Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist Development role Band7/8a London, England
Job description
The post holder will be part of a newly established ASD BHR Service providing neurodevelopmental service to clients referred to the ASD pathway. In the second phase of the project the service will expand to provide assessments and intervention of ADHD and Challenging Behaviour. The post holder will be expected to undertake highly specialist neurodevelopmental assessments in order to contribute to the diagnostic process and to formulate areas of strengths and needs based on good practice and evidence in neurodevelopmental assessment and intervention.
Contribute to the diagnostic process and to formulate areas of strengths and needs based on good practice and evidence in neurodevelopmental assessment and intervention. Delivery of neuropsychological rehabilitation and psychological therapy may also be required.
The post holder achieves this by carrying out professionally based duties and responsibilities in the following areas: clinical practice including specialist neurodevelopmental assessment, psychological intervention, service development, work with other agencies, applied research, service evaluation, teaching and training. The post holder will receive regular clinical supervision from a Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist or Principal Clinical Psychologist.
This is Development role from Band 7 to Band 8a with the Service supporting the postholder in developing their clinical and leadership skills to achieve their potential.
1. To provide an efficient, effective, comprehensive and specialist psychological service for children and young people referred for neurodevelopmental assessment and to provide this psychological service to their carers/parents and families.
2. To provide and/or support the provision of evidence based neurodevelopmental and psychological interventions for service users. This will include providing specialist assessment and contributing to multi-disciplinary assessment and treatment of children and young people referred to the ASD service.
3. To undertake a range of highly specialist clinical work, urgent assessment work and parenting support.
4. To carry out professional duties and responsibilities in the following areas: clinical practice, service development, teaching and training, work with other agencies, consultancy and/or applied research and service evaluation.
5. To contribute to service development within the neurodevelopmental assessments and pathway.
6. Support the development of psychological services through the supervision of other qualified psychologists, trainee psychologists, and assistant psychologists.
7. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
8. Line Management and Clinical Supervision of Assistant Psychologists and/or Assistant in the ASD Service.
Salary for band 7 £43,742- £50,056 per annum.
Salary for band 8a £50,952- £57,349 per annum.
Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focusing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
COVID-19 Vaccination
We continue to encourage all staff to ensure that they have been double vaccinated and received their booster. We recognise that taking the vaccine provides the best defence against COVID 19 for our patients, our staff and their families.
Probationary Period
This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
High Cost Area Supplement – London
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (minimum payment of £4,313 and a maximum payment of £5,436 per annum).
Leadership
1. The post holder will provide clinical leadership within the sphere of their professional expertise.
2. To actively promote integrated health/care professional working internally and externally.
3. To facilitate the development of a positive and supportive team culture by taking responsibility for dealing effectively with potential conflict.
4. To take an active interest in working parties and groups within the Trust to develop and improve on service delivery, protocols, and guidelines.
5. To participate in the audit process, linking in with the clinical governance agenda.
6. To advise, encourage and share knowledge utilising the latest research and practice development, through literature and peer reviews.
7. They will ensure that a high quality, timely, accessible, and evidence-based service is available to all service users who need it and who use it across the team.
Clinical Skills
1. To act as an autonomous, registered practitioner who is legally and professionally accountable for own unsupervised actions guided by the professional code of conduct and Trust guidelines and protocols.
2. To undertake specialist assessments of social communication, cognitive and psychological functioning, in order to ascertain suitability for psychological intervention, and to plan appropriate therapeutic and psychosocial interventions based on good practice and evidence.
3. To work alongside other colleagues within ASD service and in the care pathway in order to provide an in-depth comprehensive assessment of the child’s, young person’s, and family’s functioning where there is a constellation of high dysfunction and entrenched difficulties in the family. To clinically lead this process for the neurodevelopmental care pathway within ASD service.
4. To contribute to the development and facilitation of group work.
5. To evaluate the effectiveness of such interventions using proven and established means. To ensure practice is supported by research, evidence-based practice, literature and peer review
6. To work with educational staff, to help provide them with support and education about neurodevelopmental conditions and to increase their understanding and management of behaviours that challenge them.
7. To attend and contribute to case review and clinical meetings to aid the care planning process.
8. To undertake assessments and interventions in a range of settings, including client’s own home or in educational setting where the need is identified.
9. To be responsible, and accountable, for service delivery to clients/patients.
10. To be able to initiate referrals to other health professional specialist services and agencies.
11. Actively participate in clinical supervision
12. Actively participate in management supervision
Computer/Administration
1. To be computer literate and encourage implementation of the Trust’s IM&T Strategy.
2. To ensure accurate recording of actions, and updating patient’s records, maintaining confidentiality at all times.
3. To take part, and assist, in the planning and administration relating to day to day running of the caseload
Communication
1. To have a wide range of knowledge in specialist clinical approaches to communicating and managing patient care.
2. To be able to effectively communicate with colleagues, peers, senior managers and clinical leads with the Trust.
3. To be able to communicate complex patient related information facilitating positive outcomes and ensuring collaborative working.
4. To participate in the review and development of clinical policies and identify improvements to service provision.
5. To provide reports on children and young people for parents, referrers and for other outside agencies, including Social Services and Education Services which describe assessment outcomes in accessible terms and formulate care plan.
6. To participate in regular clinical discussion and reviews of cases in treatment with members of multi-disciplinary team.
7. To present cases to network meetings with professional members of other agencies.
8. To contribute to Educational Health Care planning.
9. To provide psychological and clinical advice to other professionals working within the team.
To be responsible for continually monitoring and evaluating risk to/from children and young people in one’s own caseload and during supervision/consultation discussions
Training
1. To contribute to the training experience of trainee clinical psychologists, trainee therapists and students from other disciplines on placement, as appropriate.
2. To provide extensive and expert clinical supervision as required and extensively within the team.
3. To support new staff and their integration within the team.
4. To be responsible for contributing to the academic and clinical teaching programmes within ASD service.
5. To ensure own continued professional development to maintain the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holder’s professional and service managers.
6. As part of the post the organisation will provide the postholder with trainings relevant for the post, i.e. ADOS training and ADOS reliability, ADI-R training, 3-di training, attachment assessment training (e.g. Story Stem). These trainings will be planned across first 5 years of the postholder employment with the organisation.
7. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local NHS, Social Care and Education policies and issues of relevance to the patient group, particularly safeguarding policies and procedures and NICE guidelines.
8. To undertake mandatory training and workshops.
9. To receive regular clinical and service-related supervision from and appropriate professional within NELFT.
10. To undertake a regular appraisal, developing a personal development plan that includes clinical competencies reflecting the mental health needs of the local population and related to Trust strategy.
If you come and work as part of the NELFT Paediatric Neurodevelopmental team, your knowledge and skills will be valued. Come join NELFT named in 2021 as a ‘Working Families Top Ten Employer’ and Winner at the RIDI Awards for ‘Making a Difference – Public Sector’.
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focusing in
Benefits to the postholder joining the Paediatric ASD service and NELFT will be the offer of the following:
- Structured annual education, training, and development package through several funded clinical and non-clinical courses to support you through own career development and progression in your own career path
- Opportunity to learn and apply the latest research evidence in the field of autism through partnership with the University of Cambridge Autism Research Centre
- Leadership, coaching and mentoring opportunities
- Sideway internal transfer scheme available to open opportunities to gain exposure and a wider breadth of clinical experience
- Flexible and Agile working
- Family friendly policies and procedures
- Substantial number of staff benefits: Cycle scheme; Key Worker Accommodation scheme; staff discounts; Parent & Carer network
- Resources and support to your own health, emotion and wellbeing: KeepingWell Hub; Employee Assistance Programme; Staff support line; Wellbeing Apps; Counselling services; RelateHub access to trained relationship and wellbeing advisor; Optimise Wellbeing tool
- Putting people first
- Prioritising quality
- Being progressive, innovative, and continually improve
- Being professional and honest
- Promoting what is possible – independence, opportunity, and choice
