Job summary
- Main area
- Clinical Associate Psychology - CAPS
- Grade
- Band 6
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 222-LS-OPMHS-187
- Employer
- West London NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- H&F SOAMHS
- Town
- Hammersmith
- Salary
- £44,806 - £53,134 per annum inclusive of 20% HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 04/11/2024 23:59
- Interview date
- 14/11/2024
Employer heading
Clinical Associate Psychology - CAPS
Band 6
West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
Job overview
We are looking for a warm and enthusiastic Clinical Associate Psychologist (CAP) to join our developing Specialist Older People’s Mental Health Service (SOAMHS). You will be involved in the development of the psychology input for SOAMHS in Hammersmith & Fulham alongside senior psychology colleagues and other members of the multi-disciplinary teams
There is a huge variety of work within this role across the whole range of mental health problems and you will play a key part in enabling the more therapeutic nature of support throughout the service as well as providing clinical interventions. The teams are small so you will be working with the whole range of mental health problems. You will provide groups and individual therapy for people within the service as well as for their carers/families where indicated alongside other team members. The team includes Clinical and Counselling psychologists who will offer supervision.
Main duties of the job
You will have an important role in promoting psychological thinking within the team and the wider system around the patient through consultation and collaboration with partner agencies. We will also look to support outreach within a wide range of community resources and organisations. As the service is new, it is likely that it will change in response to the needs that are identified within the community, so you will need to be flexible in your thinking and approach to patient care.
The London boroughs of Hounslow, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham are culturally highly diverse and there is a real commitment to meet the needs of the communities we serve. We do this by ensuring we remain curious about the cultures in which people live and by ensuring we use approaches that are sensitive to people’s origins and life experiences. We welcome team members from the communities we serve who can be very helpful in helping understand the cultural background of the people we see.
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ over 5,000 staff, of whom 59% are BME. Our turnover for 2024-25 is over £500m.
The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential criteria
- MSc in Clinical Associate Psychology
- Registration with the Health and Care Professions Council.
Desirable criteria
- Other related academic qualifications.
- Evidence of additional training in psychological therapy techniques.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Work with client groups with serious mental health problems: mental health care and/or working with carers and/or delivering therapeutic group interventions and/or working in MDTs and/or audit, evaluation or research
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working with older people
- Work with voluntary organisations
- Work with people with complex emotional needs (personality disorder)
- Conducting service related research
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- The ability to apply formulations to presenting problems
- Basic understanding of mental health issues and approaches to treatment and intervention
- Basic understanding of health care systems and structures: staffing, roles and responsibilities, the role of hospitals, primary care and community care
- Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the client group
- Awareness of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health
- Ability to draw upon a specific theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of facts or situations to arrive at appropriate formulations, under clinical supervision
- To nurture and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders
- Demonstrate excellent interpersonal, communication and active listening skills with service users, carers, staff and community partners
- Contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others
- Manage effectively exposure to distressing/highly emotional circumstances
- Manage effectively verbal aggression from service users, families, etc. and the risk of physical aggression
- Respectful and collaborative approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals
- Ability to use supervision appropriately and effectively
- Implement appropriate psychological assessment and interventions relevant to the client group
- Provide & receive sensitive information in a highly emotive and sometimes hostile atmosphere, in a defined setting
- Being able to work flexibly across local environments
- Concentrate intensely for a substantial proportion of working time, during client contact, teaching/supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc.
- Use IT packages – word processing, e-mail and internet, SPSS, Excel
Desirable criteria
- Able to speak other languages present in local communities such as Hindi, Punjabi or Polish.
- Graduate level knowledge of research design and methodology
- Strong ability to engage with a variety of services and community partners and stakeholders, and to expand existing networks
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria
- Warm, friendly, approachable
- Flexible approach
- Able to work seamlessly with other professional groups
- Ability to be empathetic
- Keen to learn new skills and to share learning with others
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Helen Stirk
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist,
- Email address
- [email protected]
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