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Job description

A unique opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and innovative band 7 full-time clinician to work with young people in the borough of Wandsworth who have historically been underrepresented in mainstream services. The role forms part of the CAMHS provision provided into Wandsworth Youth Justice Service (YJS).

The postholder will be joining an established and well-regarded CAMHS team in a role which will contribute to the development and delivery of services that seek to transform mental health delivery for marginalized young people involved in or at risk of coming into contact with the Youth Justice System. The postholder will be supervised by Psychologists within Wandsworth YJS-CAMHS which is overseen by the trust Professional Lead for Youth Justice and Pupil Referral Unit CAMH Services. Wandsworth YJS-CAMHS forms part of a wider provision in the borough which includes CAMHS practitioners based within local Primary and Secondary Pupil referral units.

The service is informed by AMBIT (Adaptive Mentalization Based Integrative Treatment), trauma-informed, systemic and attachment-based principles. The service is also working towards implementing community psychology and co-production concepts into its work. The team also takes a critical approach to addressing ethnic, racial, and social disproportionality within the Youth Justice System.

The team embraces an agile flexible working approach.

The postholder will be working within a multi-disciplinary context to deliver adapted evidence-based care, including direct psychological assessment and treatment for young people and families. This will include cases where there are risks of offending and contextual harm such as child criminal exploitation. These can be complex cases that require engagement and support from several agencies and provide opportunities for creative multi-agency joint working.

Alongside direct clinical work, there will be opportunities to provide consultancy and training to partner agencies such as Pupil Referral Units, the wider Youth Justice Service, Children’s Social Care and Police to embed psychological and trauma informed care. There will also be opportunities to contribute to wider service development and become involved in co-produced projects including a psychology-led team formulation pathway for complex cases within the Youth Justice service and a group intervention programme.

The postholder will also have the opportunity to develop their skills in clinical supervision by supporting the supervision of Trainees, Assistant Psychologists, students and adjacent Youth Justice Professionals.

Candidates will be committed to partnership working, hold excellent communication, engagement and interpersonal skills, and have a passion to work with marginalised young people in Youth Justice and/or Social care contexts.

Wandsworth Youth Justice Service (YJS) is a Local Authority multi-agency service including professionals from partner agencies in health, education and the police. The YJS provides both statutory and non-statutory support for young people in line with the National Protocol for Case Responsibility (2014). YJS-CAMHS manages two embedded pathways within the YJS, helping to support young people subject to out of court disposals and post-court statutory orders (community sentences). The postholder will be joining an experienced and friendly team that embraces multi-agency working and innovation.

Wandsworth YJS-CAMHS forms part of a wider CAMHS offer within South West London and St. Georges NHS Trust that includes Practitioners within local Primary and Secondary Pupil referral Units, Social care, and Merton and Sutton Borough Youth Justice Services. The teams meet for both peer supervision and reflective practice.

About our locations:
The post is based at Wandsworth Youth Offending Team, 177 Blackshaw Road, London SW17 0DJ. The site is adjacent to St. Georges hospital and easily accessible by public (Tooting Broadway station) and private transport.

• To provide specialist clinical/forensic psychology services to children, young people and their families / carers across all sectors of care; providing evidence-based psychological assessment and treatment in line with NICE guidance.
• To carry a caseload and coordinate care for those children, young people and families on the caseload;
• To offer advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care.
• To work within Trust and professional guidelines, to a clear CAMHS job plan.
• To support the departmental clinical governance structure through the provision of clinical supervision and by providing clinical input to supervisees’ PADRs.
• Within supervision, team meetings and other fora, to support and promote the use of measures within the CYP IAPT framework to evolve clinical practice and enhance user experience.
• To seek opportunities to include service user perspectives in how services are delivered.
• To utilise research skills for practice evaluation and service development, as required by the service and set out in the job plan.
• To work with the team manager and clinical lead to lead the work of a particular team or service area.

• Wandsworth YJS is a multi-agency service, requiring good coordination between professionals in order to deliver high quality services to young people with complex needs.
• CAMHS clinicians operating in this environment need to retain a distinct child mental health professional identity, and also work as a cooperative member of a service comprising colleagues with different, but complementary, roles.
• The post holder must retain a strong connection to the Trust’s clinical governance structure, and maintain regular contact via managerial, professional and clinical supervision.
• The primary clinical record, through which the post holder is held accountable, is within CYP IAPTUS. However, information will be shared in accordance with a local information-sharing agreement, and in accordance with Trust policies. This will require additional entry into the YJS system.
• The postholder will be working within a multi-disciplinary context to deliver creative and adapted evidence-based care, including direct psychological assessment and treatment to young people and families. This would include cases where there are risks of contextual harm such as child criminal exploitation. These are often complex cases that require engagement and support from several agencies and provide opportunities for creative multi-agency joint working.
• Alongside direct clinical work, there will be opportunities to provide leadership, consultancy, and training to partner agencies such as Pupil Referral Units, the wider Youth Justice Service, Children’s Social Care and Police to embed psychological and trauma informed care. There will also be opportunities to contribute to policy work, wider service development, and become involved in co-produced projects within the local authority including a psychology-led team formulation pathway for complex cases.
• The postholder will have the opportunity to provide clinical supervision to assistant and Trainee Psychologists.
• The skills of a CAMHS clinician are crucial in the early identification of mental health needs, working with difficult-to-engage young people in order to improve motivation, and the delivery of effective treatments that reduce distress and improve wellbeing.
• In addition, the clinician is expected to contribute to good decision-making, better quality information for decision-makers, and the construction of suitable packages of care that improve young people’s life-chances.