Job overview
A full time band 8b Deputy Clinical Lead position has arisen in Hammersmith and Fulham NHS Talking Therapies. This post is suitable for a qualified and experienced Clinical/Counselling Psychologist, Clinical Health Psychologist, High Intensity Therapist or CBT Therapist.
Hammersmith and Fulham Talking Therapies is a well-established and high performing Talking Therapies service provided by West London NHS Trust in partnership with West London Centre for Counselling.
You will work in a very friendly, supportive and well-resourced service with close links to Clinical Psychology Doctorate and Talking Therapies training programmes.
The service places a particular emphasis on supporting all clinicians and there is a dedicated programme to promote and improve the wellbeing of the team members.
We are looking for someone who excels as a clinician and leader, who relishes a challenging and diverse role. Successful candidates will have exceptional interpersonal skills and will demonstrate a commitment to continued service development and quality improvement.
They will require a proven track record of Talking Therapies line management and performance management, a detailed understanding of the Talking Therapies key performance indicators and skills in data interrogation and analysis.
Successful candidates will have the ability to deliver a high volume and high quality clinical service, have good understanding of all aspects of clinical governance.
Main duties of the job
Our primary therapy is CBT, but we also offer Talking Therapies centralised training in secondary modalities (such as DIT, EMDR, IPT or BCT), specialist MBCT, PTSD, LTC and Supervisor training, plus our own in-house masterclasses, such as on imagery rescripting, BDD and cross-cultural therapy.
We have received positive feedback from staff for our approach in supporting staff who are working parents or carers. Our service has won awards for its focus on wellbeing and we have a sociable and friendly team. As a result, we develop long-lasting and committed relationships with our staff.
The service has a mature and experienced Talking Therapies team and the clinicians regularly receive exceptional feedback from service users about the quality of care that is provided.
For this part time position, there is a requirement for the post holder to work at least one evening session per week from the office (12pm – 8pm) and to occasionally provide additional evening cover as required. We also require the post holder to be available to work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays which is when our core meetings take place.
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Knowledge Training and Experience
Essential criteria
1. A recorded/registered doctoral level qualification in clinical (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996)/ or Counseling Psychology/ a recorded/registered qualification in one of the following - nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy or a psychological therapy – plus further post graduate level diploma qualification training in a psychological therapy which may be CBT or another Talking Therapies appropriate evidence based therapy (i.e. IPT) to at least equivalent of a post graduate diploma
2. Qualification from High Intensity Talking Therapies Course (Post Graduate CBT Diploma)
3. Accredited as a cognitive behavioural psychotherapist by the British Association of Cognitive & Behavioural Psychotherapies (BABCP) or nearing completion of accreditation process.
4. Where relevant, professional registration with the appropriate Health Professions Council (HPC).
5. Minimum four years post qualification and significant experience working as a fully qualified psychological therapy practitioner and demonstrating the competences as required.
6. Significant experience of working within primary care psychology and/ or Talking Therapies service.
7. Formal training in supervision of qualified psychologists/ psychological therapists and trainees.
8. Experience of training and supervising qualified and pre-qualification psychologists, and/or high intensity/ CBT therapists.
9. Well-developed knowledge of evidence base for delivering high-intensity and low-intensity interventions.
10. Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, inpatient and residential care.
11. Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for patients’ psychological care and treatment, both as a clinician, supervisor and team co-ordinator.
12. Experience of work in a multi-cultural setting, including working with interpreters.
13. Knowledge of key NHS policy developments for psychological therapies and services generally and for Talking Therapies high/ low-intensity CBT in particular. Knowledge of legislation in relation to the specialism and mental health generally.
14. Knowledge of key NHS policy developments for psychological therapies and services generally and for Talking Therapies high/ low-intensity CBT in particular. Knowledge of legislation in relation to the specialism and mental health generally.
15. Evidence of CPD as recommended by HPC/BPS/relevant professional regulatory body.
Desirable criteria
16. Experience of supervising low-intensity therapists
17. Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
18. Experience of teaching pre-qualification psychological therapists and other NHS staff.
19. Highly-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of at least one other specialised psychological therapies –in addition to CBT.
20. Knowledge of key service development issues including mental health and primary care mental health/ Talking Therapies
21. Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
22. Working knowledge of management and leadership frameworks and practices within the NHS, BPS & HPC.
Communication Skills
Essential criteria
23. Highly-developed skills in the effective communication of highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to a wide variety of recipients in a range of settings within and outside the NHS, including the ability to produce comprehensive and coherent letters, reports and associated documentation.
24. Highly-developed communication skills at overcoming barriers to understanding and acceptance.
Desirable criteria
25. Skills for facilitating communication in interventions with families and staff teams
Analytical
Essential criteria
26. Highly-developed skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, including the use of theoretical models to analyse information and to develop formulations upon which to base choice of treatment.
27. Post graduate-level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex, multivariate data analysis as practised within the field of clinical psychology.
28. Skills for undertaking audit and monitoring of service activity and outcomes.
Planning Skills
Essential criteria
29. Skills for planning aspects of service delivery across multiple sites including primary care practices and home-based treatments.
30. Experience of designing, providing and supervising group CBT interventions.
Management Skills
Essential criteria
31. Ability to provide a culturally-competent and non-stigmatising service including an awareness of the potential impact of discrimination and disadvantage on mental health.
32. Ability to manage, supervise and co-ordinate the work of psychological therapists and other staff within their team/service.
33. Ability to co-ordinate the recording and reporting of clinical information amongst staff teams, using appropriate information technology.
34. Skills in working across multidisciplinary settings.
35. Skills in providing advice and consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
Physical Skills
Essential criteria
36. Competence in advanced IT packages including keyboard skills.
37. Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
Autonomy
Essential criteria
38. Ability to take lead for speciality, interpreting and imparting specialist knowledge and policies to others.
39. Ability to use discretion in applying specialist knowledge and policy to local circumstances and situations.
40. Ability to act as Deputy Clinical Lead and work autonomously in community, hospital and other settings.
Other
Essential criteria
41. Ability to identify and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviours.
42. Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours.
43. Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others
44. A commitment to the evaluation of services, enthusiasm for both multiprofessional and uni-professional audit, and a wish to continue to develop expertise in the service area.
45. Ability to demonstrate leadership and management skills.
46. Ability to articulate and interpret clearly the role of psychological therapist based upon a good understanding of the framework of government and national professional policy
47. Ability to concentrate intensively for substantial periods of time during patient contact, teaching/supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc.
48. Ability to produce high quality professional results to specified deadlines and other time constraints.
49. Ability to manage effectively verbal aggression and abuse from patients, carers etc, and the risk of physical aggression.
50. Ability to work creatively, co-operatively, reliably and consistently as an independent practitioner, as a manager and supervisor, and in multi-disciplinary and team settings.
51. Demonstrably respectful approach to patients, carers, colleagues, other professionals and professional contacts. Willingness to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professionally.