Clinical Associate Psychologist

Across South London and the Maudsley NHS Trust we have been developing new ways of bringing together health and social care professionals with our Voluntary sector and local communities to support people with severe mental health problems, including complex emotional needs associated with a diagnosis of 'personality disorder' and disordered eating.

Our transformation work aims for teams of clinical and non-clinical staff to work together to make a greater positive impact on the health and lives of groups and communities of people living with mental ill-health. Through providing more integrated care across mental and physical health services in inner London, we have been able to test new ways of working within our 'blended' teams, to deliver improvements aligned to the implementation of the Community Mental Health Framework for Adults and Older Adults.

A key feature of our approach has been the development of psychological provision in crisis services, and the development of Clinical Associate Psychologist roles has played an important part. The post holder will provide psychological interventions to service users receiving care from the Crisis Resolution Home Treatment team. This role will be working with people with complex mental health problems, to develop a psychological understanding of their difficulties and to support the development of coping strategies, focusing on strengths and assets to support people in recovery from mental health crisis., The post holder will work with people who are receiving care from the Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team to develop a shared understanding of the complex issues the person is facing, how they cope and the impact this has on their mental, physical health and well-being and those around them (psychological assessment and formulation). Under supervision they will explore social, psychological, therapies and other potential options which may improve health outcomes and help them achieve agreed goals.

This work will be under the supervision of a qualified clinical/counselling psychologist who will retain clinical responsibility for clinical work carried out, provided that the clinical work is within the care plan specified.

The Crisis Resolution Home Treatment Team is multi-disciplinary; Psychiatry, Nursing, Social Workers, Clinical/Counselling psychologists, and Lived Experience Practitioners. The team works with service users to offer brief intervention (usually 2-4 weeks) to support recovery from mental health crisis. We foster a culture of respect, creativity and commitment to working with those that present with complex mental health difficulties.

We endorse and embody the core SL&M values: kindness, respect, together.