Practitioner Psychologist

Maudsley Learning; London; On-site; GBP 61,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player in mental health services is seeking a Band 8b psychologist for an exciting new role. This position offers the chance to work within the Children and Young People's Gender Service, providing vital assessments and therapeutic support to young people facing gender-related challenges. The role emphasizes collaboration across NHS services, ensuring a holistic approach to mental health care. Join a dedicated team committed to making a positive impact on the lives of children and adolescents, while benefiting from a supportive environment that values your expertise and contributions. This is a unique opportunity to be part of a transformative journey in mental health care.

Qualifications

• Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology required.
• Additional training in specialized psychological practice is essential.

Responsibilities

• Provide highly specialist psychological assessments and interventions.
• Take a lead in ensuring a psychologically informed framework.

Skills

Psychological assessments

Therapeutic interventions

Clinical supervision

Communication skills

Teamwork

Education

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology

PG Diploma in specialized psychological practice

Job description

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Main area: Children and Young People's Mental Health
Grade: NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract: 2 years (Fixed term)
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week (will work 0.5wte in Children and Young People's Gender Service and 0.5 WTE in an allocated Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service)
Job ref: 334-CLI-6782150

Site: South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Town: Greater London
Salary: £61,927 - £68,676 per annum inclusive of HCAS
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 10/01/2025 23:59

South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links, and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth, and Richmond.

We are committed to providing high-quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognized for the care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.

We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes, and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.

The trust recognizes the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.

Our Values: We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen, and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.

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

Job Overview

Practitioner Psychologist Advert

The South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is seeking to appoint a Band 8b psychologist to join the new Children & Young People’s Gender Service (London).

This is an exciting new blended role that will work within the Children and Young People's Gender Service and an allocated Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). The CAMHS element of this role will ideally be a good fit with the Children and Young People's Gender Service and the experience, skills, and preference of the applicant. Please specify in your supporting information your preferred choice. The post will be full time for 2 years (fixed term contract).

This post reflects the Cass Review recommendation that staff should maintain a broad clinical perspective by working across related NHS services to embed the care of children and young people with gender-related distress within a broader child and adolescent health context.

Practitioner Health and Educational Psychologists will also be considered for this role if they can demonstrate significant experience within a children and young people’s mental health setting and document the equivalent level of training in an appropriate therapeutic model, either as a core part of training, additional qualification, or substantial number of short courses.

Main Duties of the Job

The Children and Young People’s Gender Service provides assessment and therapeutic support for children and young people that are gender questioning or experiencing gender incongruence. Many of these young people will have co-morbid difficulties including developmental disorders, trauma, low mood, and family conflict.

The post holder will work 0.5 wte within the Children and Young People's Gender Service and 0.5wte within an agreed CAMHS - to develop, coordinate, and ensure the systematic provision of a highly specialist psychology service across both areas.

Working for Our Organisation

The South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the country. We aim to utilize the skills, experience, and commitment of our clinicians to provide first-class, effective, safe, and innovative care in community Borough-based and National and Specialist Inpatient, Outpatient, and Day patient multidisciplinary teams.

The Children and Young People's Gender Service (London) is being delivered by a partnership of Evelina London Children’s Hospital (part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust), Great Ormond Street Hospital, and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

Detailed Job Description and Main Responsibilities

The post holder will work within the Children and Young People's Gender Service and an agreed CAMHS to:

• Provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations, and interventions for children and young people including trauma, self-harm, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
• Take a lead in ensuring a psychologically informed framework for both services.
• Take an active role in supervision, teaching, training, and research.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent), or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration.
• Additional training in a specialized area of psychological practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice–based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma.
• Completed training course in clinical supervision.
• Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.

Experience

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in an area of clinical relevance to children and young people with gender diversity and one other area of clinical specialism.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of neurodevelopmental needs of a complex nature.
• Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychologists having completed the relevant training.
• Experience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit, or service evaluation projects.

Knowledge

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialized psychological assessments and interventions for children and young people with gender diversity and one other area of clinical specialism.
• Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatments.
• Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics.
• Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.

Skills

• To deliver psychological therapy across cultural and other differences.
• To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation, and comparison, drawn from several sources.
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers, and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory and emotional difficulties, cultural differences, and hostility to or rejection of information.
• To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers, and for meetings such as CPAs and case reviews.
• To plan allocation of tasks to assistant psychologists.

Abilities

• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate.
• Ability to manage verbal aggression and hostility directed at self.

The Trust is committed to providing services that embrace diversity and promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer; we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect, and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:

• Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice.
• Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment.
• We believe that people who use our services, their carers, and our staff should be treated with compassion, respect, and dignity.

Please note:

• All applications for this post will need to be made online.
• Read and understand the Job Description and Personal Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria.
• The closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible.
• Once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs.
• If you have not heard from us within three weeks from the closing date, your application has not been successful.
• Priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees.
• If you are successful and appointed, you authorize South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process.
• We are a smoke-free Trust.

SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion; Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi, and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe.

Employer Certification / Accreditation Badges

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020, and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Contact Information:

Name: Dr. Troy Tranah
Job title: Clinical Lead
Email address: [e-mail]
Additional information: [e-mail], CAMHS Deputy Director