Job summary
We are lookingfor a Band 7 Clinical Psychologist to join the North and Mid Devon IntensiveAssessment and Treatment Team (IATT), to help support the psychological and emotional wellbeing of a most vulnerable client group.
Youwill provide a Clinical Psychology service via assessment, intervention andconsultation. You will join the North and Mid DevonIATT, a rich multi-disciplinary team including Nursing, Psychiatry,Occupational therapy, Physiotherapy and Speech and Language therapy. You willmaintain and develop relationships with partner agencies and local providers.
We will supportyou to learn the skills you need to thrive in the role. We will offer you the training and development support youneed to develop your skills and create a fulfilling career. In return, we are looking for someone who is motivated,flexible and eager to learn.You will start to develop skills in delivering clinical supervision whilereceiving regular clinical supervision yourself.
We have close links with both the Plymouthand Exeter Doctoral Programmes and there is a strong research department withinDPT.
In addition, wework jointly with a range of specialties and services meeting complex care needs. You will be able to develop your therapeutic interests in a variety of areasbeyond Learning Disability.
Main duties of the job
We are lookingfor candidates who are enthusiastic about working with individuals with LearningDisability. You will be undertaking assessments, developing individualformulations and contributing to MDT formulation and best practice reviews;designing complex and multicomponent interventions and delivering these directlyand indirectly via individual or group therapies, care planning and/or training.We will help you to acquire and develop a range of consultation skills. Wewould expect you to have experience of psychometric assessment and at least twoforms of therapeutic intervention (such as Positive Behaviour Support, CBT orDBT), as well as an understanding of the latest evidence around interventions. Asa newly qualified Clinical Psychologist, you will receive regular supervisionand a variety of support for your career development, including a robustappraisal system, a range of CPD activities and a generous bursary scheme.
Workingalongside your IATT Clinical Team Manager and other Psychologists, you will promoteclinical effectiveness, contributing to audits and reviews of service provisionin order to improve our service user journey and maximise the wellbeing of individualswith Learning Disability in Devon.
About us
About Devon Partnership Trust
We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery.
We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do
Our values
We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas.
We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader Employer.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Job Purpose
To improve thepsychological health & wellbeing of people with Learning disabilities and provide psychological services to peoplewho use services and staff in the North and Mid DevonIntensive Assessmentand Treatment Team (IATT).
This will be achievedin this post by:
1. Ensuring the systematic provision of ahigh quality psychological service to people with LearningDisabilities in Devon as a key component of Health and Social Care Partnershipservices.
2. Providingclinical leadership, co-ordination and supervision for staff, trainees andvolunteers employed by or attached to the psychology service.
3. Carryinga specialist caseload of clients, and providing advice and consultancy topatients and professionals.
4. Working autonomously within professionalguidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance ofpsychological practice within the team.
5. Receiving regular professional and clinicalsupervision in accordance to Trust policy and to Professional Practice Guidelines set out by the Health Professions Council/BritishPsychological Society.
6. Contributingto the management of psychology services in the locality.
Duties andResponsibilities
Communication and Working Relationship Skills
1. To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner complex and sensitive information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of people with learning disabilities under the services care.
2. To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner to people with learning disabilities who may present with behaviour that challenges service delivery or who may have complex neurological deficits which affect their understanding, communication and behaviour
Analytical and Judgemental Skills
3. To undertake highly skilled assessments and make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about assessment, treatment and discharge, and about the psychological management of patients (including management of risk).
Planning and Organisational Skills
4. To plan, organise and prioritise own workload, balancing the demands of patient care, support and guidance of carers and professionals, service research and developmental activities.
Responsibility for Patient/Client Care, Treatment and Therapy
5. To provide Psychological Therapies to the community team for people with learning disabilities, developing specialist psychological formulations and assessments of people with learning disabilities, formulating plans for their psychological treatments and implementing specialist psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups.
6. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance, and consultation to other professionals, paid and non-paid carers contributing directly to a service users formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
Responsibility for Policy and Service Development Implementation
7. To follow policy guidance in own role and to identify and comment on proposed policy changes and service developments.
Responsibility for Finance, Equipment and Other Resources
8. Careful use of equipment and resources as provided
Responsibility for Human Resources, Supervision, Training, HR Advice and Management
9. There is a requirement to support learners on a regular basis which includes the achievement and updating of profession specific training to the required standard to fulfil this role.
10. In common with all Clinical Psychologists, the post holder will receive regular professional and clinical supervision in accordance to Trust policy and Professional Practice Guidance set out by the British Psychology Society and the Health Professions Council. The post holder will be supported by the senior psychologists within the speciality and will be expected to use the expertise of others within the service to further develop their clinical skills with this group of people who use services.
11. To supervise the work of Assistant Psychologists and/or Trainee Clinical Psychologists as required. To provide supervision and Consultancy to Health and Social Care colleagues within the area IATT
Responsibility for Information Resources and Administrative Duties
12. To maintain accurate records
13. To be responsible for using an email account to generate, monitor, and respond to the e-mail traffic by which the Trust conducts much of its internal communication.
Responsibility for Research and Development
14. To undertake service relevant research and development activity agreed with the Learning Disability Health and Social Care Partnership, and to organise the R&D activities of assistants and/or trainees as required
Freedom to Act
15. The post holder is accountable for their own professional actions, acting within Trust policies and procedures and Professional Practice Guidelines.
16. To work autonomously within clinical professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for the governance of psychological practice within the Health and Social Care Partnership for People with Learning Disabilities.
17. To provide expert and specialist clinical psychology intervention, expertise and advice guidance and consultation on psychological aspects of patient care to colleagues, other service providers, patients, supporters and families.
Any Other Specific Tasks Required
18. To ensure that skills and techniques relevant to clinical work and demands of this post are continuously updated.
Review of this Job Description
This job description is intended as an outline indicatorof general areas of activity and will be amended in the light of changingservice needs. This job description is to be reviewed in conjunction with thepost holder on an annual basis.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
19. Qualifications & Training
20. Doctorate/Masters level or equivalent qualification in clinical/counselling
21. Eligible for registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
22. Further training in assessment and interventions with people with learning disabilities
23. IT skills
Experience
Essential
24. Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of people who use services across the full range of care settings.
25. Experience of teaching, training and supervision.
Desirable
26. Experience of working with a wide range of people who use services across the who life course and who present with issues that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing issues, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
27. Experience gained during supervised training or working with people with learning disabilities.
28. Experience of working in services for people with learning disabilities.
Planning and Organisational
Essential
29. Ability to be flexible and cope with multiple demands and manage own workload.
30. Understanding of the responsibility that clinicians have to be accountable for documenting and evidencing their clinical work and capacity to make use of information technology to keep required records up to date.
Analytical and Judgement Skills
Essential
31. Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
32. Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups ( ( people who may present with challenging behaviour; personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities).
33. Masters level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multi-variate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
Knowledge
Essential
34. Knowledge of the Mental Health and Mental Capacity Act and their implications for both clinical practice and professional management in relation to people with learning disabilities and mental Health.
35. Knowledge of relevant legislation in relation to people with learning disabilities and mental health.
36. Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological approaches in specific difficult to treat groups ( people who may present with challenging behaviour; personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities).
37. High level knowledge of theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
38. Knowledge and skills in risk assessment and risk management.
Communication and Working Relationship Skills
Essential
39. Skills in the ability to communicate effectively, verbally and in writing complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to people who use services, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
40. Skills in providing consultation to other professional and care system groups.
41. Ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with individuals and departments within and outside Devon Partnership Trust.
42. Ability to work independently and use initiative with a service consisting of a network of teams.
43. Ability to tolerate ambiguity and maintain own morale and motivation in challenging service delivery contexts.
Physical Skills and Other
Essential
44. Mobility to travel across sites.
45. Ability to carry out psychometric assessments.
46. Other: -
47. Mobility to travel across sites.
48. Ability to carry out psychometric assessments.