Senior Clinical / Counselling Psychologist or Preceptorship

Job summary
The Trafford Inpatient Psychology Team has a new and exciting opportunity for a qualified clinical or counselling psychologist. This will be at preceptorship or senior level, dependent upon experience.

Working within two acute mental health wards and a psychiatric intensive care unit for adults of working age, the post holder will be an integral part of the inpatient multidisciplinary team.

We are looking for a person who is enthusiastic about working with patients when they are at their greatest need.

The post holder will support the delivery of psychologically focussed, compassionate and trauma-informed care.

The role will involve direct and indirect work. This will include assessments, formulations and brief psychological interventions with patients, whilst also working with ward teams to develop team formulations and reflective practice.

If working at 8a, the role will involve supervising assistant psychology staff, trainee psychologists and other non-psychology staff in delivering psychosocial interventions.

Main duties of the job
Some of the main duties of the role are to:

• Work as an integral part of the inpatient multidisciplinary team to support the delivery of psychological and psychologically informed ways of working.
• Develop team formulations to inform care planning on the ward.
• Using a range of assessment tools and sources of information complete complex assessments to inform care and support discharge.
• Link with other services across the care pathways as needed.
• Carry a small caseload deliver short, evidence-based psychological intervention, group or individual
• Support the wellbeing of staff by running reflective practice sessions and supporting local debriefs after incidents
• Line manage and supervise assistant psychologist to deliver structured psychological groups, wellbeing groups and structured one to ones.
• Work with ward managers and psychology staff to support psychologically-informed inpatient services.

About us
Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) Foundation Trust employs over 7000 members of staff, who deliver services from more than 122 locations.

We provide inpatient and community-based mental health care for people living in Bolton, the city of Manchester, Salford,Trafford and the borough of Wigan, and a wide range of specialist mental health and substance misuse services across Greater Manchester, the north west of England and beyond.

Greater Manchester is one of the world's most innovative, original and exciting places to live and work. From the beauty of the surrounding countryside to the heart of the vibrant inner city with great shopping, entertainment and dining options.

Wherever you go you will experience a great northern welcome with people famed for their warmth, humour and generosity.

Our people enjoy their work, have opportunities to learn and develop their skills and are encouraged to generate new ideas that improve care for our service users.

Job responsibilities
To work with ward teams to develop and share team psychological formulations to inform the delivery of care.

To undertake highly specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.

To formulate and implement plans in conjunction with services within Acute Care for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the oversight of psychological assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.

To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan. This will include the training and clinical supervision of Acute Care practitioners specialising in psychosocial interventions / basic psychological interventions. This will include advice and intervention with respect to clients with behaviours which challenge.

To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group. All clinical input will be in accordance with the philosophy, policies and standing operating procedure of the Acute Care service.

To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients in accordance with Trust policy and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management. To operate appropriately within other legal frameworks such as the Mental Health and Mental Capacity Acts, including undertaking/advising about capacity assessments where appropriate.

To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

To contribute towards effective discharge planning, liaising with a range of Trust services as well as statutory and non-statutory providers as required.

To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.

Carry a small caseload and deliver short, evidence based psychological interventions.

To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT members psychological work as appropriate (part of Band 7 preceptorship programme)

To provide training and clinical supervision of Acute Care practitioners specialising in psychosocial interventions / basic psychological interventions (part of Band 7 preceptorship programme)

To contribute to the service delivery and target objectives/priorities of theAcute Care team plans, in agreement with the relevant team leaders / managers, to ensure the most efficient and effective utilization and contribution of psychological knowledge and practice.

To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant clinical psychologists and trainee clinical psychologists as required (part of Band 7 preceptorship programme)

To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services operational procedures, policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the Acute Care service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.

To manage the workloads of assistant and trainee clinical psychologists, within the framework of the team/services policies and procedures (part of Band 7 preceptorship programme)

If working at 8a to line manage assistant psychologist as required (part of Band 7 preceptorship programme).

To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of assistant / graduate psychologists.

To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.

To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.

To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the postholders professional and service manager(s).

To undertake any other reasonable duty, when requested to do so by an appropriate Trust manager.

Person Specification
Education / Qualifications
Essential

• Professional qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology at doctoral level (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS. HCPC registration as a qualified Practitioner Psychologist.

Desirable

• Training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological relevance (e.g. staff training, research methodology, and / or other fields of applied psychology)

Experience
Essential

• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the life span and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across a wide range of care settings including community, outpatient and inpatient. This includes maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of working as a psychologist, demonstrating competencies relevant to the position required for Band 8a. Or for the preceptorship post, demonstrable experiences and enthusiasm in working towards the competencies required for an 8a post.
• Experience of providing supervision and training
• Previous experience of delivering structured psychological interventions to clients with severe and complex mental health problems. Experience in risk assessment, formulation and management particularly important.
• Experience in the application of cognitive-behavioural approaches to people with severe and enduring mental health problems.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.
• Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team.

Desirable

• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Experience of working with families.
• Personal experience of mental health problems.
• Experience of running groups

Knowledge
Essential

• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of psychology.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to clients with complex, severe and enduring mental health problems including Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act.
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorders, dual diagnoses etc).
• Evidence of CPD as recommended by BPS & KSF

Desirable

• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists

Skills and Abilities
Essential

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients, their families and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Ability to organise time effectively.
• Ability to use own initiative and to work under supervision where appropriate.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professionals and non-professional groups.
• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team and to liaise effectively with other professionals.
• Ability to provide rapid psychological assessment and brief psychological interventions. Especially in the management of risk.
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Ability to demonstrate GMMH Trust values within the workplace.
• There is an occasional requirement to travel across the wide footprint of the Trust to attend meetings and events relevant to the role.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.