Job description
Clinical Psychologist
Children and Young People (ages 8-18)
Eating Disorder Service – North West London
£56,000-£65,000 (experience dependent)
OUR CLIENT
They offer two treatment programmes, a Recovery Unit and a High Dependency Unit (HDU). They aim
to stabilise patient’s physical and psychological states as rapidly as possible for transfer to step down service.
The HDU admits patients whose illness requires more intense levels of clinical involvement and nursing. The
service is able to admit patients requiring treatment under mental health legislation. The aims of the services
are to improve the patient’s health and dependency needs sufficiently for transfer to a regular eating disorder
unit or to the community.
Eating Disorders are extraordinarily complex illnesses that present with abnormalities in physical and
psychological functioning. The physical complications have the potential to cause permanent damage and in
some cases are life threatening. The causes are complex and multi-factorial, including genetic, neuro-developmental and environmental influences. They require a comprehensive treatment programme including
medical, psychiatric, psychological, social and educational interventions.
POST OUTLINE
To ensure the systematic provision of a high-quality specialist clinical/counselling psychology services to patients with complex eating disorders and associated co-morbid mental health problems and challenging behaviours. To provide specialist consultation and supervision to the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) staff as well as other psychological therapists, trainee psychologists and assistant psychologists using integrative and evidence-based psychological models. To work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the company’s policies and procedures. To contribute to audits, research, teaching and training, and service developments in the service.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. To provide specialist psychological assessments. These will include psychological and psychometric tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with patients, family members and others involved in the patient’s care.
2. To formulate and implement plans for the psychological treatment and management of a patient’s mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the patient’s problems and national guidelines (e.g. NICE, MEED).
3. To make decisions and deliver psychological treatments (e.g. at individual, family, group level) taking into account both theoretical and evidence-based therapeutic models and factors concerning a patient’s historical and developmental processes.
4. To undertake psychologically based risk assessments and risk management for patients and provide advice on the psychological aspects of risk to the multi-disciplinary team.
5. To have knowledge and understanding of the principles of the CPA and to support and contribute to the CPA care planning process for clients on CPA.
6. To communicate information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment of patients in a skilled and sensitive manner.
7. To provide a psychological perspective, advice, guidance and consultation to MDT professionals within the service.
8. To disseminate psychological expertise across the service by developing and running treatment programmes jointly with other staff.
9. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic data entry and recording and report writing in accordance with the professional codes of practice of the HCPC, BPS as well as Ellern Mede policies and procedures.
10. To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from the consultant/senior psychologist.
11. To contribute to the supervision of recently qualified psychologists, assistant psychologists and therapeutic support workers.
12. To manage the workloads of assistant and graduate psychologists within the framework of the team and BPS policies and procedures.
13. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other MDT professionals based on the patient’s formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
14. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of Ellern Mede operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
15. To provide and maintain adequate statistics and records of work as required by the company.
There is a fuller, more in-depth Job Description available upon request.