Clinical Psychologist/Psychology Practitioner
Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Job overview
North Bedfordshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS)
Clinical Psychologist/Practitioner Psychologist.
CAMHS Adolescent Mental Health Team / Alternative to Admission Pathway
Band 8b- 5 hours per week - permanent
Do you want to be a valued member of a diverse and dynamic mental health team working with young people and families? We are a range of professionals who know the importance of bringing together our different skills and experience to work together to meet the needs of our service users, and we are looking for a psychologist who would like to join us in meeting that challenge.
Our clinically-led service is strongly committed to continuously improving the experience and quality of care we offer our families. We encourage curiosity and innovation in our clinicians in our ambition to do the very best for our service users
Main duties of the job
The successful applicant will be located within our North Bedfordshire clinic working with families with specific emphasis on adolescents with complex, severe and enduring mental health problems. This varied role will include the provision of specialist advice/consultation/ formulation, psychological assessment, liaison with other agencies, psychological interventions, clinical supervision and teaching of staff and/or students.
Psychologists make a major contribution within the team, the wider CAMH service in Bedfordshire and holding senior positions within the Trust leadership, shaping clinical strategy and service delivery at all levels. For our successful candidate there will be opportunities for individual development, in terms of clinical and leadership skills and experience.We would support time spent in our other specialist clinical areas (such as Looked After Children, Eating Disorders and the Neurodevelopmental Team) for those interested in varying and progressing their clinical experience.
We are looking for someone who is an experienced clinical psychologist with a substantial knowledge in the field of child and adolescent mental health and who is confident working with adolescent mental health and crisis/risk management.
Working for our organisation
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve.Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive – so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We are looking for someone who is an experienced clinical psychologist with a substantial knowledge in the field of child and adolescent mental health and who is confident working with adolescent mental health and crisis/risk management.
Our clinically-led service is strongly committed to continuously improving the experience and quality of care we offer our families. We encourage curiosity and innovation in our clinicians in our ambition to do the very best for our service users.
As the successful candidate you would receive a robust induction program, regular clinical and management supervision to support you in the role. You would be invited to a regular countywide forum for psychologists so that you can develop and maintain links with other psychologists working across a range of teams and benefit from the shared learning from presentations by colleagues.
As a Trust and in our local service we are working hard to support staff well-being and address inequalities (for our service users and ourselves). We are doing our best to encourage open dialogues about difficult topics and ensure that the Trust values are evident in how we deliver our service and work together.
This post is based in Bedford, Bedfordshire, close to the M1 and easily reached by rail and car from North London, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire. The clinic also has the added benefit of free parking and all clinicians are supported by very dedicated and efficient administrative staff.Whilst some of the work is based in the clinic, access to a car is essential as some travel will be required to undertake outreach support at home or other CAMHS/ multi-agency sites.
Person specification
Education/ Qualification/ Training
Essential criteria- Postgraduate Training in Clinical Psychology leading to Practitioner Psychologist Registration with the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Leadership/Management training.
- Post qualification training in Eating Disorders; Complex Mental health presentations in adolescence and / or CBT with children and adolescents
- Post qualification training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
Experience
Essential criteria- Substantial post-qualification experience of working within an NHS CAMHS service as a clinical psychologist.
- Experience within the specialty of child and adolescent clinical psychology- assessed experience of working at a Band 8a level in child and adolescent mental health.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings.
- Experience of liaison and joint work with other statutory, including Social Services and Education, and voluntary agencies, including crisis management.
- Experience of teaching, training and professional and clinical supervision.
- Experience of providing CBT interventions to patients with complex problems.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and treatment, both as a professionally qualified care co-ordinator and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary care plan.
- Experience of providing clinical supervision.
- Experience of management responsibilities.
- Service development experience.
- Experience of professional management of qualified and pre-qualified clinical psychologist
Knowledge & Skills
Essential criteria- Doctorate level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, and two or more distinct psychological therapies.
- Specialist knowledge Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy especially as relevant to adolescents and their families.
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialist psychological therapies for complex presentations in adolescence e.g., psychosis, OCD, eating disorders, severe depression, neuro-developmental disorders and their assessment, dual diagnosis.
- Able to use highly specialist skills of empathy and diplomacy to overcome significant barriers to understanding and acceptance often in a highly emotive and sometimes hostile atmosphere. Able to provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Planning and organisational skills Able to initiate, flexibly plan, organise and prioritise a broad range of complex activities or programmes over time.
- Competence and confidence in the selection and administration of cognitive and neuropsychological test equipment.
- Ability to develop content and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
- Research & Guidance Masters or Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis and qualitative research techniques.
- Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the client group.
- Cultural awareness Aware of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health. Able to provide a cultural competent service.
- Flexibility Able to be flexible and adapt approach according to need. Able to accommodate disruption to plans owing to the often crisis nature of the Acute working environment.
- Formal training in Clinical supervision,
- Record of providing training and supervision to others to widen the availability of CBT.
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS.
- Able to innovate on the basis of theoretical knowledge.
- Developed knowledge in the application of psychological approaches to work with adolescents with emerging personality disorders.
- Formal training in Management Skills
- Crisis management and skills for promoting helpful reflection amongst the clinical team
- Knowledge of adapting therapies for adolescents and presentations, including working with young people on the Autistic Spectrum
- Working with victims of child sexual abuse and relational trauma
- Working with looked after children
- Competent use of other IT packages e.g. PowerPoint, Excel and Access, RiO
Making Things Better
Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don’t stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.
We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.
Our Community
We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We also provide psychological therapy services to the London Borough of Richmond, and provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London.We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.
Aiming High
We were rated ‘Outstanding’ by the CQC in 2016, were proud to be rated ‘Outstanding’ again in 2018 and continue to be rated 'Outstanding' in 2021. We were named in the HSJ’s Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.
Staff and Service Users United
We strive to ensure that staff feel valued by the Trust and as they are truly pivotal in delivering better outcomes for our patients and service users. Our aspiration is to help to make ELFT the best place to work. This Trust is clinician-led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services.We pride ourselves on our service user involvement. A service user will be on your assessment centre and interview panel if you are invited to meet us.
We especially welcome people with lived experience of health difficulties, with insight and understanding of different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles in our population as we believe that this will equip staff to deliver a high standard of care to our service users and patients.
Diversity
ELFT Is committed to being a diverse organisation and our workforce is reflective of the population and communities we serve. We believe that having colleagues with a range of backgrounds and life experiences enriches and adds value to the outcomes we have set out to achieve.Having partnered and endorsed by organisations who are representative and experts in various areas of equality and diversity, we can ensure we are meeting the pre-set standards all the way from recruitment stage throughout the career journey of our employees by being accessible, having fair inclusive practices and a host of staff networks to support, nurture and celebrate our valued staff in the workplace.
Other reasons to apply
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s job share, part time or another flexible pattern.
As part of the relocation scheme we presently have, the Trust could support you with offering up to £10,000 for removal and associated expenses. This is subject to change and terms and conditions apply.
AI in applications
If you use AI or other tools to assist in writing your job application, make sure you add your own personal touch especially in the supporting information section. AI can make writing easier, but it doesn’t fully understand the position you’re applying for and might generate false or misleading information.Applications written only by AI often sound generic and may not show your real skills, knowledge, or experience. It’s important to write your supporting statement in your own words. East London NHS Foundation Trust does not recommend relying only on AI, as it could negatively impact on your chance of success in the application process.
We carefully check applications to make sure no one has an unfair advantage, and we verify all references. At the interview, you’ll be asked about your experience, so be honest and ensure everything in your application is accurate. Please remember that using AI during the interview is not allowed.
What Next?
If you like the sound of ELFT, don’t waste a moment. We sometimes close adverts early if there is a high response, so apply now!
As part of our recruitment process we may be required to share information you provide on the application form with NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) and/or other organisations for the purpose of the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud or any other unlawful activity affecting the NHS.We also use third party providers to check and verify your qualifications who may be contacting you on our behalf to verify the same..
If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please consider that you have not been shortlisted on this occasion. You must provide professional email addresses for all referees as we will contact them as soon as an offer has been made.Please note we do not request references prior to interviews. All applications made through NHS Jobs account will be processed by TRAC System. Please note that some emails may go to your spam/junk mailbox so make sure you check this regularly.
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