Senior Psychological Therapist - HMP Downview

1. · To work as a key member of the multi-disciplinary team, supporting a psychological and trauma informed service to the women at HMP Downview and leading the on the psychological therapy provision within the team.
· To provide specialist psychological assessment and therapy as well as offering advice and consultation on service users' psychological care to other members of the clinical team.
· To utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the Health & Justice Services Directorate.
· To provide clinical supervision to the team's psychological therapists, Assistant Psychologists and trainees and other members of the team when appropriate.
· To contribute to the reflective practice and critical thinking of the team on a case-by-case basis (e.g. complex case reviews) and in service improvement.
· To work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service's policies and procedures., + To carry out specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the service, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care, in order to reach a psychological formulation of the client's difficulties.
+ To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client's mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client's problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
+ To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
+ To provide specialist assessments of clients presenting with cognitive impairment due to a variety of causes or organic conditions, including pre-assessment counselling and neuropsychological and functional assessments, and to be able to adjust psychological interventions to work effectively with people presenting with complex needs due to cognitive impairment and organic disorders.
+ To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
+ To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients' formulations, diagnoses and treatment plans.
+ To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.
+ To undertake risk assessment, formulation and management for individual clients with complex presentations and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment, formulation and management.
+ To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.
+ To promote and participate in multi-disciplinary team working, development and liaison.
+ To promote actively, user and carer involvement in care planning and service development.
+ To be up to date with both de-escalation, physical breakaway and PMVA techniques appropriate to the service environment.
Teaching, Training, and Supervision:
+ To receive and provide regular clinical professional supervision.
+ To gain additional highly specialist experience and skills relevant to applied psychology, in line with a professional development plan and in keeping with service needs (as agreed with the professional lead).
+ To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other team members' psychological work as appropriate.
+ To provide clinical placements for trainee clinical psychologists, ensuring that trainees acquire the necessary skills, competencies and experience to contribute effectively to client care and to contribute to the assessment and evaluation of such competencies.
+ To provide professional and clinical supervision of trainee and assistant applied psychologists, as well as more junior qualified psychologists, psychological therapists and counsellors.
+ To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of applied psychology and psychological therapy, as appropriate.
+ To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.
Management, Leadership, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development:
+ To participate as a clinician in identifying and implementing the development of a high quality, responsible and accessible service, in consultation with the team manager and supervisor.
+ To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team's operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
+ To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
+ To contribute psychological knowledge and expertise to policy and service development through participation, where practical, in regional multidisciplinary meetings and special interest groups, working parties etc that may impact on the functioning of the service.
+ To participate in the management of psychological resources available to the team, in the form of psychological materials employed in the assessment and treatment of service users.
+ To manage the workloads of assistant and trainee applied psychologists, within the framework of the team/service's policies and procedures.
+ To be involved, as appropriate, in the short listing and interviewing of assistant / graduate psychologists and other staff as appropriate.
+ To provide effective leadership and management to staff which promotes high performance standards both individually and as a team, in the achievement of the Trust's objectives and priorities. The Trust's success will be dependent on all managers playing an active role to make sure the existing areas of good employment practice are universally embedded within the organisation.
+ Promote equality, diversity and rights, and treat others with dignity and respect ensuring services are developed, managed and delivered to meet specific needs linked to protected characteristics.
+ Promote equality, diversity and Human Rights in working practices by developing and maintaining positive working relationships, ensuring that colleagues are treated fairly and contributing to developing equality of opportunity and outcomes in working practices.
+ Contribute to developing and maintaining equality of opportunity in working practices by complying with legislation and organisational policies. Advise colleagues about equality, diversity and human rights policies and procedures and ensure they are followed.
+ Ensure that colleagues are treated fairly. Behave in a non-discriminatory way and challenge the discriminatory behaviour of others. Be supportive of colleagues or service users who wish to raise issues about discriminatory practice or experience.
Research and Service Evaluation:
+ To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
+ To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.
+ To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.
General:
+ To ensure professional registration is maintained, complying with Continuing Professional Development requirements to maintain registration.
+ To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and where appropriate, external CPD training and development programmes.
+ To ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology within the service area and contribute across the service by exercising the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of applied psychology and related disciplines.
+ Maintain an individual professional profile within the care group as direct evidence of clinical practice at an advanced level. Disseminate good practice through National and International Conference Presentations and preparing relevant material for publication in appropriate professional journals.
+ To contribute to the development of an open learning culture within the organisation, which supports clinical governance, innovation, and the provision of safe and effective services, in line with broad government and Department of Health policies to tackle inequalities, improve public services and promote social inclusion, which involves users and staff and values learning.
+ To participate fully in the Trust's performance review and personal development planning process on an annual basis.
+ To maintain and promulgate the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society, Health and Care Professions Council and Trust policies and procedures.
+ To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health.
+ To work within agreed Trust policies and guidelines including adult and child protection guidelines and including health and safety regulations and policies.
+ To receive instructions from, and carry out any other duties as reasonably requested/ delegated by the Team manager and Psychology Lead.
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London's population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

In our quest to deliver patient-focused quality care we are looking to recruit a highly motivated, innovative and enthusiastic Senior Psychologist to join our forward thinking, friendly and expanding Mental Health Inreach Team at HMP Downview.
We are keen to recruit someone with a passion for working with women in custody, and those who have experienced trauma, adversity and offending. In our women's services we provided a wide range of therapies (CBT, MBT, EMDR, Psychodynamic counselling, arts therapies) and actively work with partners to provide timely and trauma informed systems of care. You will be helping provide and develop these services at HMP Downview.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is a Top Employer Award Winner and works in partnership to provide responsive and dependable primary care, mental health, intellectual disability and substance misuse services to the diverse and culturally rich communities we serve.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. See attached Staff Reward and Wellbeing Handbook detailing our benefits, discounts and wellbeing initiatives for staff.
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.
Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.
If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.