Senior Clinical Psychologist

Job overview Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is a Top Employer Award Winner and works in partnership to provide responsive and dependable primary care, mental health, intellectual disability and substance misuse services to the diverse and culturally rich communities we serve.

In our quest to deliver patient-focused quality care we are looking to recruit a highly motivated, innovative and enthusiastic Senior Psychological Therapist to join our forward thinking, friendly and expanding Mental Health Inreach Team at HMP Woodhill. By joining our Surrey Prisons Health Care Team, you will not only look after the healthcare needs of the prisoners, but also have the opportunity to have a real impact on promoting health and well-being. We are keen to recruit someone with a passion for working with people in custody, and those who have experienced trauma, adversity and offending.

Working in partnership with the criminal justice system and other agencies, we provide responsive, dependable and high-quality primary care and mental health services to those in prison, to improve their health status and to encourage social inclusion. We strive to deliver a culturally competent and responsive service that can meet the needs of our population. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds, especially from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.

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.

Job responsibilities Note: The following main duties reflect the need to integrate clinical psychology within the wider mental health team and to provide specialist assessments and treatment.

• Provide a key role in integrating clinical psychology within the wider mental health team.
• Provide a comprehensive specialist clinical psychology service to service users.
• Provide specialist psychological assessment and therapy and offer advice and consultation on service users' psychological care to other members of the clinical team.
• Work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service's policies and procedures.
• Utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the Health & Justice Services Directorate.
• Provide clinical supervision to other members of the team when appropriate.
• Contribute to reflective practice and critical thinking of the team on a case-by-case basis and in service improvement.

To contribute 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. To undertake risk assessment, formulation and management for individual clients with complex presentations and to provide advice on psychological aspects of risk assessment, formulation and management. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner information concerning assessment, formulation and treatment plans and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care. To promote and participate in multi-disciplinary team working, development and liaison. To promote user and carer involvement in care planning and service development. To be up to date with both de-escalation, physical breakaway and PMVA techniques appropriate to the service environment.

Person specification EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Doctoral level training in clinical, forensic or clinical psychology, including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, equivalent to that accredited by the BPS.
• Evidence of post-qualification specialist training, experience and developing expertise in a specialist area of clinical practice relevant to this role
• HCPC Registered as a practitioner psychologist
• Pre- or Post-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

• Demonstrate further specialist training / experience through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a specialist clinical psychologist, or an alternative agreed by the Chief Psychologist
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including 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 effectively in multidisciplinary settings
• Experience of working with men with complex presentations, including trauma.
• Advanced knowledge, experience and expertise in at least one specialist area of clinical practice gained through specialist training and supervised practice (e.g. psychotherapy, neuropsychology, risk assessment, clinical supervision).
• Experience of teaching and training
• Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care
• Experience of working in secure environments and/or forensic mental health.
• Experience of working with complex men in a secure setting.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES

• 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, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
• Possesses range of clinical knowledge, skills & information technology expertise relevant to post.
• Can demonstrate competence in supervision of junior qualified psychology and MDT staff and professional psychology trainees.
• 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 mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
• Broad knowledge of models of assessment, management, and treatment of offenders with mental health difficulties and personality disorders.
• Ability to work intensively with people who present challenges in the complexity of their problems and needs, including sexual and violent offending and self-harming and suicidal behaviours
• High level of ability to plan and organise clinical service provision to meet service demands, and to maintain high quality professional practice
• Evidence of continual development of specialist knowledge and skills through engaging in relevant study and Continuing Professional Development relevant to the forensic population
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult-to-treat groups (e.g. people with additional disabilities).
• Can apply psychological knowledge creatively in developing new initiatives.
• Ability to write reports for varied audiences, including courts and purchasers of services.

ATTITUDES, APTITUDES PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Team player
• Appreciation of the interface between our personal and professional lives, high level of self awareness and knowledge of principles of self care.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used as a support tool, not a replacement for the applicant's own work. Applications must remain personal, accurate, and reflective of the candidate's real experience. AI-generated content must not misrepresent skills, qualifications, or experience. Over reliance on AI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances of success.

We monitor applications for any behaviour that could create an unfair advantage, and we check all references carefully. You are likely to be tested on your experience at interview, so be honest and make sure all the information in your application is correct. Please note that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is prohibited during the interview process.

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.

. click apply for full job details