Specialist Clinical Psychologist

We are seeking an enthusiastic psychologist passionate about improving the quality of care and support we deliver to people with mental health problems & learning disabilities. You will be thoughtful and resilient in the way you work in a multidisciplinary staff team within a busy learning disability health care setting with exciting challenges. You will be interested in working with external partners to develop supportive networks and have energy, drive and enthusiasm for working with complex and challenging cases which require clear communication across agencies.
You will be expected to provide psychological assessments and interventions with people who have a learning disability and mental health problems and/or behavioural difficulties, accross a variety of community settings, with individuals, groups, families and staff teams.
You will be part of a service that strives for clinical excellence and aims to support its staff to feel valued, provides opportunities for training and development and encourages active participation relevant service developments.
Career Progression pathways and development opportunities:
We are committed to get the very best out of our staff and support staff in their career aspirations. We offer in service training and development in Positive Behaviour Support approaches, systemic interventions and reflective practice within a diversity and difference framework., You will have excellent written and spoken communication skills, an ability to work sensitively and thoughtfully with service users and their carers often around challenging and complex presentations. You should be flexible in your approaches to problem solving, be creative and be ready to embrace challenges and enjoy working as part of a team.
+ Providing specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions across a range of community settings.
+ Contributing to psychologically based thinking to enhance understanding and care of all clients of the service, across all settings.
+ Actively contributing to client care through team meetings, multidisciplinary supervision, network meetings and other interagency and professional meetings.
+ Effectively manage an identified caseload.
+ Communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients.
+ Work closely with MDT colleagues to enhance care and manage risk.
+ Contribute to WLDHT service development, including attending meetings and providing training.
+ Take an active role in psychology service developments.
+ Use opportunities for reflective practice through supervision.
+ Contribute to the supervision of assistant psychologists.
+ Contribute to specialist assessments, such as cognitive, dementia, and ASD.
+ Deliver PBS based interventions to enhance the quality of service users lives., The post holder will work alongside a team of psychologists providing specialist clinical psychology services to adults with learning disabilities, including those with mental health needs, ASD and challenging behaviour. The post holder will be part of a caring and supportive psychology service, with qualified clinicians, a behaviour specialist and assistant psychologists.
Applicants will be required to work autonomously and within professional guidelines whilst providing specialist psychological assessment and therapy to clients. This will involve undertaking direct assessment and intervention with the client or indirect assessment, monitoring and intervention with staff or carers.
The post holder will work closely with MDT colleagues (including psychiatry, behavioural specialist, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and dietetics) through MDT meetings and multidisciplinary supervision. This will include sharing formulations to enhance psychologically based care and managing risk.
The psychology service provides specialist assessments (ASD and dementia) as well as specialist interventions
The post holder will work across a variety of settings, including family homes, colleges and day services. The post requires an ability to work closely with their professional colleges, both within the team and with outside agencies. other agencies, such as social care.
The post holder will provide consultation and advice to other health colleagues (including inpatient services), sharing specialist learning disability knowledge.
The post holder will have opportunities to provide training to the team through our shared learning events and contribute to the Trust wide PBS training.
The post holder will be encouraged to contribute to the development of the psychology service and wider team.
The post holder will have opportunities to develop heir knowledge of specialist assessments (including ASD and dementia assessments) and interventions (including PBS based interventions, systemically informed interventions and interventions for trauma).
At South West London St Georges Mental Health Trust we are committed to providing services which embrace diversity and that promote equality of opportunity. We are a Disability Committed Employer, and welcome applications from all sections of the community and people of all protected characteristics. We are Members of Stonewall Diversity Champions and Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion.
As part of the Trust's commitment to Equalities and Diversity, the Trust supports the establishment of Staff Networks groups to promote diversity in the workplace:
+ BME (Evolve) Staff Network
+ Christian Staff Network
+ DiverseAbility
+ Deaf Staff Network
+ Mental Health Staff Forum
+ Women's Staff Network
+ LGBTQIA+
We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and has signed the Armed Forces Covenant.
We provide reasonable adjustments to the interview process for any candidates with a disability.
Please note:
+ That the closing date listed is a guide only and that the vacancy may close earlier should sufficient number of applicants have been received
+ That once you have submitted your application you agree to your application being transferred to a 3^rd party e-recruitment system
+ 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 West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust to confirm your previous NHS service via an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) process
+ That your employment is offered subject to successful completion of a Probationary Period depending on your Band (except medical roles)
+ That we are a smoke-free Trust

NHS Afc: Band 7
South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We provide a full range of local mental health services to the Kingston, Merton, Richmond, Sutton and Wandsworth London boroughs, as well as specialist forensic mental health services, including specialised services such as national deaf adults and CAMHS inpatients and OCD.
We are committed to providing high quality integrated health and social care for local people with mental health problems in South West London and more specialist mental health services for people throughout the UK. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' however we aim to be 'outstanding'.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values; being consistent, compassionate, collaborative, respectful and open is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is "making life better together".
When you join us, you'll be part of something special - an innovative and rapidly growing organisation that is helping to redefine the Mental Health, education and social care landscape in the UK.
As a Trust, we are happy to talk flexible working., We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as 'good' - we aspire to be 'outstanding'.
This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services.
We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Come and join our inclusive teams and help our patients on their recovery journey.
About our locations:
The Wandsworth Learning Disability Healthcare Team is based in Balham, a busy, vibrant part of Southwest London with excellent transport links, easy access to local shopping centres and the fantastic open spaces of Wandsworth and Tooting commons. The team also works with inpatient services at Springfield University Hospital, Tooting.