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Job summary

Main area
Clinical Psychologist
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref
285-9732A-MH
Employer
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
Blakenhall Village Centre
Town
Walsall
Salary
£50,952 - £57,349 per annum
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
Today at 23:59

Employer heading

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Clinical Psychologist

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for the population of the Black Country.

Across the whole of the region we provide:

  • Adult and older adult mental health services
  • Specialist learning disability services
  • Mental health services for children and young people
  • Community healthcare services for children, young people and families in Dudley

Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was formed on 1 April 2020, with the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Combining resources, strategies and talented workforce enables us to deliver a wider variety of outstanding services that are based on best practice and are continually improving.

We currently employ over 3,500 people and just like the population we serve, we are made up of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Whatever your role, working in a NHS Foundation Trust, like ours, is a demanding and extremely rewarding experience. Knowing that every day you can help to make a positive difference to someone’s life is a very powerful feeling. We know that our Trust runs on this desire to help and support people, and our Trust vision expresses this. Our vision is to improve health and wellbeing for everyone, especially our colleagues to achieve the best possible work/life balance.

We proudly offer supportive, inclusive and family friendly employment and flexible working policies. We have a wide range of professional services and employee networks to help our colleagues be at their best - and find support if they need it. To find more about our staff benefits, please visit our website: blackcountryhealthcare.nhs.uk. 

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and ethnic minority candidates are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Black Country Healthcare we recognise and value all forms of knowledge and expertise, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification or criteria in the job description/person specification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

For further supporting information to help you apply for this role please see documents attached under ‘Additional documents’.

Job overview

This is a rare opportunity for a qualified Psychologist to join our Walsall locality Older Adult Enhanced Community Mental Health Team (OAECMHT) and to expand their therapeutic practice within a holistic, person-centred and recovery-focussed culture. You will be an intrinsic member of the multi-disciplinary team working closely alongside the OAECMHT Team Manager, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Consultant Psychiatrists, CPN’s and OT’s. All highly value the role of the Psychologist within the MDT  -  “MDTs are so much better with Psychology in attendance  as discussions are much more professionally challenging/stimulating.”

You will have access to expert clinical supervision and full connections with the wider Older Adult Psychology staff team here at BCHFT. We are committed as a team to supporting and networking with each other across the various clinical areas within our Older Adult Division. Continuing Professional Development opportunities will be available to assist your ongoing professional growth and development. You will also be able to contribute to the CPD of others - upskilling them in psychological skills via involvement with the delivery of a range of training programmes including CBT, Personal Empowerment Training and Dementia Tier 2 training.

If you are recently qualified and/or looking for an exciting opportunity to develop professionally in a supportive and valuing environment we look forward to receiving your application. 

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be working with older people who present with a wide range of complex mental health, clinical and social needs often presenting along with comorbid frailty and chronic physical health conditions. Examples of clinical presentations range from bereavement and trauma, psychosis, anxiety, depression, complex emotional needs and trauma, as well as people with dementia.  The main clinical roles would include:

  • The provision of bespoke specialist psychological assessments for individuals, carers, and families of service users, using complex psychological data from a variety of sources.
  • Supporting and developing team formulations, facilitating regular complex case discussions, and supporting staff in creating and implementing psychologically informed, person-centred care plans.
  • The provision of a range of psychological interventions for service users, and, where appropriate, for carers and families.
  • Facilitating reflective practice sessions for the MDT

Working for our organisation

As a Trust we are committed to increasing the quality of services and providing services which are safe and supportive to services users, their carers and relatives.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Provide highly specialist psychological assessment of clients with highly complex conditions based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of data from a variety of sources, which will include neuropsychological testing

Undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and provide specialist advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.

Undertake highly skilled evaluations and makes decisions about treatment options.

Provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other staff contributing directly to client’s diagnosis, formulation and intervention plan.

Facilitate decision-making by planning and mapping assessment processes/interventions with members of the team to determine the most appropriate treatment modality or service for clients.

Clinical supervision of Trainee Applied Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists, Band 7 Applied Psychologists working within immediate area (as appropriate), under the guidance of Consultant Applied Psychologist

Provide highly specialist advice, guidance, consultation and supervision to other direct care staff in MDT         

Devise and deliver training to other staff in MDT

BCHFT are committed to investment in our Psychology staff so you will have access to a psychology specific dedicated CPD budget to support your professional growth.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria
  • • Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied Psychology (or its equivalent) as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
  • • Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
  • • HCPC registration as an Applied Psychologist with Chartered Status
  • • Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees
  • • Evidence of continuing professional development
Desirable criteria
  • • Registration with BPS

Experience

Essential criteria
  • • Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across a range of care settings.
  • • Exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care as a care coordinator within the context of a multidisciplinary team.
  • • Teaching, training, consultancy and clinical supervision and field supervisor for doctoral theses.
  • • Research and development
  • • Quality and service improvement and evaluation.
Desirable criteria
  • • Experience of joint working with statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies

Knowledge

Essential criteria
  • • Evidence-based practice relevant to the role
  • • Risk assessment and risk management
  • • Clinical governance
  • • Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
  • • Audit and research methodology
  • • Social inclusion agenda
  • • The Trust’s Quality Improvement System

Skills

Essential criteria
  • • Communicate highly complex and highly sensitive information effectively, to a wide range of people
  • • Adapt creatively the evidence base for the interventions relevant to the client group (define)
  • • Provide effective teaching, training, consultancy and clinical supervision for the multidisciplinary team
  • • Work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and undertake care co-ordination/lead practitioner responsibilities
  • • Undertake complex multiagency working and liaise with multiple systems
  • • Utilise psychometric tests competently
  • • Identify, provide and promote appropriate interventions / means of support for carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours
  • • Utilise appropriate clinical governance mechanisms within own work
  • • Demonstrate effective keyboard skills
  • • Utilise multimedia materials for presentations in professional, academic and public settings
  • • Able to work in accordance with the Trust Values and Behaviours
  • • Able to engage with vulnerable people and work effectively in highly distressing and challenging circumstances
  • • Respects and has awareness of the advantages of joint working with other experienced professionals in a multidisciplinary setting
  • • Able to work flexibly and co-operatively as part of a team
  • • Able to use own initiative and make decisions independently
  • • Committed to continual quality and service improvement
  • • Self-aware and committed to professional and personal development. Able to accept and respond positively to feedback from supervision

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Apprenticeships logoNo smoking policyAge positiveDisability confident leaderCare quality commission - GoodArmed Forces Covenant Bronze Award

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
Gemma Fisher
Job title
Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Email address
[email protected]
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