We are
looking for an enthusiastic Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join the
West of England Specialist Gender Identity Clinic. The post holder will join an established and expanding psychology service within the clinic in
the provision of Transgender Health Care nationally. An increased prevalence of
diversity of gender identity and expression has been observed here in the UK
and elsewhere in recent times. In addition there is greater awareness and some
improvement in understanding, tolerance and acceptance with regard to this
diversity in our society. For a relatively small number of people, however,
this experience of diversity can result in significant levels of distress and discomfort
and some impairment in psychological wellbeing and social functioning. In relation to this there has been a dramatic increase in
referrals to Gender Identity Clinics in the UK over the last decade. The Gender
Identity Clinics therefore are working closely with NHS England in order to develop
and expand provision in order to meet the increasing demand for services.
The post holder will work with a Senior
Clinical Psychologist and as part of the multi-disciplinary team that provides
physiological, psychological and social interventions, and will liaise and work
together with professionals and others outside of the service, to relieve
patients distress, help them achieve a greater sense of gender comfort and
improve psychological wellbeing and social functioning. The post holder will
contribute to the development and provision of specialist psychological
assessment, formulation and consultation and evidence based interventions. The
post holder will also be required to contribute to service evaluation development and clinical audit.The post would suit someone with an interest in
working with people where there are issues of difference, diversity and social
inequality, particularly in relation to marginalised identities or gender and
sexual diversity. In addition the post would suit someone who is keen to work
together with colleagues to develop and evaluate effective and efficient
interventions for this group of patients.
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
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.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Patients accessing the West of England Gender Identity Clinic experience
a sense of gender diversity or incongruence between their sex assigned at birth
and their gender identity, an associated significant level of distress and
discomfort and some impairment in psychological wellbeing and social
functioning. The post holder will work with a senior clinical psychologist and as
part of a multi-disciplinary team that provides physiological, psychological
and social interventions in the service and where appropriate, will liaise and
work together with professionals and significant others outside of the service,
to relieve patients distress, help them achieve a greater sense of gender
comfort and improve psychological wellbeing and social functioning.
The post holder will contribute to the development and provision of
specialist psychological assessment, formulation and evidence based
interventions to patients of the service. The post holder will also offer
consultation to patients, to non-professional carers, significant others and to
non-psychologist colleagues in the service. The post holder will also be
required to contribute to the supervision and training of staff, service
evaluation and development and to clinical research.
Duties and Responsibilities
Communication and Working
Relationships
Patients, family and carers: To communicate in a highly skilled
and sensitive manner with patients who may have specific difficulties in
understand and/or communicating and who may be hostile, antagonistic or
highly emotionally disturbed.
Multidisciplinary team colleagues: To work closely with colleagues in
the multi-professional gender identity service on a day to day basis. To
contribute to the teams engagement including liaising with a wide range of
professionals and agencies.
Health & social care staff: To communicate with a wide range of
health & social care staff in a range of settings in a highly skilled and
sensitive manner, complex and sensitive information concerning the
assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients under the services
care. To provide support & guidance in the application of psychological
principles and techniques, and to foster reflective practice.
Senior managers & professional
staff: To
maintain and build good working relationships with senior professional staff
and managers across the gender identity service and in DPT to foster a
positive approach to gender service provision and to enable effective
negotiation.
Planning and Organisation
The service: To plan and prioritise own workload, balancing the
demands of patient care, support and guidance of carers and professionals and
service research and development activities.
To contribute to the planning and organising of the
psychological service within the gender identity service and to contribute to
the development and improvement of provision of psychological services to
best meet the organisations strategy and priorities.
The multidisciplinary service: To provide psychological knowledge
to the multiprofessional planning, development and marketing of the gender
identity service.
Responsibility for Judgement and Analysis
To
provide specialist psychological expertise and advice.
To
provide psychological therapies/other therapies, developing specialist
psychological formulations and assessments of clients, formulating plans for
their psychological treatment and implementing specialist psychological
interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups.
To support the Senior Psychologist by undertaking
service development and redesign projects and coordinating the resulting work
within the team.
Responsibility for
Patient Care, Treatment and Therapy
Assessment, formulation & intervention: To make highly skilled evaluations
and decisions about assessment, treatment and discharge, including the
management of risk. To contribute to assessments to aid care pathway planning
and to inform decisions about eligibility for gender service interventions.
To formulate plans for psychological treatment and implementing specialist
psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups and
to demonstrate awareness of diversity issues. To maintain accurate and up to
date client records
Consultation & guidance: To provide advice, guidance and consultation
on psychological aspects of patient care to colleagues, other service
providers, patients, supporters and families.
Policy, Service, Research, Innovation
and Improvement
The post holder is accountable for their own professional
actions, acting within Trust policies and procedures and Professional
Practice Guidelines.
Policy & service: To support proposed changes for
policy and for service development.
Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and
Other Resources
Careful use of equipment.
Information Resources and
Administrative Duties
To maintain accurate records, compliant with Trust
Practice Standards.
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 utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research
to support evidence based practice in clinical work within the gender
identity service.
To support project work including specific areas of audit,
research or service evaluation
As a
clinician to be responsible for collecting clinical practice and outcome data
that contributes to building practice based evidence and service evaluation.
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 locality/specialty. Interpretation
of professional and Trust guidelines,
and implementing policies in conjunction with peers, Senior Clinical
Psychologist and Clinical Team Leader.
To
provide specialist psychological 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 all clinical care and treatment provided by
psychologists is carried out under appropriate supervision and leadership.
To ensure that all relevant staff groups continuously
update the skills and techniques relevant to their clinical work.
Equality & Diversity
Devon Partnership NHS Trust is committed to recruiting and
supporting a diverse workforce and so we welcome applications from all sections
of the community regardless of age, disability, sex, race, religion or sexual
orientation, maternity/pregnancy, marriage/civil partnership or transgender
status. The Trust expects all staff to behave in a way which recognises and
respects this diversity in line with the appropriate standards.
Recovery
It is a requirement of all employees to have an
understanding of the broad principles of the Recovery Approach and to
incorporate them into every aspect of their work in support of the Trusts aim
to provide services that support peoples recovery through being holistic and
promoting social inclusion, self management, personal autonomy and
independence.
Risk Management / Health and Safety
Employees must be aware of the responsibilities placed on
them under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, ensure that agreed safety
procedures are carried out and maintain a safe environment for employees,
patients and visitors.
Records Management
The post holder has responsibility for the timely and
accurate creation, maintenance and storage of records in accordance with Trust
policy, including email documents and with regard to the Data Protection Act,
The Freedom of Information Act and any other relevant statutory requirements.
Clinical
Governance, Compliance and Performance
The post holder will be responsible for proving
that the Care Quality Commission outcome areas have been met in all registered/related
activities for which the post holder is responsible. Where outcomes are not met
the post holder is expected to put in place/recommend action to improve. The
post holder will proactively seek and engage the support of the governance
teams in the Compliance and Corporate Development directorate to gather
information as required. The post holder will build an understanding of and
adhere to the CQC guidelines as well as the Trusts guidelines on the approach
to maintaining CQC registration.
Prevention and
Control of healthcare Associated Infection
The post holder is
expected to comply with Trust Infection Control Policies and conduct themselves
at all times in such a manner as to minimise the risk of healthcare associated
infection.
Policies &
Procedures
Trust employees are expected to follow Trust policies,
procedures and guidance as well as professional standards and guidelines. It is
your responsibility to read and familiarise yourself with all policies relevant
to your job role. These are grouped into two sections, HR and Clinical and can
be found on the Trust intranet site or via your line manager. You will also be
required to comply with any training needs that arise from reviews or
variations of policies and procedures.
