An exciting opportunity has arisen for an AppliedPsychologist within our CAMHS Children in Care team. We are looking for an compassionate and enthusiastic individual who is committed to improving the lives of children in care. Its a great time to join our growing team; we continue to develop our offer for children in care and care leavers, and the role will appeal to those who like variety in their work. We take a relational approach and we work closely with carers and our colleagues in social care. There will be access to regular supervision and support from experienced ClinicalPsychologists within the team.
Therole is suitable for a newly qualified psychologist and we welcome applications from trainees qualifying this year.
Main duties of the job
Therole is varied and requires flexibility in responding the needs of children incare and care leavers.
Duties will include regular consultations with carers and other professionals; undertaking psychological assessments with children and young people (including consideration of neurodevelopmental differences which might be impacting on their presentation); developing a formulation which is shared with the team around the child; providing clear recommendations for others involved in the child's care; delivering therapeutic interventions with children and young people; providing attachment informed interventions with carers; offering bespoke training to carers and other professionals; and attending multi agency meetings for children and young people.
Job responsibilities
This role will be predominantly based in the YoungMinds Matter Children in Care Team, working closely alongside the Core and Crisis CAMHS teams. The postholder will exercise full responsibility and autonomy for the assessment, treatment and discharge of children and young people referred to YMM Children in Care Team, and their carers and families, where the presenting difficulties and concerns can be managed as a psychologically based intervention.
The post holder will be required to undertake specialist assessments and therapeutic interventions for young people who are looked after including children & young people living in residential children's homes and foster placements. The role involves working closely with the Local Authority and other agencies supporting looked after children e.g., LAC Health, Looked After Children's Education Team.
There will be an emphasis on providing specialist therapeutic assessment, formulation and intervention for care leavers (people aged between 16-25 who are care experienced). The post holder will develop needs-led psychologically informed formulations to support care leavers and relevant professional networks.
Main duties / responsibilities
To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulation, and therapeutic interventions for young people who are looked after by the local authority, including children and young people living in residential children's homes and foster placements.
To provide specialist therapeutic intervention for care leavers and psychological consultation for their professional networks.
To deliver evidence based psychological treatments, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions drawing on a range of theoretical options.
To contribute to complex decision making around the child's emotional wellbeing, mental health, and potential neurodiversity needs within their placement.
To provide psychological support to children and families who are experiencing (or have experienced) serious emotional trauma, bereavement, relationship difficulties or placement disruption, and also to provide support to parents, carers and staff working with such clients.
To select and administer highly specialist psychological assessments including specialised psychometric assessment (including skilled manipulation of test material), neuropsychological assessments, self-report measures, and risk assessments as appropriate), structured observations, clinical interviews, and to interpret and integrate this highly complex data.
To understand and support the needs of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) and those working with UASC.
To work autonomously and collaboratively within the multidisciplinary team around the child, providing consultation, advice, guidance, support and teaching to other agencies/professionals such as local authority social workers.
To communicate complex information to young people who are looked after, care leavers and carers/relatives in an empathic and supportive way. This will involve using a range of developed interpersonal skills in situations that can be highly emotional, and or antagonistic and require a satisfactory outcome, e.g. challenging complex and maladaptive family dynamics.
To provide specialist teaching and training to foster carers, residential staff and those caring for children in care.
To utilise theory, evidence based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
Contribute to service evaluation, clinical audits and service development initiatives as required.
Person Specification
Experience
* Experience working with children in care and working with foster carers or residential care staff.
* Experience of maintaining multi‑professional and multi‑agency partnerships
Knowledge
* Specialist knowledge of assessment tools and therapeutic interventions relevant to client group and settings, and an ability to compare and contrast relative benefits underpinned by evidence based practice.
Qualifications
* Post‑graduate training (doctoral level equivalent) and HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist.
Additional Criteria
* Work within the culture of improving working lives of children and young people in the care and leaving care system, with knowledge of the challenges faced by care experienced people.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
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.
£49,387 to £56,515 a year – Pay dependent on experience.
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