Clinical Psychologist

Dimensions and Context of Role The CLDT is a Mon to Fri 9-5 service covering the whole city of Plymouth. The CLDT is a full multi-disciplinary team, where Psychology is very valued. Whilst the CLDT is co-located, including with social care colleagues, the work requires liaison with many different independent sector providers of residential, day and respite care. We have strong links with the University of Plymouth, including the provision of placements for trainees on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology course and contribution to teaching on the programme. We also take annual industrial placement students from the Undergraduate programme. The post-holder is an autonomous practitioner covering the whole catchment area. They are required to undertake highly specialist psychological assessments and interventions with people with learning disabilities, and work closely with the MDT. The successful post-holder would be joining a cohesive Psychology Team that includes two Lead Clinical Psychologists, two other qualified Psychologists, and honorary and paid assistants. We also work closely with our PBS colleagues and wider MDT. Job Summary To provide assessment & treatment of own caseload of clients with variety of complex problems including mental ill-health, behaviours that challenge, personality difficulties, autism spectrum disorders and neurological problems. This particularly includes their families & paid carers in a wide range of independent sector provision To identify & provide opportunities for other members of the multi-disciplinary team to gain understanding of how psychological knowledge can support their work with service users, through using developing psychological formulations with team members, participating in multi-disciplinary meetings and decision making or other opportunities for providing consultancy and advice To contribute to teaching for trainee clinical psychologists & qualified members of clinical psychology and other professions in Livewell Southwest To contribute to research & development projects relevant to furthering both clinical knowledge & service evaluation and delivery Responsible for working within the Guidelines for Professional Practice of the Health & Care Professions Council & the British Psychological Society Division of Clinical Psychology, & for adhering to policies & procedures of Livewell Southwest Responsible for participating in an annual appraisal with Psychology Lead plus a group manager Responsible for continuing professional development (CPD) in line with the annual appraisal Professional Development Plan PDP, the Knowledge and Skills Framework KSF & the British Psychological Societys requirements for CPD Logs & Practicing Certificate Responsible for keeping aware of & being knowledgeable about current developments within the profession of clinical psychology Responsible for keeping up to date with legislation, national directives, policies & NICE guidelines in relation to the work Key Tasks & Responsibilities of the Post Clinical Skills • To be able to develop & deliver highly specialised individual treatment plans for service users with learning disabilities & complex psychological problems such as, challenging behaviour, dementia, childhood trauma, autism, personality disorders, severe and chronic depression, other mental illnesses • To use, integrate & interpret complex data from a variety of sources including psychological & neuropsychological assessments observations, functional assessments, & interviews with service users, family members & others involved in the clients care • To be able to overcome a variety of barriers to communication when working with clients who are fearful of others, unable to articulate their problems or who think within a very different frame of reference, requiring imaginative and sensitive approaches towards engagement • To possess & practice a high level of communication and relationship skills in situations of emotional distress • To contribute a psychosocial perspective within the multidisciplinary team including for those service users not directly on the psychological therapy caseload and attend individual patient reviews and risk management meetings where appropriate • Liaises & works in partnership with other health service providers in the relevant areas & works with statutory and voluntary agencies in the community where appropriate dependent on the needs of service users • Liaises with professionals outside LIVEWELL SOUTHWEST in relation to professional practice (including teaching & service development) • To identify & be able to complete formal psychometric assessments • To be able to communicate, by talking & by writing, psychological formulations & treatment plans to the client & to appropriate professional colleagues & to family members & carers, as appropriate • To have knowledge of several psychological models of understanding & managing clinical problems • To be able to manage the emotional impact of working, often one-to-one, with people who can be in crisis and who can show high levels of arousal & can be actively self-harming or threatening to others • To ensure receipt of clinical & personal supervision in accordance with good practice guidelines for all clinical psychologists Policy & Service Development • To contribute to psychological aspects of policy development within the CLDT, in line with national & local plans and policies & professional standards • To contribute to the development & monitoring of performance of the psychology service • To attend the psychology meetings & other relevant meetings regularly Human Resources • To contribute to the development, evaluation & monitoring of the teams operational policies & services, through the deployment of professional skills in audit, service evaluation & research • To contribute to ensuring that trainee clinical psychologists & honorary assistant psychologists within the service maintain high standards of record keeping • To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies & issues in relation to both the specific client group & mental health • To advise the Leads for Clinical Psychology on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing • To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes and courses Teaching, training & supervision • To contribute to the supervision of trainees from the Doctoral Course in Clinical Psychology • To provide appropriate supervision and training for Assistant and Honorary Assistant Psychologists attached to the services • To contribute to teaching on the postgraduate Doctoral Courses in Clinical Psychology and on pre and post qualification professional courses for other disciplines represented within Livewell Southwest as required • To contribute to provision of clinical supervision to non-clinical psychology members of the service as appropriate • To contribute to CPD and peer supervision sessions within the wider MDT • To prepare for and receive regular clinical supervision in individual and peer group formats • To participate in mandatory training • To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes & courses • To work within the current British Psychological Society (Division of Clinical Psychology and Faculty for People with Intellectual Disabilities) Guidelines for Professional Practice • To receive regular line management and professional leadership from the Lead for Clinical Psychology • To participate in an annual Individual Performance Appraisal with line manager • To adhere to Livewell Southwests Policies and Procedures Research & Development • To conduct and supervise research and audit and evaluation relevant to the provision of specialist psychological services for people with learning disabilities, including co-produced research • To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research • To contribute to Clinical and Research Governance activity and to adhere to the highest standards of professional practice • To contribute to project management, including complex audit, research and service evaluation projects, with colleagues within the service, to help develop service provision • To have the capacity to use SPSS and other packages in the analysis of data and to write up the information in a meaningful format that is accessible and understood by the target audience • To prepare and present information from audits, evaluations and research to professional audiences within and outside the organisation • To prepare papers for publication based on audit, evaluation, research and development work To utilise theory, evidence based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with team members in the CLDT and Clinical Psychology. Information Technology • To be responsible for the maintenance and development of office systems and procedures within the clinical psychology service • To be able to use a range of software packages including Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint and SPSS • To ensure that SystmOne computer data bases are kept up to date The full Job Description and person spec can be found within the supporting documents section, including the additional information for all posts. Job description Job responsibilities Dimensions and Context of Role The CLDT is a Mon to Fri 9-5 service covering the whole city of Plymouth. The CLDT is a full multi-disciplinary team, where Psychology is very valued. Whilst the CLDT is co-located, including with social care colleagues, the work requires liaison with many different independent sector providers of residential, day and respite care. We have strong links with the University of Plymouth, including the provision of placements for trainees on the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology course and contribution to teaching on the programme. We also take annual industrial placement students from the Undergraduate programme. The post-holder is an autonomous practitioner covering the whole catchment area. They are required to undertake highly specialist psychological assessments and interventions with people with learning disabilities, and work closely with the MDT. The successful post-holder would be joining a cohesive Psychology Team that includes two Lead Clinical Psychologists, two other qualified Psychologists, and honorary and paid assistants. We also work closely with our PBS colleagues and wider MDT. Job Summary To provide assessment & treatment of own caseload of clients with variety of complex problems including mental ill-health, behaviours that challenge, personality difficulties, autism spectrum disorders and neurological problems. This particularly includes their families & paid carers in a wide range of independent sector provision To identify & provide opportunities for other members of the multi-disciplinary team to gain understanding of how psychological knowledge can support their work with service users, through using developing psychological formulations with team members, participating in multi-disciplinary meetings and decision making or other opportunities for providing consultancy and advice To contribute to teaching for trainee clinical psychologists & qualified members of clinical psychology and other professions in Livewell Southwest To contribute to research & development projects relevant to furthering both clinical knowledge & service evaluation and delivery Responsible for working within the Guidelines for Professional Practice of the Health & Care Professions Council & the British Psychological Society Division of Clinical Psychology, & for adhering to policies & procedures of Livewell Southwest Responsible for participating in an annual appraisal with Psychology Lead plus a group manager Responsible for continuing professional development (CPD) in line with the annual appraisal Professional Development Plan PDP, the Knowledge and Skills Framework KSF & the British Psychological Societys requirements for CPD Logs & Practicing Certificate Responsible for keeping aware of & being knowledgeable about current developments within the profession of clinical psychology Responsible for keeping up to date with legislation, national directives, policies & NICE guidelines in relation to the work Key Tasks & Responsibilities of the Post Clinical Skills • To be able to develop & deliver highly specialised individual treatment plans for service users with learning disabilities & complex psychological problems such as, challenging behaviour, dementia, childhood trauma, autism, personality disorders, severe and chronic depression, other mental illnesses • To use, integrate & interpret complex data from a variety of sources including psychological & neuropsychological assessments observations, functional assessments, & interviews with service users, family members & others involved in the clients care • To be able to overcome a variety of barriers to communication when working with clients who are fearful of others, unable to articulate their problems or who think within a very different frame of reference, requiring imaginative and sensitive approaches towards engagement • To possess & practice a high level of communication and relationship skills in situations of emotional distress • To contribute a psychosocial perspective within the multidisciplinary team including for those service users not directly on the psychological therapy caseload and attend individual patient reviews and risk management meetings where appropriate • Liaises & works in partnership with other health service providers in the relevant areas & works with statutory and voluntary agencies in the community where appropriate dependent on the needs of service users • Liaises with professionals outside LIVEWELL SOUTHWEST in relation to professional practice (including teaching & service development) • To identify & be able to complete formal psychometric assessments • To be able to communicate, by talking & by writing, psychological formulations & treatment plans to the client & to appropriate professional colleagues & to family members & carers, as appropriate • To have knowledge of several psychological models of understanding & managing clinical problems • To be able to manage the emotional impact of working, often one-to-one, with people who can be in crisis and who can show high levels of arousal & can be actively self-harming or threatening to others • To ensure receipt of clinical & personal supervision in accordance with good practice guidelines for all clinical psychologists Policy & Service Development • To contribute to psychological aspects of policy development within the CLDT, in line with national & local plans and policies & professional standards • To contribute to the development & monitoring of performance of the psychology service • To attend the psychology meetings & other relevant meetings regularly Human Resources • To contribute to the development, evaluation & monitoring of the teams operational policies & services, through the deployment of professional skills in audit, service evaluation & research • To contribute to ensuring that trainee clinical psychologists & honorary assistant psychologists within the service maintain high standards of record keeping • To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies & issues in relation to both the specific client group & mental health • To advise the Leads for Clinical Psychology on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing • To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes and courses Teaching, training & supervision • To contribute to the supervision of trainees from the Doctoral Course in Clinical Psychology • To provide appropriate supervision and training for Assistant and Honorary Assistant Psychologists attached to the services • To contribute to teaching on the postgraduate Doctoral Courses in Clinical Psychology and on pre and post qualification professional courses for other disciplines represented within Livewell Southwest as required • To contribute to provision of clinical supervision to non-clinical psychology members of the service as appropriate • To contribute to CPD and peer supervision sessions within the wider MDT • To prepare for and receive regular clinical supervision in individual and peer group formats • To participate in mandatory training • To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes & courses • To work within the current British Psychological Society (Division of Clinical Psychology and Faculty for People with Intellectual Disabilities) Guidelines for Professional Practice • To receive regular line management and professional leadership from the Lead for Clinical Psychology • To participate in an annual Individual Performance Appraisal with line manager • To adhere to Livewell Southwests Policies and Procedures Research & Development • To conduct and supervise research and audit and evaluation relevant to the provision of specialist psychological services for people with learning disabilities, including co-produced research • To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research • To contribute to Clinical and Research Governance activity and to adhere to the highest standards of professional practice • To contribute to project management, including complex audit, research and service evaluation projects, with colleagues within the service, to help develop service provision • To have the capacity to use SPSS and other packages in the analysis of data and to write up the information in a meaningful format that is accessible and understood by the target audience • To prepare and present information from audits, evaluations and research to professional audiences within and outside the organisation • To prepare papers for publication based on audit, evaluation, research and development work To utilise theory, evidence based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with team members in the CLDT and Clinical Psychology. Information Technology • To be responsible for the maintenance and development of office systems and procedures within the clinical psychology service • To be able to use a range of software packages including Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint and SPSS • To ensure that SystmOne computer data bases are kept up to date The full Job Description and person spec can be found within the supporting documents section, including the additional information for all posts.