Skip to main content

This site is independent of the NHS and the Department of Health.

Please wait, loading

Job summary

Main area
Psychology
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8b
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
333-D-HJ-1602
Employer
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
HMYOI Feltham
Town
Feltham
Salary
£64,408 - £73,961 per annum inc. Outer HCAS (pro rata if P/T)
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
07/05/2024 23:59

Employer heading

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust logo

Principal Clinical/Counselling/Forensic Psychologist - HMP Feltham B

NHS AfC: Band 8b

Job overview

Are you looking for new challenges? Do you want to feel that you really make a difference? Are you someone with a passion for trauma-informed work, who wants to be part of changing young adult’s lives?

This might be the job for you… We are looking for a Principal Clinical, Counselling, or Forensic Psychologist to join us as part of the integrated Health and Wellbeing team within HMP & YOI Feltham.

This is a unique and exciting opportunity to be part of this innovative model and also to use all of your clinical and interpersonal abilities, develop new skills and work with young people and staff who need and deserve high quality psychological care.

You could make a difference. This is a varied role working within a rich multidisciplinary team in the early stages of implementing a trauma systems approach across the young adult establishment. 

The post is based primarily on Feltham B a category C adult male Prison, although the successful candidate may be required to provide some consultancy and support to the wider healthcare team across the site.

Black and minority ethnic young people, including those from Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller communities, are over-represented in the criminal justice system.  We strive to deliver a culturally competent and responsive service that can meet the needs of our population. We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds, especially from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.

Main duties of the job

Working within an integrated team affords us the benefit of being able to work in a truly holistic and responsive manner. The post holder will have previous experience in a relevant setting. They will provide specialist psychological assessment and therapy at the same time as offering advice and consultation to non-psychologist colleagues. 

The post holder will support the Consultant psychologist with strategic and clinical oversight of therapeutic intervention across the young adult site.  This will include supporting the role out of a trauma-informed approach across Feltham B, including supporting staff to develop skills in reflective practice.  In addition they will hold some responsibility for the new Therapeutic Unit, and will input into the Sexual Behaviour Service.  The successful candidate will have a proven ability to make evidence-based, informed decisions within a complex, rapidly changing and demanding environment.                         

It takes a very special, dedicated, resilient and caring clinician to provide care in such an intense, dynamic environment and you will be joining like-minded exceptional healthcare professionals in a dedicated and supportive team.

Experience working with service-users with additional neuro-developmental needs,  such as Learning Disabilities (LD), ADHD, social communication and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) would be beneficial to this role due to the diverse needs of the population.                                      

Working for our organisation

Our motto? Caring not judging.

What we Offer

  • Excellent training and development
  • Ongoing supervision and appraisals
  • Hidden Gem and annual award ceremonies
  • Excellent staff benefits: our benefit packages are amongst the best in London and include: childcare vouchers, health and wellbeing services, season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme and relocation package. We are also proud to support our employees with continued professional development opportunities and further education subject to service needs.
  • We welcome flexible working.

As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Main Clinical Responsibilities:

  • To coordinate the development and implementation of a psychologically underpinned, attachment and trauma-informed model of care at HMYOI Feltham. Working within a highly specialised clinical area, the post holder is to supervise and provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments and interventions for young adults who have particularly complex needs and risks. These will be based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with young adults, family members and others involved in the client’s care.
  • To formulate plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s mental health difficulties based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s presentation, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
  • To make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group. To exercise full responsibility and autonomy for the treatment of and discharge of clients whose problems are managed as a psychologically based standard care plan, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and interventions, communicating with the referral agent and others involved with the care on a regular basis.
  • To provide leadership when managing situations of great complexity and risk within HMYOI Feltham. This will include the ability to communicate highly complex case information in a clear manner and good engagement skills with all staff groups within the centre. This will also include the ability to understand, work with and mediate the impact of trauma on individuals and the systems around them.
  • To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, supervision, guidance, and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
  • To work alongside senior colleagues (particularly senior residential and case managers) to support the delivery of psychologically informed care by all staff working within the establishment.
  • To undertake risk assessment and risk management for relevant individual clients and to provide both general and specialist advice for psychologists and other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
  • To act as a Lead Professional, where appropriate, ensuring the provision of a care package appropriate for the client’s needs, co-ordinating the work of others involved with care, arranging client’s care reviews as required and communicating effectively with the client, his/her family and all others involved in care; and to monitor progress during the course of multi-disciplinary interventions.
  • To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under enhanced CPA including young adults, their families, referring agents and others involved the network of care. To prepare reports for, attend and contribute to CPA meetings. To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
  • To provide expert consultation about the psychological care of the client group to staff and agencies outside the Directorate and Trust.
  • To liaise regularly with community services, prisons, courts, statutory and nonstatutory agencies, concerning all aspects of the mental health care management of the young adults.
  • To carry out specialist diagnostic assessment and prepare reports to assist the multidisciplinary care team, Mental Health Act Tribunals and Courts alike.
  • To keep clinical records in line with trust policy and be competent and efficient in using electronic patient records e.g. Systm1 in prison. To attend relevant local management and operational meetings and Offender Care management meetings as agreed with his / her manager.
  • The post holder will input and maintain accurate and reliable computer information that will be used for quality and performance purposes. To contribute to ensuring that the Health & Justice services achieve the activity, performance and outcome targets as agreed with key stakeholders.
  • To communicate in a skilled, persuasive and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment formulation and treatment plans of clients, and to monitor progress during the course of their multidisciplinary care.
  • To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic data entry and recording, and report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance, in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.
  • 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 ensure that all aspects of professional activity (e.g. communication with clients, relatives, colleagues as well as in the assessment, development/delivery of interventions) issues of diversity such as race, culture, identity, gender and sexuality are sensitively considered and incorporated to reflect individual differences appropriately.
  • To ensure that clients are appropriately consulted about relevant aspects of their care and are empowered to express their views in a responsive environment enabling such views to be assimilated / incorporated into continued service development and improvement.

Teaching, training and supervision:

  • To receive regular clinical supervision from a suitably qualified and experienced psychologist and, where appropriate, other professional colleagues.
  • To support the provision of psychologically informed care by “front line” staff (i.e. residential/discipline staff, case managers, healthcare and education staff) to the young adults within HMYOI Feltham. This will include:
  • Developing and promoting a culture of resilience across all disciplines and through all levels of staff.
  • Developing and supporting the implementation of formulation-based multidisciplinary case planning for young adults within HMP & YOI Feltham.
  • Developing and supporting the delivery of appropriate training to staff, particularly in understanding attachment, working with complex and developmental trauma, and the use of formulation.
  • Developing and supporting the implementation of supervision and reflective practice processes. To ensure appropriate systems for the clinical and professional supervision of qualified and unqualified psychologists and others across the defined area of responsibility.
  • To provide clinical and professional supervision to identified staff within the Health & Justice directorate.
  • To provide specialist elective third year clinical placements for trainee clinical/counselling/forensic psychologists, and to other students when appropriate, ensuring that they acquire the necessary clinical and research skills to doctoral level where appropriate, and competencies and experience to contribute effectively to good psychological practice, and contributing to the assessment and evaluation of those competencies.
  • To provide pre and post-qualification teaching of clinical/counselling/forensic psychology as appropriate.
  • To continue to develop expertise in the area of professional pre and post-graduate training and clinical supervision.
  • The post holder will be expected to update their professional skills and knowledge based by participating in CPD activities.
  • The post holder will regularly update their knowledge of new developments in relevant academia

 

Person specification

Education & Quailifcations

Essential criteria
  • • An honours degree in Psychology as accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS).
  • • Doctoral level training in clinical/counselling/forensic psychology or equivalent, including specifically models of psychopathology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, equivalent to that accredited by the BPS.
  • • Evidence of significant post-qualification specialist training, experience and developing expertise in a specialist area of clinical practice.
  • • HCPC Registered as a Practitioner Psychologist.
  • • Completion of supervisor training course.
Desirable criteria
  • • Pre- or Post-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
  • • Attendance at relevant management training courses and events.
  • • Chartered Psychologist status with the British Psychological Society (BPS).
  • • Further training or qualifications in systemic models of working / Family therapy
  • • Completion of further training in risk assessment or adolescents and young adults.

Other

Essential criteria
  • • Ability to work in a secure environment, in line with HMPS policy and procedures and obtain and maintain enhanced security clearance.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE Paid/unpaid relevant to job

Essential criteria
  • • Substantial assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist including at a highly specialist level or an alternative agreed by the Chief Psychologist
  • • Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings
  • • 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 teaching and training.
  • • Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care
  • • Experience of working effectively in multidisciplinary settings.
  • • Advanced knowledge, experience and expertise in at least one specialist area of clinical practice gained through specialist training and supervised practice (e.g. psychotherapy, neuropsychology, risk assessment, clinical supervision).
  • • Experience of leading on projects of service design or improvement.
  • • Experience of leadership, management and supervision of trainees and qualified staff including those from other disciplines.
  • • Significant experience of and interest in working therapeutically with young adults who have significant, complex mental health difficulties and high risk behaviours
Desirable criteria
  • Awareness of institutional dynamics
  • Research/publications on relevant issues.
  • Experience of working indirectly with staff groups
  • Experience of working within a prison environment and of supporting and developing psychological services in such
  • Experience of using a trauma informed approach
  • Experience of working as a psychologist with young people/adults in residential or other criminal justice settings
  • Knowledge of and experience working organisationally with teams, using reflective practice and other modes of intervention.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES

Essential criteria
  • • Advanced skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
  • • 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.
  • • Well-developed skills and knowledge in developmental psychology, attachment and trauma theories and the application of these in support of clients with complex presentations involving relational disruption and trauma
  • • Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
  • • Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
  • • Possesses range of clinical knowledge, skills & information technology expertise relevant to demands of senior post.
  • • 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.
  • • Broad knowledge of models of assessment, management and treatment of offenders
  • • Ability to work intensively with people who present challenges in the complexity of their problems and needs, including sexual and violent offending, self-harming and suicidal behaviours.
  • • High level of ability to plan and organise clinical service provision to meet service demands, and to maintain high quality professional practice
  • • Evidence of continuing professional development relevant to the population as recommended by the HCPC.
  • • Excellent IT skills.
Desirable criteria
  • • Well developed 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, forensic settings).
  • • Can apply psychological knowledge creatively in developing new initiatives.
  • • Ability to write reports for varied audiences, including courts and purchasers of services.

ATTITUDES, APTITUDES PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

Essential criteria
  • • Excellent interpersonal skills.
  • • Ability to work flexibly according to changing demands and to work well within a team
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of working within a multicultural framework.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Trust IDWe are a Living Wage EmployerEmployers for CarersPurple SpaceHealthy Workplace - Excellence 2018No smoking policyMenopause Friendly EmployerAge positiveDefence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) - BronzeNational Autistic SocietyDisability confident committedStonewall equality policy. Equality and justice for lesbians, gay men, bisexual and trans people.AccessAbleStonewall Gold 2022Step into healthCarer Confident -AccomplishedNHS Rainbow Badge - BronzeArmed Forces Covenant

Applicant requirements

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.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Jamie Cunningham
Job title
Head of Healthcare
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
02088445344
Additional information

For further information or to arrange an informal visit contact Dr Ellena Cooke, Consultant Psychologist, on 020 8844 5347 or Denise Cox, Head of Healthcare, on 020 8844 5234

Apply online nowAlert me to similar vacancies