Highly Specialist Psychologist / Psychological Therapist

We are delighted to advertise this 8a post at the National Psychosis Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital. The post holder will support the Consultant Clinical Psychologist to provide an excellent psychological service to the ward. The post holder will have experience supporting psychologists and psychotherapists (including trainees and pre-qualified staff) to work effectively, compassionately and collaboratively. The post holder will deliver evidenced based psychological interventions for people experiencing psychosis and their carers and families. The post holder will support staff to increase the psychological safety on the ward and support compassionate and trauma informed ways of working. Supporting staff on the ward will be in an important aspect of the role.

This post also offers opportunities for research and continuing professional development. The unit enjoys excellent research links with departments at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London and the Doctoral Clinical Training Course. The service and Directorate have a long tradition in supporting psychology practitioners in developing clinical expertise in novel and emerging areas of working with psychosis.

· To provide highly specialist psychological interventions for psychosis (individual, family, and carer) in a ward setting.

· To 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.

· To promote service evaluation, audit, and research.

· To work as an autonomous professional within registration body guidelines and codes of conduct adhering to local policies.

· To facilitate a monthly staff support group, and to participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.

· To facilitate monthly case formulation and discussion spaces to support psychologically informed care and treatment planning.

· To provide a psychological perspective to clinical team discussions for example in ward rounds, CPAs, management rounds, and team discussions.

· To contribute to care through treatment planning and discharge planning as required.

· To take an active role in the multidisciplinary approach to safe patient care and to take appropriate action in relation to safe guarding concerns within the remit of the role.

• To contribute to delivering teaching and training to the team.


• To support the development of an anti-racist and trauma informed culture on the ward.


• To support staff wellbeing.


We are delighted to advertise this 8a post at the National Psychosis Unit, Bethlem Royal Hospital. The National Psychosis Unit is a clinical-academic tertiary service offering innovative individualised evidence-based multidisciplinary strategies to help those people with complex psychosis, including schizo-affective disorder, where standard treatment guidelines have proven ineffective or have not been tolerated. The service aims to enhance quality of life through tailored treatments and promotion of recovery thus reducing the need for high intensity placements and the risk of readmission. Our specialist service is supported through established partnerships with the Departments of Psychosis Studies and Psychology based within the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London. We also liaise with clinical experts within other specialties across King's College London and King's Health Partners. The National Psychosis team is closely linked to
the Maudsley Pharmacy and other national specialist mental health services. The service aims to enhance quality of life through collaborative working towards recovery. Benefits include reduction in psychosis, less frequent episodes of illness, improved social functioning, better understanding of psychosis by the patient and carers and enhanced engagement with physical and mental health care plans. The ward currently has 18 beds (separate male and female wings) managed by a multidisciplinary team.

The post holder will be supervised and managed by Dr Majella Byrne, Consultant Clinical Psychologist. The role will be based at the Bethlem Royal Hospital on the National Psychosis Unit.

Key Responsibilities:

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care

· To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations, and interventions for service users with psychosis and other complex co-morbid presentations.

· To provide culturally appropriate psychological or psychotherapeutic interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.

· To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

· To provide reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers and commissioners, where appropriate, service users and their families.

· To select and deliver evidence-based specialist therapeutic interventions, drawing from a spectrum of ideas and models, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions as necessary, based on the highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, couple, family or group.

· To promote psychological support for carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients.

KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

· To contribute to the effective working of the team or service and to a psychologically/psychotherapeutically informed framework for the service.

· To contribute to the team or service's delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

· To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.

· To advise other members of the service on specialist psychological/psychotherapeutic care of clients.

· To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.

· To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

· To liaise with the service/s MDT and other professionals.

KR 3 Policy and service development

· To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.

· To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

· To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

KR 4 Care or management of resources

· To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust's equipment and physical resources.

· To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

· To ensure the cleanliness and safe functioning and use of equipment that will be used by clients or other persons.

· To monitor and advise clients on the safe use of materials and processes.

· To ensure adequate confidential and safe storage for artefacts produced during the therapy process in line with professional guidelines.

· To be responsible for obtaining, storing and maintaining all materials and equipment for the provision of therapy in work setting within budgetary constraints.

· To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.

KR 5 Management and supervision

· To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of more junior psychological practitioners with support from a more senior practitioner.

· To supervise trainee psychological practitioners within own area of specialism having completed the relevant Supervision Training.

· To contribute to the appraisal of more junior psychological practitioners as appropriate.

· To contribute to the recruitment of more junior psychological practitioners as appropriate.

· To provide supervision for the psychological and/or psychotherapeutic work of other multi-disciplinary staff as appropriate.

KR 6 Teaching and Training

· To undertake occasional teaching and training of pre and post- qualification psychological practitioners, and specialised training to other professions as appropriate.

· To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychological therapy and by implementing knowledge gained in practice.

· To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

· To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.

KR 7 Record-keeping and Information Governance

· To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.

· To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

KR 8 Research and development

· To initiate/undertake, support and supervise regular complex service evaluation and audits.

· To initiate, carry out, and support research as required.

· To initiate and implement the development of outcome measurement and assessment and assist other staff in the implementation of same.

KR 9 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

· To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychological therapist according to professional body and Trust guidelines.

· To maintain own Continuing Professional Development in line with professional body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and professional Standards for Continuing Professional Development.

· To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.

· To comply with professional body Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics/Standards of Proficiency.

KR10 General

· To travel to locations across the Trust when required.

· To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management.

· To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations (such as challenging behaviour, abuse etc) and to support others involved in such situations through Trust-wide approaches including Critical Incident Staff Support and Reflect-Support-Resolve.