Practitioner Psychologist or Psychotherapist-Psychiatric Liaison

This is a fantastic opportunity for an enthusiastic and skilled practitioner psychologist / psychotherapist within our liaison mental health service at King's College Hospital. The successful candidate will be joining a team that recognises the unique contribution and clear benefits that integrated psychological approaches can bring. This includes expertise in constructing psychological formulations that encompass patients' medical, psychological and social needs, and their health-related beliefs. The liaison psychiatry service at KCH includes the adult inpatient liaison team, the older adult inpatient liaison team, and the mental health liaison team (within KCH emergency department). With support from the Principal Clinical Psychologist and senior colleagues in liaison services, the post-holder will support rapid access to direct psychological intervention, and to training, consultation and case discussion Established support structures are in place with the post holder benefitting from direct employment from a mental health trust with an international reputation (South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust), clinical and professional supervision, close working relationships from numerous medical departments within King's College Hospital and peer support from a friendly and innovative group of psychologists and psychotherapists working in a busy hospital setting serving a diverse inner city population., The Practitioner Psychologist / Psychotherapist role will work alongside the Principal Psychologist within the team to ensure the continued development, co-ordination and systematic provision of specialist psychological assessments and interventions for individuals within the adult inpatient liaison team, the older adult liaison inpatient team, and the mental health liaison team (situated within KCH emergency department). There is clear recognition within the liaison psychiatry service of the benefits that integrated psychological approaches can bring, including expertise in constructing psychological formulations that encompass patients' medical, psychological and social needs, and their health-related beliefs. Such formulations can then be used to inform direct psychological intervention, such as treating anxiety related to medical procedures, cultivating the development of coping skills, and supporting emotional processing of illness and medical care. They can also be used to guide clinical teams to work more effectively with patients who have complex physical and mental health needs., The Psychiatric Liaison Team work with patients who will have diverse mental health needs. The Psychology work is very varied, including both brief and longer-term interventions. This includes, but is not limited to:

• People who have an existing mental health problem and are currently in hospital with a physical illness
• Those who have been diagnosed with a physical illness and need psychological support to adjust to this
• Individuals with specific older adult related difficulties including fear of falling or dementia
• Individuals who have presented with high-risk behaviours (i.e. a suicide attempt or self-harm) who may be seen in the Emergency Department or be admitted for physical healthcare treatment
• Distress related to a prolonged or difficult intensive care admission
The successful postholder will contribute to the psychological aspects of patient care for the liaison mental health service and will also help to support the Principal Psychologist on service evaluation and improvement, audit, research and policy development to ensure a psychologically informed framework of care for patients. The post holder will be supported and clinically supervised by the Principal Psychologist working within the service. Job Purpose: · To provide a specialist psychology service to adult and older adult in-patients referred to the liaison mental health service and to personally provide clinical input including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes. · To provide brief interventions to individuals waiting for a psychiatric admission in our emergency department · To work with the Principal Psychologist and other liaison service colleagues to build a more psychologically informed liaison service. · To work responsively, flexibly and creatively, in a fast-paced environment and in line with patient and service demands; prioritising the needs of multiple services, including the Emergency Department and inpatient wards. · To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment. · To contribute to the design, planning and implementation of programmes of training on psychological issues for colleagues as appropriate. · To work collaboratively with other colleagues on developing services to support the Emergency Department to manage the needs of frequent attenders more effectively. · To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate. · To undertake service evaluation, audit and research as appropriate. · To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines - or equivalent psychotherapy accreditation body (e.g., BACP, BABCP, UKCP) - and codes of conduct, and guided by principles, policies and procedures of the employing organisation (SLaM) and its partner organisations, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters. · To agree outcomes and results with clinical and professional leads and to decide how they are best achieved., KR 1 Clinical and Client Care · To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients in the liaison mental health service, including developing and delivering psychological interventions tailored to the needs of people living with complex medical and psychosocial problems. · To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required. · To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans. · To offer neuropsychological assessment where appropriate, drawing on specialist supervision. · To provide appropriate psychological interventions to patients presenting to the Emergency Department when required or indicated. · To communicate skilfully and appropriately, highly complex and sensitive information with patients, carers, colleagues in the multi-disciplinary team and other health professionals, taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication. KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning · To contribute to the effective working of the of liaison services and to a psychologically 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 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. 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 the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities. · To participate in the ongoing implementation of new initiatives (e.g. national guidelines) across the liaison mental health service and the adult clinical health psychology speciality. · To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects. 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. KR 5 Management and supervision · To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of an assistant psychologist if required, under supervision from a more senior psychologist. · To supervise trainee applied psychologists / psychotherapists within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Training Course's Supervision Training. KR 6 Teaching and Training · To provide occasional specialist training in psychological approaches to care 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 psychology and the service and by implementing knowledge gained in practice. · 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 undertake regular complex service evaluation, audits or research relevant to service needs. · To contribute to and support 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 psychologist / psychotherapist according to HCPC, or equivalent psychotherapy accreditation body (e.g., BACP, BABCP, UKCP) and Trust guidelines. · To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the HCPC 'Standards for Continuing Professional Development' or equivalent psychotherapy accreditation body (e.g., BACP, BABCP, UKCP) · To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies. · To comply with the HCPC 'Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics' and 'Standards of Proficiency', and ensure professional development in line with these and, or that of the equivalent psychotherapy accreditation body (e.g., the BACP 'Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions'). · To adhere to the BPS's Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures. KR10 General · To travel to sites across the Trust and the area it serves as appropriate and 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 - including those associated with physically unwell patients approaching end of life care - and to support others involved in such situations. · The post holder has a duty of care for their own health, safety and wellbeing and that of work colleagues within the hospital, in addition to any specific risk management or clinical governance accountabilities associated with this post. 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'

Band 7 NHS AfC 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.

We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family. We want you to feel like you are part of a close knit team at SLaM. It's important to us that you valued and appreciated and that are why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offer Some of our benefits are highlighted here: + Generous pay, pensions and leave,we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service. + Work life balance,flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing. + Career development,There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes + Car lease,our staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars + Accommodation,our staff benefits from keyworker housing available which is available on selected sites + NHS discounts,with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website. Other benefits include: + Counselling services + Wellbeing events + Long service awards + Cycle to work scheme + Season ticket loan + Childcare vouchers + Staff restaurants