Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist
Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a qualified Clinical Psychologist to join our expanding team providing psychological care for people with sickle cell disorder and other rare anaemias. The psychology service is a valued part of a multi-disciplinary team providing hospital-based care for people with sickle cell disorder and other anaemias, including haematology doctors, nurses, and other allied health professionals.We are looking to expand the range of psychological care we are able to provide, and the successful candidate will have the opportunity to establish new aspects of the role, including a focus on adolescent transition to adult care, and supporting service users in the community, all with the support and guidance of the lead psychologist.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will be based primarily at Hammersmith Hospital, a regional hub providing specialist services for adults with disorders affecting red blood cells. There will be occasional need to travel to St. Mary’s Hospital, where the main paediatric sickle cell service is located, to assist with adolescents transitioning to adult care, as well as travel as needed for community outreach.The work will involve meeting with service users individually and in groups, providing specialist psychological assessment, support and intervention/therapy. Much of the work with service users will involve helping people manage symptoms or complications related to their condition (e.g., pain), and addressing social, emotional and occupational challenges of having a long term health condition (e.g., relationships, trauma, education and employment).
Service users crucially need to maintain an adequate relationship with healthcare providers, and the psychologist serves as adviser, educator and advocate, working with both service users and staff.
Working for our organisation
The post holder will be employed by CNWL as a member of the clinical health psychology department, a team of clinical and counselling psychologists, assistant psychologists and trainees, providing psychological intervention and support to various health services within Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHNT).The post holder will benefit from weekly didactic discussions, line management and clinical supervision. The post holder will separately be embedded within the red cell haematology service, a multi-disciplinary team of haematology doctors, nurses and other allied health professionals, at ICHNT, who work collaboratively to provide comprehensive, holistic care to people with red cell disorders.
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities- To provide a qualified clinical health psychology service to service users of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust receiving care for sickle cell disorder, including those transitioning from adolescent care, comprising highly specialist psychological assessment, treatment, planning, implementation, and monitoring of outcomes.
- To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
- To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a specialist in psychological services for sickle cell disorder.
- To undertake service evaluation, audit and research.
- To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.
- To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration.
- Additional training or substantial experience in Clinical Health Psychology through formal postqualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice–based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma.
- Completed training course in clinical supervision.
- Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.
- Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC.
- Experience working with sickle-cell patients or other haematology patients.
Experience
Essential criteria- Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in a range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of service users with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature.
- Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychologists having completed the relevant training
- Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities
- Experience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects.
- Experience of teaching or training others.
- Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Experience of working in a hospital setting
- Experience working in organ or stem cell transplant services.
Knowledge
Essential criteria- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for people chronic health problems including persistent pain.
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to people with protected characteristics, including disabilities, mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
- Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.
- Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder / complex trauma, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc.)
- High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
Skills
Essential criteria- To deliver psychological therapy across cultural and other differences
- To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources.
- To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with service users, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
- To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual service users and groups and carers, and for meetings such as CPAs and case reviews
- To plan allocation of tasks to assistant psychologists.
- Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups.
- To be skilled in the administration of psychometric and neuropsychological tests, including those that require complex manipulation of test materials
- Well-developed IT skills including entry and analysis of research data.
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference.We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.
We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.
Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.
If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.