Trainee Counselling Psychologist

We have an opportunity for a 12 month fixed term contract for a Trainee Counselling Psychologist to work in our Community Mental Health Services in Ampthill. This opportunity is for someone who is currently enrolled on a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology programme and in their final year of this training - you must state that this is the case clearly in your application. We will also expect good theoretical knowledge of CBT approaches and and experience of delivering CBT assessment, formulation and treatment for people with severe mental health difficulties. A willingness to engage in regular supervision with our Principal Psychologist will also be required., The post holder will work under supervision of a qualified Psychologist to provide specialist psychological input to secondary mental health services. This includes provision of psychological assessments, psychological formulations and delivery of psychological interventions to service users.
Service users seen by the post holder will include people who have experienced high levels of distress and complex mental health difficulties. Service users may present with a high level of risk to
both themselves and sometimes to other people. Assessments and interventions will be primarily delivered within the CMHT setting and occasional delivery of services in community-based settings as required.
The post holder will be concurrently undertaking a programme of training described in the associated Person Specification, and must be making satisfactory progress in this training to be able to work as a trainee therapist at the same time. Under supervision of a qualified Psychologist, the post holder will also provide consultation to the multi-disciplinary community team and support in the development of care plans for service users, and contribute to service development initiatives, audit and research. With guidance from their supervisor and the Psychology Lead, the post holder will meet and liaise closely with Psychologists
and psychological therapists working in other teams to develop and maintain a high standard of professional practice across the service.
Assessments and interventions will be delivered at a variety of sites around the area and the post holder will be expected to travel and provide services at a variety of sites.
Making Things Better
Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don't stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.
We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.
Our Community
We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We also provide psychological therapy services to the London Borough of Richmond, and provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London. We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.
Aiming High
We were rated 'Outstanding' by the CQC in 2016, were proud to be rated 'Outstanding' again in 2018 and continue to be rate 'Outstanding' in 2021.. We were named in the HSJ's Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.
Staff and Service Users United
We strive to ensure that staff feel valued by the Trust and as they are truly pivotal in delivering better outcomes for our patients and service users. Our aspiration is to help to make ELFT the best place to work. This Trust is clinician-led and provides the highest possible level of clinical expertise throughout its services. We pride ourselves on our service user involvement. A service user will be on your assessment centre and interview panel if you are invited to meet us.
We especially welcome people with lived experience of health difficulties, with insight and understanding of different backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles in our population as we believe that this will equip staff to deliver a high standard of care to our service users and patients.
Diversity
ELFT Is committed to being a diverse organisation and our workforce is reflective of the population and communities we serve. We believe that having colleagues with a range of backgrounds and life experiences enriches and adds value to the outcomes we have set out to achieve. Having partnered and endorsed by organisations who are representative and experts in various areas of equality and diversity, we can ensure we are meeting the pre-set standards all the way from recruitment stage throughout the career journey of our employees by being accessible, having fair inclusive practices and a host of staff networks to support, nurture and celebrate our valued staff in the workplace.
Other reasons to apply
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's job share, part time or another flexible pattern.
As part of the relocation scheme we presently have, the Trust could support you with offering up to £10,000 for removal and associated expenses. This is subject to change and terms and conditions apply.

The post-holder will provide specialist evidence-based assessment, formulation and intervention under supervision for people with a range of complex mental health needs, including individual, couple/family and group interventions. They will possess an enthusiasm for multidisciplinary team working and the skills to help steer the team towards psychological understandings of their clients and the development of psychologically-informed and trauma-informed services. The successful candidate will therefore have knowledge and skills in psychological assessment, formulation and intervention, demonstrating awareness and experience of working with people with psychosis and complex mental health issues.
Applicants should have excellent interpersonal skills, clinical and research and IT skills, and be keen to work flexibly and in a variety of settings. They will possess an enthusiasm for multidisciplinary team working and possess the skills to help steer the team towards a psychological understanding of their clients and the development of psychologically informed services.
Regular specialist supervision will be provided.

ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations., Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.