clients presenting with mental health needs related to the perinatal period.

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.

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.

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 both uni- and multi-disciplinary care, integrating the contribution of other professionals on the basis of client need.

To work jointly with psychological therapists based in community teams, to plan and hand over the psychological assessment and treatment of patients that may continue after discharge from the Maternal Mental Health Service.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.

Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

Person specification

Training & Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Doctoral level training in clinical or counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and (for Clinical Psychologists) neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology ; or alternative training outside of the UK that is recognised by the Health & Care Professions Council leading to registration in the UK as a Clinical or Counselling psychologist
• Registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (Practitioner Psychologist, domain: Clinical Psychologist or Counselling Psychologist

Desirable criteria

• Post qualification training in applied research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology
• Post qualification training in the application of psychological care in a perinatal context
• Post qualification training in DBT, MBT, or any other evidence base intervention of working with clients with complex needs or personality difficulties.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
• Experience of working with people who experience severe, complex and long-term mental health problems
• Demonstrate further specialist training/experience through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision while working as a specialist psychological therapist over a minimum of 18 months, or an alternative agreed by the Head of Psychology & Psychotherapies

Desirable criteria

• Post qualification experience of working in a specialist perinatal mental health service
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Experience of working in complex needs services such as substance misuse or personality disorder.
• Experience of the application of clinical or counselling psychology in different cultural contexts

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)
• 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 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
• South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust does not charge any fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. The contact details published on our official website are the Trust's authorised contact channels and should be used for all recruitment communications, job applications, and verification of employment offers.