Clinical Associate Psychologist

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.

Working for our organisation
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., Service users seen by the post holder will include those who have experienced high levels of distress and complex mental health difficulties, who may have experienced adverse life events and experiencing socio-economic disadvantages leading to mental health crisis. Service users may present with a high level of risk to both themselves and sometimes to other people. Assessments and interventions will be delivered in a range of settings, including community, as well as clinics and in person, by telephone or digital platform.
Psychological based provision is offered at the individual, group, couple and family level through to teams.
We have Lived Experience Practitioners working in the team with whom the post holder would be expected to work closely, with the opportunity to provide supervision on coping skills interventions and work to support community engagement.
We sincerely welcome applications from people who have previous experience of using Mental Health services, and/or individuals who are/have been a carer for someone. We are also very interested in receiving application from people who have strong local connections to the 3 boroughs in which we work.
The Trust is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Confident Employer, we welcome applicants from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We provide reasonable adjustments for candidates with a disability and are committed to treating people fairly with compassion, respect and dignity and in promoting equality and human rights. We aim to put this commitment into practice by:
+ Embedding our commitment to tackling inequality, eliminating discrimination and harassment; promoting equality of opportunity and fostering good relations in our everyday practice
+ Ensuring that all our services and all staff understand and support our commitment
+ We believe that people who use our services, their carers and our staff, should be treated with compassion, respect and dignity
Please note:
+ That all applications for this post will need to be made online
+ That you read and understand the Job Description and Personal Specification attached to the role. Your Statement in Support should reflect the requirements specified as your application will be judged against these criteria
+ That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received. We advise that you submit your application as early as possible
+ That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3rd party e-recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs
+ That should you not have heard from us within three weeks from the closing date your application has not successful
+ That priority consideration for applications may be given to at-risk NHS employees
+ That should you be successful and appointed, you authorise South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
+ That we are a smoke-free Trust
SLaM is a Stonewall Diversity Champion , Stonewall is the largest Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans (LGBT) rights charity in Europe'

NHS AfC: Band 6
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., 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.