Main area Clinical Psychology Grade NHS AfC: Band 8a Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Maternity Cover) Hours Part time - 30 hours per week (Tues-Friday 09:00-17:00hrs) Job ref 334-CLI-7187556
Site Lambeth CAMHS Town Kennington Salary £61,927 - £68,676 per annum inclusive of inner HCAs pro rata Salary period Yearly Closing 22/06/2025 23:59
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.
We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.
The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role.We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.
As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job overview
We have an exciting opportunity for an enthusiastic and innovative Senior Clinical Psychologist to work in our Tier 3 River team in Lambeth CAMHS. The post is 12 month fixed term, providing maternity cover
The post holder will provide a highly specialist clinical psychology role for children with complex mental health presentations. You will have the opportunity to offer advanced assessment, therapeutic skills, supervision and consultation to support therapeutic work in the service. The role is an excellent opportunity for the post holder to develop advanced therapeutic skills, supervision, consultation, service development and leadership in CAMHS. The post holder will hold and develop advanced clinical psychology skills for children and families who present with self-harming behaviours and emotional dysregulation.
Main duties of the job
To provide specialist input to the assessment, formulation and treatment planning of children with complex mental health concerns. This will be based on the post holder’s specialist and advanced theoretical knowledge of psychological theories, up to date knowledge of literature and evidence-based practice to make formulations about clinical presentation and to provide specialist clinical psychology skill, therapeutic input and consultation to other staff members to support their assessments and treatment planning.
Working for our organisation
The post holder will be based in the Lambeth CAMHS River team and will hold a generic caseload. Lambeth CAMHS River team is a friendly, dynamic and dedicated multidisciplinary team. The team includes CAMHS Practitioners with backgrounds in Nursing, Social Work, Art Psychotherapy, Clinical Psychology, Child Psychotherapy, Family Therapy and Child Psychiatry. Close working relationships with members of the team and partnership agencies e.g. Social Services, Community Paediatrics, Education and others is essential. You will demonstrate an interest in multi-agency and multi-disciplinary work and be familiar with evidence-based practice, particularly for children with neurodevelopmental concerns. Applicants will be supported to work independently and have good clinical/therapeutic and case management skills.
There are excellent opportunities for CPD, in service teaching, for supervision, leadership and professional support within the local psychology group, Lambeth CAMHS and the trust. You will join Lambeth CAMHS where Clinical Psychology is highly valued and supported.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
* To provide specialist input to the assessment, formulation and treatment planning of children with complex mental health concerns. This will be based on the post holder’s specialist and advanced theoretical knowledge of psychological theories, up to date knowledge of literature and evidence-based practice to make formulations about clinical presentation and risk.
* To contribute to intake assessment clinics for a wide range of children and young people who present with mental health difficulties in Lambeth CAMHS. Service assessment clinics support children across the tiers of intervention
* To provide specialist clinical psychology skill, therapeutic input and consultation to other staff members to support their assessments and treatment planning. Children will have a range of presentations including anxiety, low mood, developmental and may have suspected or diagnosed neurodevelopmental concerns
* To be responsible for a specialist caseload for children with complex mental health concerns e.g. anxiety, low mood, self-harm, difficulties with emotional regulation.
* To provide clinical interventions in line with NICE guidelines and according to treatment pathways in the service. Interventions will typically involve but not limited to CBT, DBT, systemic support. Interventions provided will be according to clinical need and presentation.
* To undertake standardised cognitive assessments, producing psychometric reports, as and when required, and the provision of culturally appropriate reports of the findings and the implications of these. To supervise junior psychology staff in their administration, scoring and interpretation of cognitive assessments.
* Conducting occasional observations of children in Use of self-report and other screening measures to assess for comorbid difficulties or aid in differential diagnosis. To support and consult to junior staff to use observational methods and interpret clinically relevant information to support formulation and treatment planning e.g. ADHD diagnostic assessments.
* Teach and support parents and carers in building skills in managing and coping with behaviour that challenges, child mental health and to improve the parent-child
* Consulting to other colleagues from other professional backgrounds in relation to children with complex psychological Liaison with schools, nurseries, social care and other professionals involved in children’s care on issues of mental health.
* To share psychological knowledge and skills. To offer teaching and training sessions to a range of audiences such as parents, allied health professionals, CAMHS colleagues on areas of psychological specialism e.g. clinical interventions to support children with complex mental health presentations. To offer specialist consultations on mental health for the broader River team. To support junior colleagues to implement psychological knowledge and skill to achieve good clinical outcomes. To work in partnership with clinical colleagues in the team, and other agencies, to support integrated practice and service
* To act as a duty Senior Clinician. To support junior staff on duty when issues of clinical complexity, clinical safety and/or safeguarding needs arise. To partake in the CAMHS duty system when necessary.
* To support and collaborate with other senior management staff to review and support treatment pathways for new referrals to the service.
* To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
* To take a role of clinical leadership within the service to support service development and enhance the offer for children and young people who attend the service.
* To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.
* To undertake service evaluation, audit and
* To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct and be guided by the policies and procedures of the service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions with support of clinical supervisor.
Person specification
Training
* Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent.
* Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist.
* Additional Training specific to the clinical practice to work with children with complex mental health needs
Knowledge
* Specialist and transferable psychological skills and knowledge of the theory and and young people with moderate to severe mental health needs and/or challenging behaviourevidence base relevant to work with child
* Knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics.
* Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities including the Children Act, child protection procedures, and the Mental Health Act.
* Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.
* Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care. (A/I) • Knowledge of the principles underlying confidentiality and information sharing
* Specialist advanced knowledge of the clinical and practice issues for children with CAMHS presentations
Experience
* Experience of clinical assessments, formulation and interventions with children and young people
* Experience of receiving clinical supervision across a range of client needs
* Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of children with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in child and adolescent mental health
* Experience in the use of assessment tools
* 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.
* Evidence of advanced practice and clinical experience as a clinical psychologist working with children wihin CAMHS
* Experience of supervising junior clinical staff working with children with complex MH presentations
* Evidence of service development, leadership, QI projects
Skills
* To deliver psychological therapy in at least two models of psychological therapy including adapted cognitive behavioural therapy for children and young people with neurodevelopmental difficulties and across cultural and other differences.
* To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources.
* To be skilled in the administration of psychometric tests, including those that require complex manipulation of test materials
* Consultation skills to work with the multiprofessional team or other professional groups within own service.
* Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups
* Advanced skill as a clinical psychologist to adapt therapeutic work for children with complex MH presentations
The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:
* Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
* Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
* We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity
Please note:
* That all applications for this post will need to be made online
* That you read and understand the Job Description and Personal Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
* That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
* That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs
* That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
* That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
* That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
* That we are a smoke-free Trust
SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion, Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe’
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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