Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

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Position Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

The closing date is 26 September 2025

This post for a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to work across the CNWL Community Eating Disorders Service for Children and Young People and the Vincent Square Eating Disorders Service focusing on young people between the ages of 16-25. The post holder's main clinical responsibilities will be working with young people and their families between the ages of 16-25 with the aim of providing a seamless transition between the two teams. The post holder will work across the two services effectively with MDT colleagues and partner agencies to deliver an accessible, high quality service including:

• Specialist psychological assessment and evidence-based psychological treatment of young people aged 16-25 and their families affected by eating disorders
• To support seamless community transitions at VSEDS.
• To hold a CYP caseload of older adolescents aged 16+
• Working with colleagues on service development and continuous improvement of care

The post offers the opportunity for family work, 1:1 work, group work, multi-agency liaison and consultation. The ideal candidate will be enthusiastic, build excellent relationships with MDT colleagues and service-users, and have experience of working with young people in services that manage complexity or risk. Eating disorder experience is valued, but someone who has relevant experience and a passion for learning would be welcomed and supported to develop new specialist eating disorder skills.

Main duties of the job Your time will be split between clinics in Kensington, Harrow and Paddington. Staff wellbeing and CPD are priorities.

General Duties

• To provide assessments of clients, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources (including from clients, family and others involved in the client's care).
• To diagnose patients' eating disorders and related psychiatric problems.
• To formulate and implement plans for treatment and/or management of a client's mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client's problems, and employing methods based upon evidence-based models for eating disorders.
• To implement psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups; refining psychological formulations, drawing upon different models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
• To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options, considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual.
• To integrate (with the psychological formulation) an understanding of the medical aspects of the eating disorders and associated medical conditions.

Transition Duties

• To support seamless community transitions at VSEDS
• To be part of both the CYP and adult OP therapy teams, holding a 16-25 caseload
• To be part of assessment/assessment care planning discussion of 16 and 17 year-olds in CYP

About us The post-holder will be working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the teams' policies and procedures.

Skills required for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the team and the service.

The post holder will be based at the Vincent Square Eating Disorder Service and will provide clinical and other services across the community children and young people service. You will be expected to work flexibly across both the different service sites. Service provision within this scope may at times involve travelling to different sites within the catchment area.

Job responsibilities Clinical

1. To provide specialist 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 structuredobservations, and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care).
2. To diagnose patients eating and related psychiatric problems.
3. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems. To employ methods based upon evidence of efficacy in the outpatient setting.
4. To be responsible for implementing psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups. This occurs within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
5. 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.
6. To integrate (with the psychological formulation) an understanding of the medical aspects of the eating disorders and associated medical conditions.
7. To liaise with other clinicians involved in the patients care, in order that appropriate physical checks and interventions are carried out to ensure the patients physical safety.
8. To understand the role of relevant physical treatments (e.g. nutrition, pharmacology).To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
9. To provide specialist advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
10. To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the treatment team.
11. 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.
12. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients, and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
13. 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.
14. To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under enhanced CPA including clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care.

Teaching, training, and supervision

1. To receive regular clinical and operational supervision in accordance with Trust guidelines.
2. To attend Staff Group with other colleagues in the service
3. To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision.
4. To provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work, as appropriate.
5. To undertake all mandatory training that is relevant to the post, including updates.
6. Participate as required with the delivery of appropriate orientations to the department for all-new staff, learners and temporary staff.

Management and service development

• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the teams operational 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 service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
• To help manage the workloads of assistant psychologists, within the framework of the team/services policies and procedures.

Research and service evaluation

• 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 service development research and provide research advice to other staff and clinical trainees undertaking research.
• To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.
• To familiarise themselves with, and to comply with, the Trusts requirements on research governance.

IT responsibilities (other than those used for research)

• The post holder will input and maintain, appropriate computer and manual clinical records and statistical data and provide this to the Service Manager/Head of Speciality when necessary.
• The post holder will engage in relevant computer and IT training as required.

General

• 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 post holders professional and service managers
• To contribute to the development and articulation of evidence-based and evidence-generating clinical practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner . click apply for full job details