Clinical / Counselling Psychologist Psychotherapist
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 provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our 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 recognises 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
The SLaM Psychology in Hostels (PIH) Service is an innovative multi award-winning specialist homeless psychology service. For 12 years PIH has led in the development of ‘Psychologically Informed Environments’ (PIEs) delivering ‘Trauma Informed Approaches’ and developing best practice for working with excluded and multiply disadvantaged populations across Lambeth and Westminster.
The client population experience complex trauma, substance misuse, neurological issues, risk-taking behaviour and contact with the criminal justice system. This complex combination of needs leads to multiple social exclusion and barriers accessing mainstream services.
We are recruiting to a Band 7 Psychology / Psychotherapy role to work alongside our Principal Psychologist, together we will support the development and delivery of PIE services across Connection at St Martins – a charity working with people experiencing rough sleeping, primarily in Westminster.
A PIE is any service that integrates a psychologically and trauma-informed approaches into its model. PIH PIE model adopts a Mentalization-Based Treatment approach. At CSTM we have developed a bespoke model drawing extensively on Trauma Informed and Community Psychology principles, Narrative and Solution Focused ways of working, and a systems approach.Our aim is promote wellbeing for staff and people accessing CSTM services by taking a whole system approach, and fostering genuinely trauma informed ways of working across the entire organisation.
Main duties of the job
This role will support a specialist women’s only accommodation project near Clapham South. This is a new flagship project for CSTM, with substantial investment and resources being committed to create a best practice service model. The role will support both sites in developing integrated trauma-informed PIE services.
The post holders will -- Work closely with CSTM staff, leadership and other psychologists to develop PIE approaches.
- Support and train third sector partners and the wider network.
- Offer individual and group clinical work to clients.
- Support assessment and onwards referral to mainstream services.
This post will be supervised by one of the senior psychologists in the team.
Working for our organisation
This post will be based across CSTM sites within the boroughs of Westminster and Wandsworth and has a team admin base in Brixton close to Brixton Underground Station.
Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). We also provide services and operate across other locations, such as London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; and substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Lambeth, Greenwich and Wandsworth.
Benefits:
We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package, feel valued and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance.
Some of our benefits include:
- Generous pay, pensions and leave packages dependent on the role and length of service.
- Work life balance, flexible working and supporting a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
- Career development with plenty CPD opportunities such as mentoring, coaching, collective leadership and other talent programmes.
- Accommodation, our staff benefit from keyworker housing at selected sites.
- NHS discounts via the Health Service Discounts website.
Other benefits include:
- Counselling services
- Wellbeing events
- Long service awards
- Cycle to work scheme
- Season ticket loan
- Childcare vouchers
- Staff restaurants
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To provide a specialist psychology service to adult clients accessing homeless services including specialist assessment, psychological therapy, trauma specific interventions, rehabilitation, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
Key Responsibilities:
Clinical- To provide expertise in a specialist clinical area, the psychological needs of those experiencing complex needs and multiple disadvantage (incl. homeless people, rough sleepers).
- To provide specialist assessment and clinical formulation to clients with a wide range of mental health needs, including complex trauma, personality disorder, anxiety and depression, addictions, learning difficulties and psychosis.
- To select and deliver evidence-based specialist psychological treatments, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions, drawing on a range of theoretical options.
- To advise other team members and partner services on specialist psychological care of clients.
- To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist or psychotherapist according to HCPC and Trust guidelines.
- To provide specialist training in psychological and trauma-informed approaches to care for other professionals as appropriate, particularly to third sector staff, peer support workers, project MDT working with ex-rough sleeper hostels.
- To provide clinical supervision for psychological work undertaken by assistant psychologists, placement students, trainee psychologists and the MDT team as appropriate.
- To identify any aspects of the service which could be improved and contribute to the service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.
- To manage own workload and the agreed workload of junior staff, as required, under supervision from a more senior psychologist.
- To participate in clinical governance initiatives as agreed by the Directorate clinical governance committee and team.
- To lead, support and/or participate in service evaluation, including gathering and analysing output and outcome data, as required.
- To carry out appropriate research to improve the quality of care and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research within the service.
- To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with HCPC, BPS and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements.
A full Job Description and Person Specification is attached to the advert.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy/mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/ supervised practice/ additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration.
- Registered with professional body as appropriate to discipline HCPC/APC/ BPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP/ADMP-UK
- Additional training in relevant specialist psychological models (Psychodynamic, MBT, DBT, CAT, Systemic, Narrative).
- Additional training in neuropsychological assessment and treatment
Experience
Essential criteria- Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in adult mental health (e.g. Addictions/ homelessness /complex trauma/ personality disorder/ mood disorder).
- Experience of engagement of hard-to-reach clients
- Experience of providing teaching and training to other professional groups
- Experience of working with and managing risk
- Experience of working with homeless people
- Experience of specialist work with trauma and complex trauma.
- Experience of work with substance misuse.
Knowledge
Essential criteria- Awareness of racial diversity issues and factors affecting access to mental health care.
- Knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics (incl. selecting, administering and interpreting neuropsychological tests).
- Specialist knowledge relevant to work in supported housing settings.
- Masters or Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.
Skills and Abilities
Essential criteria- Ability to work flexibly and creatively to engage clients in hostel settings.
- Highly developed verbal and written communication skills (incl. delivering complex and sensitive information to clients, families and staff).
- Ability to work as an autonomous practitioner with appropriate level of clinical and managerial supervision.
- Specialist practitioner skills at level 3 in at least one model of psychotherapy or psychological therapy (CBT, Psychodynamic, MBT, systemic, CAT).
The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that 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:
- That all applications for this post will need to be made online
- That you 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
- That 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
- That 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
- 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 London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
- That 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’