The post holder will carry a clinical caseload and contribute to and provide highly specialist assessment, formulation and interventions to clients using a stepped care model in line with the national programme and latest NICE guidance for psychological interventions. Postholders will have had extensive experience of working across Mental Health Services with a range of client groups with moderate as well as complex severe and enduring mental health problems. As step 2 lead, the postholder will oversee management of the step 2 PWP team.

The post holder will receive regular clinical and managerial supervision and support and join other senior clinicians within the service. There are also wider links with other Talking Therapies services within CNWL Foundation Trust and the Trust-wide clinical psychology services. We have good links with and have trainees from all the Regional training courses and there would be opportunities to mentor and supervise High Intensity Trainees.

The Service

Westminster Talking Therapies is a long-established service with a reputation for excellence and great staff retention. We provide Low intensity and High Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapies alongside a Counselling service provided by our partners, Mind. Based in the very heart of London, the service has offices in Paddington and Victoria with GP partner sites across an exciting and vibrant Borough.

The Service is currently offering a combination of face-to-face and remote working (delivered either via home working or from our office base).

The team consistently meets its Key Performance targets and we actively embrace innovative, creative ideas and projects to meet the everchanging demands and dynamics of a hugely diverse local population. We are constantly seeking to improve and make our service a first-class resource for Westminster and a great place to work, with a mixture of clear operational structures, open access, and a highly skilled and fulfilled team.

The service is well subscribed to and has good systems in place to manage incoming referrals and waiting lists. National and CCG targets on waiting times, patients entering treatment and recovery have been met regularly and consistently. Staff have regular clinical supervision. Training and development are emphasised, and staff wellbeing and team working are given high priority.

Person specification

Training And Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or equivalent), including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, as accredited by the BPS, or Doctoral level training in counselling psychology (or equivalent - masters level plus completed post qualification training).
• OR Post-qualification training in Cognitive Behavioural Treatment (CBT) recognized as leading to accreditation.
• HCPC registration, if a practitioner psychologist.
• Applicant must be fully accredited with the BABCP.

Desirable criteria

• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
• Post-qualification training in specialized areas of CBT provision e.g working in perinatal mental health, with long-term medical conditions or with older adults.
• IAPT LTC Training.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Substantial post qualification experience of working within an IAPT service as a qualified high intensity therapist.
• Experience of operational management and service development within an IAPT service.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across a range of physical and mental health conditions and across care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of working in adult mental health services.
• Experience of interdisciplinary working within the NHS.
• Demonstrate further specialist training/experience through having received a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a specialist clinical or counselling psychologist.
• Experience of supervising trainees within a clinical health service.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision of staff from a range of clinical backgrounds.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of organizing services to meet commissioning targets and operational objectives.
• Experience of the application of CBT to different cultural contexts.
• Experience of carrying out psychometric assessments.
• Experience of working with people with long-term physical health conditions.
• Experience of working in perinatal mental health.
• Experience of working with older adults.

Other

Essential criteria

• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.