Job overview
The Perinatal Mental Health Service has a diverse and highly skilled team of perinatal psychological therapists who are committed to providing evidence-based interventions to parents and families that are accessible and acceptable to the diverse South London population. We are recruiting for a permanent position with the Lewisham Perinatal Community Mental Health Team.
Our psychological workforce and the therapeutic modalities that we offer are a key part of delivering the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan. This post focuses primarily on delivery of perinatal psychological therapies for parental mental health problems, including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). There is a focus on coproduction, quality, supervision and ongoing audit and evaluation, keeping the experience of service users at the heart.
The successful applicant will join a friendly and supportive psychological therapies service that offers opportunities for research and continuing professional development. We are committed to get the best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. Dependent on the role we offer training and development in different therapeutic modalities relevant to the area. Specialist perinatal psychology clinical and professional supervision will be provided from within the service.
Main duties of the job
We are looking for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist or Accredited Cognitive Behaviour Therapist to provide psychological assessment and intervention to women, birthing people and families in the perinatal period, as well as contribute to the multi-disciplinary team.
We would like to hear from those who have experience delivering psychological therapies in secondary care or within a MDT setting, and are proficient in delivering NICE concordant interventions for depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis and bipolar affective disorder.
You will ideally have experience of working with parents and families within the perinatal period and / or a keen interest to develop knowledge and skills in this area. Specialist perinatal supervision will be provided and you will join a friendly and supportive team of specialist perinatal psychologists and psychological therapists.
Working for our organisation
Perinatal Mental Health Teams (PMHTs) are secondary care mental health teams that specialise in supporting women and birthing people in the perinatal period (pregnancy and the postnatal period) who have severe and complex mental health difficulties.
We assess and treat a range of difficulties including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, psychosis, personality disorders and eating disorders. The service is designed to provide timely input to women and their families to mitigate the impact of mental health disorder on the child.
We are a multi-disciplinary team including psychiatry, psychology, nursing, occupational therapy, and nursery nursing. The service works closely with maternity/obstetric services as well as other agencies (e.g., health visiting and social services). We have close links with the Mother-Baby Unit (MBU) in-patient unit at the Bethlem Royal Hospital.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the full job description for further information.
This post is open to Clinical Psychologists, Counselling Psychologists and Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapists who have the relevant professional registration. Perinatal mental health experience is desirable but not essential. Qualification/accreditation in one or more of the following is very relevant, although not essential: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR), Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).
Please note we welcome applications from clinicians approaching qualification in clinical or counselling psychology or cognitive behaviour therapy.
Person specification
Qualifications & Professional Registration
Essential criteria
1. •Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training, for example in CBT) that has been accepted by the HCPC or BABCP for purposes of professional registration
2. Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist or with BABCP as CBT therapist, or due to complete qualification with next 12 months
Desirable criteria
3. Relevant specialist training or qualifications in other psychological therapies
Knowledge
Essential criteria
4. Theoretical knowledge of perinatal mental health and the evidence base for the relevant treatment
5. Knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics.
6. Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities
7. Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.
8. Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care.
Desirable criteria
9. Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility specific to perinatal mental health
Experience
Essential criteria
10. Experience of receiving clinical supervision across a range of client needs
11. Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in adult mental health settings
12. Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience.
13. Experience of developing and carrying out research projects
Desirable criteria
14. Pre or post qualification experience of working in a perinatal mental health service or related area
15. Pre or post qualification experience working with infants, the parent-infant relationship or with families
16. Lived experience of mental health challenges
Skills
Essential criteria
17. To deliver psychological therapy across cultural and other differences.
18. To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources
19. To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
20. To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers, and for meetings such as CPA and case reviews
21. Well-developed IT skills including entry and analysis of research data.
Abilities
Essential criteria
22. Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles
23. Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate