Job Description:
We are looking
for a Band 7 Clinical Psychologist to join the North and Mid Devon Intensive
Assessment and Treatment Team (IATT), to help support the psychological and emotional wellbeing of a most vulnerable client group.
You
will provide a Clinical Psychology service via assessment, intervention and
consultation. You will join the North and Mid DevonIATT, a rich multi-disciplinary team including Nursing, Psychiatry,
Occupational therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech and Language therapy. You will
maintain and develop relationships with partner agencies and local providers.
We will support
you to learn the skills you need to thrive in the role. We will offer you the training and development support you
need to develop your skills and create a fulfilling career. In return, we are looking for someone who is motivated,
flexible and eager to learn.
You will start to develop skills in delivering clinical supervision while
receiving regular clinical supervision yourself.
We have close links with both the Plymouth
and Exeter Doctoral Programmes and there is a strong research department within
DPT.
In addition, we
work jointly with a range of specialties and services meeting complex care needs. You will be able to develop your therapeutic interests in a variety of areas
beyond Learning Disability.
Main duties of the job
We are looking
for candidates who are enthusiastic about working with individuals with Learning
Disability. You will be undertaking assessments, developing individual
formulations and contributing to MDT formulation and best practice reviews;
designing complex and multicomponent interventions and delivering these directly
and indirectly via individual or group therapies, care planning and/or training.
We will help you to acquire and develop a range of consultation skills. We
would expect you to have experience of psychometric assessment and at least two
forms of therapeutic intervention (such as Positive Behaviour Support, CBT or
DBT), as well as an understanding of the latest evidence around interventions. As
a newly qualified Clinical Psychologist, you will receive regular supervision
and a variety of support for your career development, including a robust
appraisal system, a range of CPD activities and a generous bursary scheme.
Working
alongside your IATT Clinical Team Manager and other Psychologists, you will promote
clinical effectiveness, contributing to audits and reviews of service provision
in order to improve our service user journey and maximise the wellbeing of individuals
with Learning Disability in Devon.
About us
About Devon Partnership Trust
We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.
We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do
Our values
We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.
We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader Employer.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job Purpose
To improve the
psychological health & wellbeing of people with Learning disabilities and provide psychological services to people
who use services and staff in the North and Mid DevonIntensive Assessment
and Treatment Team (IATT).
This will be achieved
in this post by:
1. Ensuring the systematic provision of a
high quality psychological service to people with Learning
Disabilities in Devon as a key component of Health and Social Care Partnership
services.
2. Providing
clinical leadership, co-ordination and supervision for staff, trainees and
volunteers employed by or attached to the psychology service.
3. Carrying
a specialist caseload of clients, and providing advice and consultancy to
patients and professionals.
4. Working autonomously within professional
guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of
psychological practice within the team.
5. Receiving regular professional and clinical
supervision in accordance to Trust policy and to Professional Practice Guidelines set out by the Health Professions Council/British
Psychological Society.
6. Contributing
to the management of psychology services in the locality.
Duties and
Responsibilities
Communication
and Working Relationship Skills
- To communicate in a
highly skilled and sensitive manner complex and sensitive information
concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of people with
learning disabilities under the services care.
- To communicate in a highly
skilled and sensitive manner to people with learning disabilities who may
present with behaviour that challenges service delivery or who may have
complex neurological deficits which affect their understanding, communication
and behaviour
Analytical and Judgemental
Skills
- To undertake highly
skilled assessments and make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about
assessment, treatment and discharge, and about the psychological management
of patients (including management of risk).
Planning
and Organisational Skills
- To plan, organise
and prioritise own workload, balancing the demands of patient care, support
and guidance of carers and professionals, service research and developmental
activities.
Responsibility for Patient/Client Care,
Treatment and Therapy
- To provide
Psychological Therapies to the community team for people with learning
disabilities, developing specialist psychological formulations and
assessments of people with learning disabilities, formulating plans for their
psychological treatments and implementing specialist psychological
interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups.
- To provide
specialist psychological advice, guidance, and consultation to other
professionals, paid and non-paid carers contributing directly to a service
users formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
Responsibility
for Policy and Service Development Implementation
- To follow policy guidance in own role and to identify and
comment on proposed policy changes and service developments.
Responsibility
for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources
- Careful use of
equipment and resources as provided
Responsibility for Human Resources, e.g.
Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management
- There is a requirement to support learners on a regular basis
which includes the achievement and updating of profession specific training
to the required standard to fulfil this role.
- In common with all Clinical Psychologists, the
post holder will receive regular professional and clinical supervision in
accordance to Trust policy and Professional Practice Guidance set out by the
British Psychology Society and the Health Professions Council. The post
holder will be supported by the senior psychologists within the speciality
and will be expected to use the expertise of others within the service to
further develop their clinical skills with this group of people who use
services.
- To supervise the
work of Assistant Psychologists and/or Trainee Clinical Psychologists as
required. To provide supervision and Consultancy to Health and Social Care
colleagues within the area IATT
Responsibility
for Information Resources and Administrative Duties
- To maintain
accurate records
- To be responsible
for using an email account to generate, monitor, and respond to the e-mail
traffic by which the Trust conducts much of its internal communication.
Responsibility
for Research and Development
- To undertake service relevant research and
development activity agreed with the Learning Disability Health and Social Care Partnership, and to
organise the R&D activities of assistants and/or trainees as required
Freedom
to Act
- The post holder is
accountable for their own professional actions, acting within Trust policies
and procedures and Professional Practice Guidelines.
- To work autonomously within
clinical professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the
governance of psychological practice within the Health and Social Care
Partnership for People with Learning Disabilities.
- To provide expert and specialist
clinical psychology intervention, expertise and advice guidance and
consultation on psychological aspects of patient care to colleagues, other
service providers, patients, supporters and families.
Any
Other Specific Tasks Required
- To ensure that
skills and techniques relevant to clinical work and demands of this post are
continuously updated.
Review of this Job Description
This job description is intended as an outline indicator
of general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of changing
service needs. This job description is to be reviewed in conjunction with the
post holder on an annual basis.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Qualifications & Training
- Doctorate/Masters level or equivalent qualification in clinical/counselling
- Eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
- Further training in assessment and interventions with people with learning disabilities
- IT skills
Experience
Essential
- Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of people who use services across the full range of care settings.
- Experience of teaching, training and supervision.
Desirable
- Experience of working with a wide range of people who use services across the who life course and who present with issues that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing issues, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience gained during supervised training or working with people with learning disabilities.
- Experience of working in services for people with learning disabilities.
Planning and Organisational
Essential
- Ability to be flexible and cope with multiple demands and manage own workload.
- Understanding of the responsibility that clinicians have to be accountable for documenting and evidencing their clinical work and capacity to make use of information technology to keep required records up to date.
Analytical and Judgement Skills
Essential
- Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. (e.g. people who may present with challenging behaviour; personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities).
- Masters level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multi-variate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge of the Mental Health and Mental Capacity Act and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to people with learning disabilities and mental Health.
- Knowledge of relevant legislation in relation to people with learning disabilities and mental health.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological approaches in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. people who may present with challenging behaviour; personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities).
- High level knowledge of theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
- Knowledge and skills in risk assessment and risk management.
Communication and Working Relationship Skills
Essential
- Skills in the ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to people who use services, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and care system groups.
- Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with individuals and departments within and outside Devon Partnership Trust.
- Ability to work independently and use initiative with a service consisting of a network of teams.
- Ability to tolerate ambiguity and maintain own morale and motivation in challenging service delivery contexts.
Physical Skills and Other
Essential
- Mobility to travel across sites.
- Ability to carry out psychometric assessments.
- Other: -
- Mobility to travel across sites.
- Ability to carry out psychometric assessments.
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Contact information:
Principal Psychologist
Sarah Samuels
sarah.samuels4@nhs.net
