Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Lead Clinical Psychologist
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Job Overview
Are you an experienced clinician looking for a new challenge and the opportunity to join a service at a time of exciting change?
We are inviting applications for an experienced Clinical or Counselling Psychologist for the role of Brent Lead for Older Adults Psychology. This role provides professional and clinical leadership for psychological provision for older people with mental health needs across the London borough of Brent. Brent Older People's mental health services deliver care through an Older People's CMHT and Home Treatment Service, Dementia Diagnostic Memory Service, Community Frailty Mental Health intensive support services and acute inpatient care settings.
Main duties of the job
We are seeking an experienced and motivated psychologist to join our operational and clinical leadership team and lead the safe, effective and well-governed delivery of psychological care within Brent Older Adult Mental Health Services. You will bring experience of multidisciplinary mental health teams, a commitment to quality and safety, and a passion for improving outcomes for older people.
The post holder will provide professional leadership for psychology across Brent, ensuring a high-quality, evidence-based service and effective systems for supervision, appraisal, recruitment and CPD. You will work autonomously within professional guidelines and provide specialist advice and consultation.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading audit, research and service development
- Contributing to policy development and implementation
- Working closely with the CNWL OPHA Lead Psychologist to develop Older Adult Psychology across the directorate
This Band 8b role offers opportunities to contribute to Trust-wide projects, provide regional consultancy and support colleagues across specialities. You will also have opportunities to develop leadership and clinical expertise through CPD.
We offer the opportunity to join a committed and supportive team, with excellent professional and career development opportunities within Brent and across CNWL. We are committed to a safe, inclusive and fair working environment.
Working for our organisation
About Us
Brent is a diverse and rewarding borough to work in, with strong partnerships across health, social care and the voluntary sector. We have a strong culture of service improvement, with opportunities to develop Quality Improvement skills, participate in research, reflective practice and professional development.
You will join an established network of psychologists working with older people across five London boroughs, with regular professional and clinical development meetings and opportunities to develop across all levels of experience. CNWL is committed to investing in staff through profession-specific and Trust-wide CPD, wellbeing initiatives and staff networks.
We welcome applications from people with experience of the diverse communities we serve, as we are committed to developing a psychology workforce that reflects our local population. The successful candidate will be supported to develop their career and flourish as a valued member of the psychology team.
Work Environment
Based at Fairfields House in Brent, the post holder will provide professional leadership and clinical services across the Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) and Dementia Diagnostic Memory Service, working as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide assessment and psychological interventions for older people.
The role includes home visits where clinically indicated and travel to other CNWL sites for meetings and professional activities.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
Key Responsibilities:
KR 1 Clinical and Client Care
- To develop, co-ordinate and ensure the systematic provision of a highly specialist psychology service to Older People’s Community Mental Health and Dementia Diagnostic Memory Service.
- To provide highly specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients in the services including for assessing/working with frailty, severe and enduring mental health, neurodegenerative conditions, brain injury etc. at levels expected of a psychologist who has achieved the equivalent of a DClinPsy in Clinical Psychology and/or further post-qualification specialist development.
- 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.
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KR 2 Responsibilities for team or service clinical functioning
- To co-ordinate (and chair) meetings for Older Adult’s Services to ensure effective functioning and review procedures, when appropriate.
- To take a lead in ensuring a psychologically informed framework for the services within and associated with The Brent Older Adult Mental Health Services.
- To take a lead in developing 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/offer consultation 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.
- To identify any aspects of the service which could be improved and propose changes to practices or procedures that affect the service and may also affect other services.
- To initiate and implement service development projects, as agreed with clinical/professional lead.
- To participate in the ongoing implementation of new initiatives (e.g. national guidelines) across relevant services.
- To lead the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.
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 provide clinical leadership to more junior psychologists, psychotherapists and other professionals, as appropriate.
- To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of more junior psychologists.
- To supervise trainee applied psychologists within own area of specialism.
- To contribute to the appraisal of more junior psychologists, as appropriate.
- To contribute to the recruitment of more junior psychologists, as appropriate.
KR 6 Teaching and Training
- To undertake occasional teaching and training of pre and post- qualification psychologists and specialised training to other professions as appropriate e.g. team CPD, care home staff etc.
- To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the Older Adult’s CMHT and Dementia Diagnostic Memory Service by maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychology, older people’s mental health and dementia assessment 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 ensure the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry, in those parts of the service for which the post-holder has leadership responsibility.
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KR 8 Research and development
- To initiate, undertake, support and supervise regular complex service evaluation and audits
- To initiate and carry out appropriate research
- To provide expertise in a specialist research area which will contribute to the service.
- To initiate and implement 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 according to HCPC 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’.
- 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.
- To adhere to the BPS’s Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.
- To ensure that all psychology and psychotherapy staff for whom the post-holder has leadership responsibility, maintain professional standards and continuing professional development.
KR 10 General
- To travel to home visits, community placements, psychology meetings) as appropriate and across the Trust 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 and to support others involved in such situations.
Person specification
Training & Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration
- Specifically, training in models of clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental Psychology.
Desirable criteria
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
- Membership of the BPS / ACP.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Substantial experience of working as a qualified clinical or counselling psychologist in older adult mental health services, including significant experience of working at a Senior Psychologist level.
- Experience of supporting the leadership of a team of psychologists
- Experience of working with a wide variety of service user groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings 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 exercising full clinical responsibility for service users’ psychological care and treatment within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan
- Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
- Experience of the application of psychology in different sociocultural contexts and working within a multicultural framework.
Desirable criteria
- Record of publications in
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