Job summary
We are pleased to be advertising this full-time, Band 7 Practitioner Psychologist post within Co-occurring Mental Health and Addictions Rehabilitation Team (COMHART). This post offers the opportunity to join a friendly team of committed practitioners and clinicians and to work - and hold hope - with people with severe and enduring mental health problems (typically across the psychosis-spectrum) and co-occurring substance use.
An important part of the role would be to provide carers and family input, in addition to 1:1 and group interventions for patients within the rehabilitation units. There will be opportunities to provide teaching and consultation to staff working within one of the 6 rehabilitation sites covered by COMHART.
The postholder will be joining a team consisting of a 0.6 WTE Consultant Clinical Psychologist/Service Lead and 4.0 WTE Band 5 Higher Assistant Psychologists that provide direct and indirect input across the rehabilitation wards.
A commitment to holding in mind a patient's and/or their social network's cultural context is essential working within the service. We welcome applicants with experience in working with a diverse population and a desire to reach out to under-represented groups.
Main duties of the job
o To provide initial psychosocial assessments to patients admitted to the mental health inpatient rehabilitation units across the SLP footprint.o To provide 1:1 psychological input to patients, in addition to carers and/or family input.o To take a lead role in supporting the development of carers and family support provided by the wider team.o To provide day to day support and/or clinical supervision for some of the Band 5 Assistant Psychologists embedded in the SLP units.o To provide training and/or consultation to rehabilitation staff across the units.o To take an active role in service development, ensuring that we are working as efficiently and effectively as possible.
About us
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness.
SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, we provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field. In addition, our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.
Job description
Job responsibilities
To operate as a practitioner psychologist within COMHART, which provides in-reach additions input to patients under the care of the 6 SLP rehabilitation wards. The role will involve delivering one-to-one, group, carer, family and network-based psychological input, in addition to indirect working. The candidate will be expected to travel across the sites as needed.
The rehabilitation units include:
- Barefoot Lodge (provided by Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust)
- Heather Close, Westways and Tony Hillis Unit (provided by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust)
- Burntwood Villas and Phoenix Unit (provided by South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust)
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Doctorate or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration as a Clinical/Counselling/Health/Forensic Psychologist
Desirable
- Formal training in the 5 Step Method
- Family Intervention training e.g. Meriden Behavioural Family Therapy, Family Intervention in psychosis
- Systemic family therapy or Open Dialogue training
- Training in Motivational interviewing and/or addictions interventions.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in inpatient settings and/or addictions services
- Experience of receiving clinical supervision across a range of client needs.
- Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience.
- Experience of developing and carrying out research projects.
- Experience of working therapeutically with carers and/or families.
Desirable
- Experience of working in a role where there is a focus on co-occurring mental health problems and substance use as a key part of work
- Experience of providing family interventions/therapy to families affected by psychosis, bipolar presentations and/or problematic substance use.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
- Experience of supervising assistant psychologists and/or students on clinical placement.
- Experience of facilitating team formulation meetings within MDT settings.
Knowledge
Essential
- Theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the treatment of problematic substance use and/or severe and enduring mental health problems.
- Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis.
- Knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics.
Desirable
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of psychological interventions in dual diagnosis patient groups.
- Knowledge of practice adaptations in the context of autism and other forms of neurodivergence.
Skills
Essential
- To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
- To engage patients and families from diverse cultural backgrounds in psychological therapy and/or carer interventions.
- To plan allocation of tasks to assistant psychologists.
- To be skilled in the administration of psychometric and neuropsychological tests, including those that require complex manipulation of test materials
- Well-developed IT skills including entry and analysis of research data.
Desirable
- To work effectively within a team working across different sites, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
- To provide teaching and training to other professional groups.
- To provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- To use the Power Threat Meaning Framework within practice, particularly with respect to facilitating team formulation meetings.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Various sites across South London
London
SW9 9NU
United Kingdom
Employer's website
https://www.slam.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)
This listing was aggregated from publicly-available sources. The employer holds an A-rated sponsor licence at the time of this listing, but sponsorship of this specific role is not guaranteed — the employer's offer and UK Visas and Immigration are the final authority. Details may have changed since our last update — verify with the employer via the Apply link.