Psychological Therapist - Perinatal Services inEngland inEngland PUBLISHED SUN 19 JAN 2025

Job Overview

Following recent investment targeted to increase the psychological workforce across the South Staffordshire Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Service, an exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced Psychological Therapist to join an established network of psychological professionals.

You will form a key part of the MDT and contribute clinical time to both the perinatal and maternal mental health (Lotus) pathways of the service delivering evidenced-based psychological treatment to clients with moderate to severe mental health difficulties within the perinatal period (from positive pregnancy test up until 2 years postnatal) or families who are experiencing mental health difficulties arising from, or directly related to, their maternity experience.

You will be joining a friendly and supportive group of Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Psychologists working across MPFT Perinatal Services. The psychology team have close connections with other psychological professionals within the Children and Families care group, the Lighthouse Maternal Mental Health Service within the Shropshire care group, and Perinatal and Lotus Maternal Mental Health Services in North Staffordshire.

Main duties of the job

The South Staffordshire Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Service are a part of MPFT Perinatal Services which includes Brockington Parent and Baby Unit and Shropshire Community Perinatal Mental Health Team. There are close working relationships across all Perinatal Services.

We are looking for an accredited Psychological Therapist with a core profession and at least one model of psychological therapy to provide psychological assessment and individual or group-based interventions to women and their families accessing the service. You will join an experienced MDT, including other psychological professionals, where the provision of psychological therapies is expanding in line with the NHS Long Term Plan.

The post holder will provide support, supervision and guidance to less experienced team members, supporting their work in evidence based individual therapy, and their provision of group programmes based on psychological principles.

Working for our organisation

By joining Team MPFT, you will be helping your communities and in return for this, we will support you by

• Supporting your career development and progression.
• Excellent NHS Pension scheme
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption leave
• Options for flexible working
• Up to 27 days annual leave (increasing with service up to 33 days) and the opportunity to purchase additional annual leave.
• Extensive Health and Wellbeing support and resources
• If you work in our community teams, we pay for your time travelling between patients.
• Lease car if you complete more than 500 business miles per annum, fully insured and maintained (including tyres), mileage paid at lease car rate
• Salary sacrifice car – fully insured and maintained (including tyres), your gross pay is reduced by the cost of the vehicle before tax, NI and pension deductions are calculated, mileage paid at business rates
• Salary sacrifice bikes up to £2k
• Free car parking at all trust sites
• Free flu vaccination every year
  
  

Please note this vacancy may close early if we receive a high volume of applications for the role.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

There will be regular clinical supervision from the Principal Clinical Psychologist alongside model specific supervision in line with the professional requirements of the post holder. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the development of pathways within Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health in South Staffordshire, with ample opportunity for continued professional development.

This post will cover the geographical area of South Staffordshire. We continue to have a team base at the St George’s Hospital site, however we have adapted to new ways of working following the COVID-19 pandemic, and blended working developments will continue as and when this is clinically indicated.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for information.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Qualification in relevant core mental health professional training.
• It is a condition of employment that the post-holder is registered with their core professional body - e.g. Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC etc).
• Post-graduate training and accreditation in one or more psychological approaches. This needs to include CBT and/or EMDR with relevant accreditation by BABCP or EMDR Association UK.
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by relevant professional bodies.
• Additional therapy training and accreditation relevant to the clinical population.
  
  

Experience

Essential criteria

• Assessed experience of working as a qualified psychological therapist at a highly specialist level.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, presenting with the full range of clinical severity across a range of care settings. Including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and treatment.
• Experience of working clinically with people presenting with challenging behaviour, and/or people who have communication difficulties.
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Experience of teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• Experience of the application of psychological therapy in different cultural contexts.
• Experience of Group work.
• Training or experience in parent-infant relational work such as Video Interaction Guidance, Circle of Security.
  
  

Skills & Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information to clients and other prof