Employer North London NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Chase Farm Hospital Town Enfield Salary £53,751 - £60,651 per annum inclusive of HCAS Salary period Yearly Closing 07/01/2026 23:59
Clinical or Counselling Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 7
Thank you for your interest in the North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT). This is an exciting time to join us and be part of our journey to improve mental health care across North London and deliver excellent services to our local people. We will achieve this through the North London Way, as we:
* Collaborate at every level by living our values to create the right conditions for us all to work together.
* Develop our new Trust culture, to help make our new Trust a great place to work and to receive great care.
* Empower our teams to lead the planned improvements in our services, by skilling them and giving them the tools to make the changes.
* Focus on delivering excellence at every level to improve our performance and ensure consistently high-quality care across all our services.
* Ensure that research, quality improvement, and technology lead the way and are embedded in our services.
* Take a trauma informed approach to everything we do
We proactively welcome diversity in our workforce and pride ourselves on being an inclusive employer. We aim to recruit from our local communities and provide opportunities to all including apprenticeships, veterans, care leavers and more.
The North London Way to deliver: Better Mental Health, Better Lives, Better Communities.
An exciting opportunity has arisen to work within the Complex Anxiety Disorders and Depression pathway within the newly formed Enfield Integrated Core Teams, to offer individual and group interventions. The CADD stream offers specialised therapy for complex presentations such as chronic and severe depression and anxiety disorders. Clients often present with trauma histories, personality disorder traits and may also have a dual diagnosis presentation. The Enfield Integrated Core Teams are comprised of several different care pathways (Psychosis, Personality Disorder, Complex PTSD, Complex Anxiety Disorders and Depression, 18-25 Service, Step & Thrive, Dual Diagnosis, Voluntary Services, etc). The development of the Integrated Core Teams is in response to the NHS 10-year plan to develop mental health services around the Primary Care Networks and provides new opportunities which include developing partnership working with the voluntary sector, working more closely with GP practices and developing more innovative, community based and holistic ways of working.
The CADD pathway offers a range of individual therapies including CBT, psychodynamic, third wave CBT and others. In addition to individual sessions, all clinicians are expected to co-facilitate our Moving Forward group within the pathway. We encourage staff to specialise and develop in their particular model of therapy as well as being able to learn about other models from colleagues.
Main duties of the job
* Psychological assessments and psychological therapy for clients with complex emotional presentations in line with qualifications in the person specification.
* Taking a central role within the CADD pathway, both supporting and developing the efficient running of the integrated treatment programme for CADD clients.
* To work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures.
* Supervision and consultation on clients’ psychological care to non-psychological therapist colleagues, assistant psychologists and to other staff in the team as appropriate.
* To be involved in new service developments within the area served by the Integrated Core Teams.
* Liaising with the voluntary sector, PCNs and other parts of the new transformation structure to offer specialist psychological consultation and input.
Working for our organisation
North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) is committed to improving mental health care across North London to deliver excellent services to our local people.
* We will provide consistently high-quality care closer to home.
* With our partners in North London and each borough we will ensure equity of outcome for all
* We will offer great places to work, providing staff with supportive environment to deliver outstanding care.
* We will be more effective as an organisation by pioneering research, quality improvement and technology.
Why NLFT?
* We develop and retain our staff through leadership behaviours and managers programme and many more opportunities.
* We promote flexible working and support staff with a range of health and wellbeing initiatives.
* NHS Discounts, generous annual leave and NHS pension scheme
* Excellent internal staff network
The post holder will be aligned with our values:
* We Are Kind
* We Are Respectful
* We Work Together
* We Keep Things Simple
* We Empower
* We Are Proudly Diverse
In order to meet the needs of the Trust you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that fall under Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey or Islington. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical:
1. To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complexdata from a variety of sources including self-report measures, direct observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client’s care.
2. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems.
3. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within the existing team as well as across other teams in the adult care pathway.
4. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.
6. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
7. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.
8. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
9. To communicate highly complex and potentially highly distressing information in a skilled and sensitive manner, in situations with clients who maybe highly emotional or distressed requiring the highest level of communication skills. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of treatment.
Teaching, training, and supervision
1. To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
2. To continue to gain wider post-qualification experience and skills relevant to clinical psychology and/or the service (as agreed with the team manager and supervisor).
3. To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staff’s psychological work, as appropriate.
4. To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant/graduate psychologists and, as appropriate, to contribute to the supervision of individual cases for trainee clinical psychologists.
5. To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical and/or counselling psychology, as appropriate.
6. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.
7. To carry out duties in relation to local, regional and national initiatives in developing services in the specialist area as opportunities arise.
Management, recruitment, policy and service development
1. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the service’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit. This will specifically be in relation to the development of psychological services, in line with the 10yr plan as part of the borough wide transformation programme.
2. To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
3. To manage the workloads of assistant and graduate psychologists, within the framework of the team/service’s policies and procedures.
4. To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of assistant/graduate psychologists.
IT responsibilities (other than those used for research)
1. To use computers to write reports and record data, including the use of statistical packages as part of psychological testing, research and assessment when needed. To be able to use research databases and advanced tools for analysis at both quantitative and qualitative levels
Research and service evaluation
1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
2. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.
3. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.
General
1. To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder’s professional and service manager(s).
2. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical/counselling psychology and related disciplines.
3. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self- governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the HCPC and British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.
4. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.
To be noted:
* This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the postholder may be required to undertake other duties which fall within the grade of the job, in discussion with the manager.
* This job description will be reviewed regularly in the light of changing service requirements and any such changes will be discussed with the post holder.
* The post holder is expected to comply with all relevant Trust policies, procedures and guidelines, including those relating to Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety and Confidentiality of Information.
Person specification
TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS
* Doctoral level training or equivalent in Clinical or Counselling Psychology including two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology as accredited by the BPS
* Registration with the Health Professions Council as a Clinical or Counselling psychologist.
* Further training in a different therapeutic model e.g. CBT, EMDR, CAT etc
EXPERIENCE
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across a range of care settings and experience of working with complex presentations
* Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
* Experience of running groups in mental health settings
* Experience providing therapy with the aid of interpreters
* Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
* Experience of the application of therapy in different cultural contexts.
KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
* Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
* Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
* Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
* Ability to contain, explore and formulate an understanding of high levels of distress both directly with clients and indirectly via supervision of other staff.
* Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc).
* High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
* Knowledge of legislation and best practice guidelines in relation to the client group and mental health.
OTHER
* Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
* Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
* Personal experience of mental health problems.
References will be required to cover your last 3 years of employment/training. One has to be from your current or most recent employer and the others from your previous employer. The references should be from persons with management responsibility or HR.
References will be required to cover your last 3 years of employment/training. One has to be from your current or most recent employer and the others from your previous employer. The references should be from persons with management responsibility or HR.
Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts, we will close vacancies before the stated closing date once the first 50 applications are received. Therefore, please apply as soon as possible.
All non-medical posts with the Trust are subject to a probationary period of six months, during which time you will be required to demonstrate to the Trust’s satisfaction, your suitability for the position in which you will be employed.
Should you not hear from us within three working weeks of the closing date for this post, then regretfully in this instance, you have not been shortlisted.
By applying for this role, you accept in the event you are successful that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which is aimed at improving efficiencies within the NHS both to make costs savings for NHS organisations but also to save you time when your employment transfers.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
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