Overview
The postholder will be co-lead of the multidisciplinary Learning Disabilities sub-team, embedded within the Harrow CAMH Service. The Learning Disabilities team delivers high-quality, evidence-based and effective psychological care to individuals with moderate to severe learning disabilities with co-occurring mental health and behavioural difficulties. The role includes specialist psychological assessment, therapy, advice, and consultation on children and young people’s psychological care. The postholder will work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service’s policies and procedures. The postholder will utilise research skills for audit, policy, and service development and research within the area served by the team/service.
The postholder will provide high-level clinical leadership to the LD team, working closely with the Consultant Psychiatrist co-lead. The postholder will be responsible for developing opportunities to work with services involved with children and young people to co-produce creative activities and person-centred care plans. Embracing new ways of working will be key to respond to the needs and aspirations of the children and young people we serve.
Main duties of the job
* To provide a highly specialist clinical psychology service to children with learning disabilities and their families across all sectors of care; providing highly specialist psychological assessment and therapy and offering advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues and to other, non-professional carers, working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.
* To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the service area.
* To provide supervision and training to others, both within Clinical Psychology and the CAMHS LD Team and external partners to the service, working with the client group.
* To liaise and consult with other health care professionals, both within and external to the team, including Paediatricians, Physiotherapists, OT’s, Psychiatrists, Speech and Language Therapists, Educational Psychologists, Specialist Teachers, Children’s Social Care Workers, voluntary sector groups and others.
Working for our organisation
The Harrow CAMH service is based at Ash Tree Clinic in South Harrow. The team is well established and is staffed by a large multi-disciplinary team of clinicians. We aim to provide an accessible, flexible and responsive local service for patients and professionals working with children in the area using the whole range of therapeutic interventions, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, systemic and family therapies, psychotherapy, psychoeducation and therapy groups and multi-family work as well as Positive Behaviour Support. Harrow CAMHS consists of four main sub-teams: Emotional Disorders Team; Neurodevelopmental Team; Enhanced Treatment Team; and Learning Disabilities Team. The post holder will hold the role of Sub-Team Lead for the Harrow CAMHS LD Team. The post holder may also be required to travel to other parts of the catchment area and/or wider service and trust as necessary, including working within the community (e.g., special schools).
The service operates Monday to Friday 09:00 to 17:00 with some flexibility to work extended hours to meet service need.
Job Description
* Job Title: Senior Clinical / Counselling Psychologist – Harrow CAMHS
* Grade: Band 8A
* Hours: 22.5 hours per week / 0.6 WTE (Permanent)
* Location: Harrow CAMHS, South Harrow
* Salary: Agenda for Change
* Responsible to: Lead Psychologist
* Accountable to: Team Manager
* Key Relationships: Members of the multidisciplinary Harrow CAMHS Learning Disability Pathway and other teams and agencies involved in the care of children and young people with learning disabilities, autism and/or mental health needs.
Person specification
Training And Qualifications
Essential criteria
* Post-graduate doctoral level training (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) in clinical psychology, or counselling psychology, as accredited by the BPS. Training should include models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuro-psychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
* HCPC Registration as Practitioner Psychologist: Clinical or Counselling Psychologist.
* Training in Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) or Applied Behaviour Analysis models
Desirable criteria
* Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice especially relevant to complex CAMHS, including research, CYP-IAPT Therapy Training, CBT, ADOS-2, Safeguarding training, and supervision of Clinical Psychologists.
Experience
Essential criteria
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings (outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient)
* Experience with a wide variety of client groups across the life course and ability to maintain professionalism in emotive situations
* Experience of assessment and intervention with children and young people with learning disabilities and extreme challenging behaviours
Desirable criteria
* Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
* Experience of working with other agencies
* Experience of applying clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
* Experience of adapting CBT and other therapies for young people with autism and learning disabilities
* Experience of working with interpreters
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
* Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including lifespan development, psychopathology, neuropsychology, and two or more therapies
* Skills in complex psychological assessment and intervention, including CBT approaches
* Knowledge of the evidence base for understanding and treating mental health concerns in children and young people
* Strong communication skills for conveying diagnoses and formulations to clients, families, carers and professionals
* Experience in providing consultation to other professionals and non-professionals
* Experience in assessing mental health risk and safeguarding concerns
Desirable criteria
* Knowledge of specialist neuropsychological assessment for children with learning disabilities
* Knowledge of CAMHS legislation and research methodology
* Ability to teach and train using multimedia materials
* Experience in planning and delivering group treatments
Personal
Essential criteria
* Enthusiasm for a broad range of psychological phenomena and an interest in service delivery models
* Ability to manage organisational stress and support others
* Ability to build constructive relationships with warmth and empathy
* Treats service users with respect and dignity
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