Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, and Essex. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for five consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video
Job overview
We are looking for an enthusiastic Clinical Associate Psychologist (CAP) to join our well respected Inpatient and Acute Psychology Service. The team are at the forefront of national developments in inpatient and acute working. We are keen to recruit people who are excited to work in innovate services and who are passionate about working with people and their families at the point of crisis.
The Acute and Rehab psychology service is an exciting and dynamic team of psychological professionals working in crisis settings – home treatment crisis teams, psychiatric inpatient wards and a range of other settings.
The post holder will work within inpatient and crisis home treatment teams.
Please get in touch for more information if you are interested in the vacancy.
Main duties of the job
Provide psychological assessment, formulation and evidence-based interventions to people living with complex mental health issues, under the supervision of a qualified Practitioner Psychologist (clinical or counselling psychologist).
To communicate constructively with a range of healthcare professionals in a variety of services including nurses, social workers, allied health professionals (AHPs) and medical colleagues as part of a multidisciplinary team (MDT)
Build relationships with key stakeholders, which include Service Users, people who care for and about service users, Lived Experience Representatives, Local Operational Leads, Psychological Therapies Lead/supervisor, Qualified, trainee and assistant psychologist & psychological therapists, Multidisciplinary colleagues working in community and Primary Care Networks, Local Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Organisations and other community assets.
Work as part of a multidisciplinary community team and liaise with relevant external agencies to facilitate and enable psychological interventions
Communicate new learning approaches and provide constructive feedback to challenge and overcome barriers to implementation of best psychological practice
Contribute to the training and development of the wider MDT regarding key psychological concepts and principles relevant to the clinical care of service users.
Understand impact of multiple perspectives within the context of multidisciplinary teams
Working for our organisation
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes.
High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,551 to a maximum of £5,735 pro rata for part time).
Use of AI
Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The role will involve creative and thoughtful input to individuals in crisis for a short amount of time. The CAP will play a central role in offering brief psychological interventions to those in crisis to support recovery and de-escalation. The CAP will offer assessments and evidence based interventions.
We are keen to recruit the right people who share our passion for working with people in crisis. We offer excellent development opportunities including high quality and regular supervision from a Practitioner Psychologist, opportunities to supervise non-qualified staff, and links to our CPD programme with the wider psychological professions team.
Applicants should have:
- Completed their Clinical Associate Psychologist training and qualified.
- Registered with the BPS as a CAP
- Experience of working in an evidence-based way with clients presenting with severe mental health difficulties, people in crisis and their families and carers
-Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary service context.
Please see the attached job description and person specification for more information about this role and working at North East London NHS Foundation Trust. We encourage you to refer closely to this when completing your application.
We welcome your application even if you do not meet all the criteria listed in the person specification. Any development needs to help you succeed in the role, can be discussed at the interview stage.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
1. Undergraduate degree in psychology (with graduate basis for registration with BPS)
2. MCAP qualification from an accredited CAP training provider
Experience
Essential criteria
3. Experience of work in the NHS with adults with complex mental health needs.
4. Delivering evidence based psychological interventions with individuals and groups presenting with severe and/or complex mental health problems
5. Working in MDTs
6. Audit, evaluation or research.
7. Work in multi-cultural settings
8. Work with community, voluntary & social enterprise organisations.
9. Conducting service-related research
Desirable criteria
10. Work with behaviours that challenge services
11. Lived experience of mental health issues or psychological problems as a service user or carer
12. Work with community, voluntary & social enterprise organisations
Knowledge
Essential criteria
13. An awareness of NHS priorities
14. Sound knowledge of theoretical underpinnings of at least one evidence based psychological therapy, and ability to apply this in practice
15. Sound understanding of health care systems and structures: staffing, roles and responsibilities, the role of hospitals, primary care and community care
16. Master’s level knowledge of research design and methodology
17. Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the client group.
18. Awareness of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health
19. Ability to draw upon a specific theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of facts or situations to arrive at appropriate formulations, under clinical supervision
20. Coherent understanding of how adverse experiences and environment impact on mental health and well-being
Desirable criteria
21. An awareness of NHS Plan, NSF and clinical governance priorities
22. Understanding of ‘Population Health’ strategy
Skills
Essential criteria
23. Strong ability to engage with a variety of services and community partners and stakeholders, and to expand existing networks
24. To nurture and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders
25. Demonstrate excellent interpersonal, communication and active listening skills with service users, carers, staff and community partners
26. Work with people from a wide range of backgrounds
27. Contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others
28. Manage effectively exposure to distressing/highly emotional circumstances.
29. Manage effectively verbal aggression from service users, families, etc. and the risk of physical aggression
30. Respectful and collaborative approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals
31. Able to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professionally.
32. Ability to use supervision appropriately and effectively.
33. Provide & receive sensitive information in a highly emotive and sometimes hostile atmosphere, in a defined setting.
34. Be flexible and adapt approach according to need
35. Concentrate intensely for a substantial proportion of working time, during client contact, teaching/supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc.
36. Use IT packages – word processing, e-mail and internet, SPSS, Excel and Access.
37. Ability to use or learn NHS clinical systems such as RIO.
Benefits
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
38. A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
39. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity.
40. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
41. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.