Psychologist in Learning Disabilities
Job overview
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Bolton community learning disability team in our 8b psychologist role. The successful applicant will join our integrated learning disability team; a team of health and social care professionals who work jointly to provide assessment, support and health or social care interventions to adults with learning disabilities.
The post holder will offer psychological assessments, formulations and treatment plans for adults with learning disabilities who may have highly complex psychological needs. Alongside the consultant psychologist in post, the post holder will contribute to the strategic development of psychology services within the community learning disability team.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will have the skills required to support the delivery of highly specialised psychological assessments, therapeutic interventions and risk assessments with individuals who may have highly complex psychological needs. These needs may include autism spectrum conditions, mental health needs and/or distress behaviours.You will be able to interpret complex data from a variety of sources, including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self report measures, rating scales, observations and semi structured interviews with individuals, their carers or family members.
As a member of the learning disability leadership team, you will have the management and leadership skills required to support the team to delivery high quality service, contributing to the delivery of key performance indicators and with a focus on continued service development.
You will be able to offer clinical supervision to junior members of the psychology team, trainees and psychology assistants.
Working for our organisation
The community learning disability team is a friendly team of health and social care professionals, working in partnership to deliver the highest quality health and social care interventions for adults with learning disabilities.
The team is hosted by Bolton council and based at Farnworth Town Hall. Health workers maintain NHS employment and retain all the benefits of working for the Foundation Trust. We aim to provide high quality support to our workforce, valuing regular, quality supervisions, annual appraisals with a continued focus on professional development.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The successful candidate will be required to support the allocation of specialised psychological assessments for adults with learning disabilities who have been referred into the service via our open referral system. The psychology team offer specialist assessments, formulations and treatment plans, employing a range of psychological interventions, some of which will be adapted to meet individual need.There is an ongoing requirement to evaluate treatment options, taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models. The role includes responsibility for offering specialist psychological advice and consultation to members of the multi-disciplinary team to inform practice across the service.
The consultant psychologist will lead on specialist risk assessments and risk management for individual clients, also providing advice and support to other professionals on the psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management. Our work is community based, therefore you will need to be able to travel to and from visits within the community.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- Good honours degree in psychology with graduate membership of BPS
- Post graduate doctorate in clinical psychology (or equivalent)
- HCPC Registered
- Chartered Status with BPS and membership of the division of clinical psychology
Experience
Essential criteria- Extensive post qualification experience of working with adults with LD
- Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
- Supervision and consultation work with other health and social care professionals
- Experience of working with offenders with LD
- Experience of working with people who have been detained under MHA
- Leadership experience
Skills
Essential criteria- Skilled in application of theory to clinical practice.
- Ability to think creatively in relation to complex clinical issues
- Willingness to consider new ideas and lead implementation of these
- Research and Evaluation skills
- Excellent communication skills, oral and written.
- Able to utilise a range of therapeutic interventions
Knowledge
Essential criteria- Knowledge of DoH legislation in relation to people with LD and its implications for clinical practice.
- Excellent working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act
- Excellent knowledge of clinical governance and risk management
Travel
Desirable criteria- Ability to travel for work purposes
We are an inclusive employer who trains and develops our staff in a positive learning environment.
We thrive on cultivating cultural architecture, if you have the right skills, attitudes and behaviours, in line with our Trust values, we welcome and appreciate the diversity you bring to our organisation.
We offer a wide range of staff benefits please click on the link below to see what current benefits we have.
Staff benefits - Bolton NHS FT (boltonft.nhs.uk)
From time to time we may need to close a vacancy early when in receipt of a sufficient number of applications. If you are interested in this post and wish to be considered, we strongly advise you to complete and submit your application as soon as possible.