A Vacancy at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
This is a rare and exciting opportunity to work withintheSouth Thames Assessment Resource and TreatmentHomeless Outreach Team (START). START is a multi-award winning service that has provided specialist mental health care to people who are rough sleeping in South London for over 30 years.
The successful post holder will join our Lambeth and Southwark teams as Principal Practitioner Psychologist or Psychotherapist (8b). These are small specialist multi-disciplinary teams, which also include psychiatric nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, administrators, psychiatrists, trainee psychologists and GP trainees. We provide an Assertive Outreach service to some of the most marginalised people in the local community. There is a supportive atmosphere to the team, where psychological therapies are a valued and an integral part of the service.
We expect the successful applicant to be highly motivated to work in this service area and be passionate about using psychological therapy approaches to improve outcomes for people affected by homelessness. We welcome applicants with lived experience of mental health difficulties.
The post holder will lead a psychology and psychotherapy service to adults who are rough sleeping (or have a recent history of rough sleeping) in the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark, who have ‘severe and enduring’ mental health problems and find it difficult to engage with mainstream mental health services. Many people the team assess and work with will have additional needs, including alcohol/substance use, learning disability/acquired brain injury/social communication difficulties, and seeking asylum/complications with immigration.
We work closely with local homeless charities and third sector organisations, providing consultation, training, direct joint assessment, and ongoing care. The role involves a lot of creative outreach, carefully building relationships with people who are understandably wary of professionals.
Usual working hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm – some flexibility to work out of hours on occasion will be expected.
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust(SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.
SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark.
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. SLaM delivered more than 14,000 training experiences in 2014; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels.
· To develop, co-ordinate and ensure the systematic provision of a psychological therapy service for the START (Homeless Outreach Team) and personally provide highly specialist clinical input.
· To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
· To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a lead specialist for the START (Homeless Outreach) Team.
· To ensure that systems are in place and working effectively for the clinical and professional supervision and support of other psychological practitioners.
· To promote service evaluation, audit, research and policy development.
· To work as an autonomous professional within registration body guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.
· To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.
· To support the coordination of staff support within their area, working closely with Corporate Psychology and Psychotherapy to support colleagues and ensure all staff in SLaM have access to evidence based support. To participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.
This advert closes on Monday 28 Apr 2025