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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide psychological assessments of clients referred to CYPMHS based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and 
indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client’s care. 

To consult with colleagues and to support them in the formulation and implementation of plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

To be responsible for implementing a range of interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis. 

To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family, or group.

To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to client formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.

To actively undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice and liaise with other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management. To participate in multi-disciplinary and multi-agency risk assessment in complex service networks.

To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the clients personalised needs in terms of mental health and possible co-occurring problems within the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

To take supervisory responsibility for assistant clinical psychologists.

To manage the workloads of assistant clinical psychologists, within the framework of the team/service’s policies and procedures.

To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.

To provide professional and clinical supervision of assistant clinical psychologists.

To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical and/or counselling psychology and other disciplines, as appropriate, including the supervision of clinical psychologists in training.

To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the team’s operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.

To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

To initiate and undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.

To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of CYPMHS operational policies and services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit. 

To lead relevant research activity within the service line as required by the service.

To develop research bids and coordinate applications for the research funding, as required by the service.

To establish and maintain research partnerships with relevant internal and external individuals and groups.

To foster and inspire innovative ideas and developments aimed at enhancing the experience of service users and carers and support their development through research and/or project management methodology.

To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within the service to help develop service provision.

To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.

To be involved, as appropriate, in the short listing and interviewing of assistant / graduate psychologists, and of team members from other professions, where appropriate.

To exercise delegated responsibility for managing the psychological resources available to the team, in the form of psychological materials employed in the assessment and treatment of clients; and to assist in clinically related administration, conduct of audits, collection of statistics, 
development of audit and/or research projects, training and project work.

To contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care, including contributing to the organisation of training seminars and conferences for others.

To maintain up to date knowledge of clinical and policy related best practice and new developments in the field of personality disorder. 

To manage information resources relating to this and ensure their wide availability, working closely with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust knowledge, services and relevant external partners.

To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of service users.

To contribute to the development of systems to support, mentor and supervise service users working in the service.

To be engaged and participate in the future development of CYPMHS and promote a culture of continuous service improvement.

To help develop effective clinical pathways for children and young people with complex needs within the Trust’s Community Division and the wider health and social care community across Merseyside, Cheshire and Wirral.