Clinical Psychologist​/Counselling Psychologist | and North West NHS Foundation Trust

Overview

We are looking for an enthusiastic clinical or counselling psychologist to work in our Community Mental Health Hub as part of an integrated multi-disciplinary service.

The post-holder will work in the north Kensington & Chelsea Mental Health Hub and in the south Hub as required. The post-holder will be the Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) lead for the Hub and will also supervise the Complex Emotional Needs (CEN) pathway clinicians. The role will include liaison with the specialist CEN team, known as the Waterview Service.

In addition, that post-holder will provide a range of specialist psychological assessment and therapy for clients with complex and enduring mental health problems, and will lead on and coordinate aspects of the group programme under the Hubs, including the DBT programme for clients with complex emotional needs. The candidate will offer advice, training and consultation to other members of the team and non-professional carers.

The post-holder will support the team in assessing the psychological and social needs of patients referred to the service, ensuring that psychological needs and factors are given due consideration.

The post-holder will be supported in developing their role through CPD and supervision, and will contribute to the professional development of junior colleagues, including trainee clinical psychologists.

The post-holder is expected to work autonomously within professional guidelines.

The post-holder will be based across the Mental Health Hub sites in North Kensington & Chelsea and will also include travel to the South Hub. The post-holder will adopt a flexible approach to their working pattern and may at times be required to undertake work in other settings including day centres, GP surgeries, other community service bases, inpatient wards and patients’ homes.

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.

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.

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.

To lead and supervise the Hub DBT offer and clinically supervise the Hub CEN workers; the role will include oversight of the Hub CEN offer.

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.

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 contributing directly to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

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 the client group.

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…