Job summary
- Main area
- Lambeth Community
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 8b
- Contract
- Permanent: .
- Hours
- Part time - 7.5 hours per week (one day a week)
- Job ref
- 334-CLI-7386293
- Employer
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Thomas Hospital
- Town
- London
- Salary
- £72,921 - £83,362 pa inc. of HCA pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 07/09/2025 23:59
- Interview date
- 23/09/2025
Employer heading
Practitioner Psychologist, Psychotherapist & Psychological Therapist
NHS AfC: Band 8b
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 are looking to appoint a Psychologist / Psychological Therapist to work with High Frequency attenders / those at risk of frequent in patient admissions at the Guys and St Thomas Emergency Department (ED) as part of our Liaison Psychiatry and psychological therapy services in Lambeth.
The post holder will work with a small High Frequency Attenders multidisciplinary team. They will do brief crisis and care planning psychological work with patients, their carers and families and liaise with inpatient and community Mental Health Teams in Lambeth. Teams work with working age adults with complex mental health needs. The team often meets on Wednesdays.
The postholder will offer evidence based assessment and brief interventions in group and individual formats.
Main duties of the job
The post holder will work with a small High Frequency Attenders multidisciplinary team. They will provide direct and indirect work. Indirect work will include support, consultation and liaison with ED, and with in patient and community MH teams. Direct work will be will be to do one off or brief crisis and care planning psychological work with patients, their carers and families. They will regularly assess and use psychological therapy formulations and psychologically informed care and risk management plans to adults with severe and complex mental health needs. They will review existing care and risk plans.
They may also provide clinical supervision and consultancy and contributing to teaching and research activity. This post provides a link psychology & psychotherapy role within the Lambeth services and is based within the liaison psychiatry team.
Line management is through the Psychiatric liaison manager : Nyasha Kajawu
Working for our organisation
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.
About the location: The posts will be based at Guys or St Thomas Hospital, London.
Career progression: We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. South London & Maudsley NHS Trust is a large Trust with a range of career as well as training and development opportunities.
Flexible working: We are proud to offer flexible working as part of our new ways of working, and we are happy to talk flexible working during Monday – Friday at the interview stage. This post wold require working in the hospital.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To provide a highly specialist psychological therapy service, as part of a multidisciplinary liaison team, to service users, and their families and caregivers, including specialist assessment and brief intervention, multidisciplinary formulation and care planning. To liaise with ED, other staff teams and ward staff.
Implementation and monitoring of outcomes according to relevant guidance and the evidence base.
To be proactive in engaging individuals and their carers, who might express some ambivalence about engaging in care plans or psychological therapy.
To support staff wellbeing and contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a specialist in complex and severe mental health presentations.
To work flexibly across settings.
To undertake service evaluation, audit and research, as appropriate.
To work as an autonomous professional within guidelines and codes of conduct, or equivalent and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.
To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology/Psychological Therapy (Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent) that has been accepted by the HCPC or equivalent body for purposes of professional registration/accreditation. Clinical psychologist: Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalent; Counselling psychologist: MSc and PG Diploma in Counselling Psychology; Forensic psychologist: MSc in Forensic Psychology plus completion of the British Psychological Society’s Qualification in Forensic Psychology Stage 2) For Family / Systemic Psychotherapists: Postgraduate qualification in relevant mental health/social welfare profession and demonstrable practice in this field (A/I) PLUS Masters level qualification in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy or equivalent qualification, accredited by UKCP (A/I) For Psychotherapists: Entry-level qualification in Psychotherapy that has been accepted by the BPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP (specify which, according to nature of post) for purposes of professional registration. Plus Master’s level additional training in modality relevant to the post.
- Additional training in specialised psychological assessment and interventions for severe and complex mental health problems through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice– based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma OR willingness to undertake training to meet this requirement
- Registered with the HCPC or equivalent as Practitioner Psychologist or equivalent, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC or equivalent registration
Experience
Essential criteria
- Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in relevant services
- Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in inpatient and/or rehabilitation and/or community services, including experience of working with people who have suffered severe and early sexual, physical and/or emotional abuse.
- Experience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects.
- Experience and skills at developing formulations, risk, crisis, relapse and recovery plans and psychological reports for clients with severe mental illness.
- experience working with urgent /crisis presentations
- experience working with physical health issues
Desirable criteria
- Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychological therapists having completed the relevant training.
- Record of publications in either peer reviewed, academic or professional journals/books
Knowledge/Skills
Essential criteria
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for severe and complex mental health problems, such as trauma, behavioural and neurodevelopmental, or psychosis/bipolar in the context of acute, rehabilitation, or community settings.
- Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment of presentations of severe mental health and behavioural conditions, including acute presentations.
- Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics for the relevant client group
- To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
- Skills to provide teaching and training to other professional groups
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- John Manley
- Job title
- Head of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Lambeth
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Additional information
-
Line manager Nyasha Kajawu
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