Clinical Health Psychologist

Job summary

We are delighted to offer this 11-month 0.3 wte maternity leave opportunity to lead and deliver aclinical health psychology (CHP) service to children and young people with Sickle Cell disease and Thalassaemia under the Whittington Health (WH) Haemoglobinopathies services. We are looking for an experienced and enthusiastic psychologist who can draw on strong communication and team-working skills to work with MDT colleagues to support children, adolescents and their families in their long-term condition adjustment and self-management. The successful candidate will have extensive post-qualification clinical and consulting experience in the area of physical health care. The postholder will become part of the CHP team, enjoying exciting opportunities for mutual learning, service development and continuing professional development. The CHP and Haematology teams value and celebrate diversity and welcome candidates from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. A key working day is Tuesday in order to join midday team meetings.

Main duties of the job

The postholder will play a pivotal role in shaping the culture of care by supporting a psychologically, trauma-informed approach, working alongside multi-disciplinary colleagues to embed psychological thinking into everyday practice.The post-holder will be able to work independently and flexibly, providing specialist psychological assessment, clinical formulation, cognitive screening and advice, intervention and management recommendations to patients, families and other staff across inpatient, day-patient, outpatient and community settings.

The post involves offering advice and consultation on clients' psychological care to highly skilled non-psychologist colleagues and to other, non-professional carers; working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service's policies and procedures; using research skills for audit, policy and service development and research. The postholder will work closely with the Haematology WH teams to support the Trust's targets of integrated care by mitigating the impact of psychological factors on the course of physical illness and improving wellbeing and adjustment to chronic ill health. The postholder will be supported by clinical and psychology leads in deciding how to prioritize resource during this fixed-term period.

About us

North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) is committed to improving mental health care across North London to deliver excellent services to our local people.Our Five-Year Strategy:

• 1. We will provide consistently high-quality care closer to home.
• 2. With our partners in North London and each borough we will ensure equity of outcome for all
• 3. We will offer great places to work, providing staff with supportive environment to deliver outstanding care.
• 4. We will be more effective as an organisation by pioneering research, quality improvement and technology.

Job responsibilities

1. To provide specialist psychological assessments using interview, formal psychometric, neuropsychological and other assessment methods as appropriate (e.g. WISC with access to Pearson interactive), for clients referred from Whittington Health paediatric Haematology services.

2. To formulate and provide specialist psychological treatment and management plans for referred clients, working with carers and significant others as needed, using a range of evidence-based therapeutic approaches.

3. To manage individual caseload autonomously and professionally.

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

1. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans and to make appropriate referrals onwards as necessary.

1. To devise and deliver group-based interventions, leading in the development and provision of psychoeducational and other groups as needed.

1. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals to assist in the formulation, diagnosis and treatment of clients.

***This is not an exhaustive list, please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information on the role requirements and duties.

Person specification

Qualifications/ Registrations

Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical, counselling psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 2000) as accredited by the HCPC.
• Current registration with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) as a clinical or counselling psychologist.

Experience/ Knowledge

Essential

• Completion of substantial post-doctoral post-qualification supervised psychology experience working with people living with physical health problems
• Experience of the application of clinical/counselling psychology to support self-management skills for those living with physical health problems
• Experience of working as a psychologist within a physical health multi-disciplinary team in the NHS.
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children and young people who are struggling with physical health conditions

Desirable

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients who are struggling with haematology conditions
• Experience of facilitating groups within a physical health NHS context
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children and young people who are struggling with haematology conditions

Skills and abilities

Essential

• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Interest and ability to contribute to service development
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups with regard to chronic/acute physical health condition management

Desirable

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies e.g. advanced level training in CBT, ACT, CFT narrative and/or systemic therapy