Forensic/ Clinical/ Counselling Psychologist or Psychological Therapist inLondon inLondon PUBLISHED TUE 10 DEC 2024

The delivery of the NW ICPS is a partnership between BEH and CNWL NHS trusts. This post could is hosted by CNWL.This post comprises and 0.6 WTE (permanent) & 0.4 (1 year fixed-term post), equating to 1.0 (WTE) for 1 year. We would be willing to consider applicants who solely wanted the 0.6 WTE post.

This post offers an exciting opportunity for a Clinical/Forensic/Counselling Psychologist to provide psychological input to the North West Integrated Community Pathways Service (ICPS). The post holder will be responsible for delivering services under the national Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway programme to men and women with complex personality difficulties and serious offending histories. This provision will focus on supporting the effective management and engagement of these service users whilst in the community. The NW ICPS incorporates both Core Offender Management (CORE-OM) services, which deliver consultation, training, formulation and joint casework support to the National Probation Service (NPS), and case management and therapeutic interventions through Intensive Intervention and Risk Management Services (IIRMS).

Within Core-OM, the post holder will contribute to a consultation/liaison service to probation staff in NW London. This will involve evidence-based screening of caseloads, facilitation of individual/group consultations and delivering training to a range of staff including partner agencies and allied professionals. There will also be contributions to multiagency working, for example through MAPPA meetings and liaison with Community Mental Health Teams. Within IIRMS, the post holder will provide a specialist psychological service to offenders with personality difficulties. This will involve completing clinical assessments/formulations/risk management plans, informed by best practice in risk assessment and working with personality disordered offenders, with an emphasis on desistance. There will also be contributions to the delivery of treatment, which may include Mentalisation Based Treatment, schema therapy, Challenge (for male sexual offenders) and trauma-focused interventions. The service also provides opportunities for developing specialism in particular aspects of service delivery, for example working with women, engaging young people, or promoting trauma-informed approaches. The post holder will use research skills to enhance service development/delivery. This will involve audits and other research and development activities. The post holder will supervise and direct the work of qualified, assistant and trainee psychologists as required.

About us

DIRECT:

• To identify and screen caseloads managed by the National Probation Service (London Division) using the recognised OPD screening tool.
• To provide specialist psychological assessments of outpatients and patient/offenders referred to the forensic or pathways services, based on the appropriate analysis, interpretation and integration of complex qualitative and quantitative data from a variety of sources. Methods used will include selecting, administering, scoring and interpreting appropriate standardised psychometric assessments; using self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with patients/offenders and/or others involved in their care as appropriate, and collating and interpreting historical and developmental data.

• Drawing on a broad theoretical knowledge of psychology, and on an appropriate conceptual formulation of the clients problems, including taking into account theoretical and therapeutic models, historical, developmental and cultural processes and systems which have shaped the individual, family or group, to consider and evaluate different treatment options, and formulate and implement plans for the specialist psychological treatment and/or management of clients mental health and related problems, employing methods based on evidence of proven efficacy, adapted where necessary to meet the needs of the individual. To review, adjust and refine psychological formulations as practice and experience demand.
• Implement a range of specialist psychological interventions for individual clients and groups, and where appropriate for carers within and across teams within the forensic PD service, co-working with psychologist and non-psychologist colleagues as appropriate.
• In the course of carrying out assessments, providing treatments, and communicating findings, responsible for providing and receiving highly complex, sensitive, distressing and emotional information in relation to mental health and forensic issues, such as traumatic life history information, or details of serious violent and sexual offending, or providing risk assessments, clinical formulations or other information where there may be barriers to acceptance or understanding.
• To work in partnership with staff employed by the NPS to deliver joint case work across CORE-OM and IIRMS services within the service. To determine client suitability for IIRMS via joint case work either face to face in the community or whilst the client is still in prison.
• To work in partnership with IIRMS clinical practitioners to support the management of complex high-morbidity male and female clients and support enhanced IIRMS treatment delivery.
• To provide psychological input to NPS Approved Premises (AP) including staff support, and case discussions, monthly community meetings and joint casework. To support the AP in achieving or maintain their Enabling Environment (EE) status.
• Responsible for communicating across language and cultural barriers with clients or carers, using interpreters when necessary.
• Responsible for communicating complex clinical information, such as psychological assessment, formulation, progress/outcome of treatment, or risk assessment, in a skilled and sensitive manner to a variety of recipients including patients, carers, other professionals, formal panels, statutory and voluntary organisations, in a format appropriate to the recipient, verbally, in writing, or electronically.
• At the post holders discretion, to provide, at the request of an appropriate agency, a report to court on any client in the post holders current or past case load
• To incorporate risk assessment and management into all aspects of clinical work; to comply with security policies and procedures; to notify management of breaches in security and to make suggestions for improving security; to undertake breakaway training

INDIRECT

• To take a lead in implementing the OPD pathway across NPS Local Delivery Units (LDUs) in partnership with NPS staff including senior management. To monitor referrals to treatment interventions and third sector organisations and report back monthly to the quadrant lead.
• To monitor attendance and adherence to local CORE PD training and report quarterly to the LPP training Lead
• To clinically supervise the work of band 7 staff, both psychologists and non-psychologists, assistant psychologists, and as appropriate, to contribute to the supervision of individual cases for trainee clinical psychologists.
• To provide both individual and group consultation to probation officers and other members of multidisciplinary team contributing directly to the formulation of clients risk management plans, including advice on psychological aspects of risk assessment, personality difficulties and risk management, across outpatient and community settings
• To provide specialised Offender Personality Disorder training to all NPS staff, AP staff and allied agencies (e.g. police), including the National Core PD Pathway modules; KUF Basic Awareness Training and Womens KUF training.
• To clinically supervise the work of assistant psychologists, and as appropriate, to contribute to the supervision of individual cases for trainee psychologists
• Draw on a broad theoretical knowledge of psychology and specialist clinical or counselling psychology skills to develop and support the psychological skills of assistant psychologists, and other non-psychology staff through developing and delivering teaching, training and supervision
• Provide a psychological perspective and a specialist psychologically-based framework for understanding clinical care, service/team dynamics, or service/team organisational systems in various teams and groups of which the psychologist is a member, to benefit the patients served by the service/team
• Develop and maintain knowledge of local resources and relationships with relevant statutory, voluntary and community groups and organisations
• To advise supervisor and psychology manager of areas of need within own area
• Develop and maintain the highest professional standards of practice by continuing to gain additional post-qualification experience and skills; by participating in regular clinical and professional supervision and appraisal; by active participation in internal and external CPD activities; and by updating knowledge of current developments in psychology and related disciplines relevant to the practice of forensic psychology, through a personal development plan agreed with psychology management. To exercise professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the Health Professionals Council and Trust policies and procedures
• Develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision
• Develop and maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to forensic and general mental health services and the criminal justice system
• Develop, maintain and use knowledge and understanding of the work and approaches of other key disciplines, professions and agencies involved in the care and management network, including knowledge of medication and physical health issues, education, vocational training, employment, and social care systems.
• Maintain the highest standards of clinical record-keeping including electronic data-entry and recording, report writing, and dissemination of relevant information appropriately to other professionals. To monitor, record and report on clinical and other activities as required. To protect confidentiality in compliance with professional and Trust policies and procedures
• Has personal duty of care for the use and protection of restricted psychology equipment and test materials

POLICY AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENT

• To implement Trust policies and procedures
• Responsible for organising own day to day activities, and planning and prioritising own clinical workload
• Responsible for managing own waiting lists and patterns of patient attendance in consultation with line management
• Develop professional skills in research, service evaluation, outcome measures and audit, and contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services and psychology departments operational policies and procedures
• Identify and propose changes to work practices and procedures in own area of work, and contribute to discussions relating to psychology service and forensic service issues

HUMAN RESOURCES

• Provide professional and clinical supervision to more junior members of staff
• Co-ordinate the workloads of assistant psychologists within the framework of the departments policies and procedures
• To undertake as appropriate, shortlisting and interviewing of more junior members of staff
• Plan and deliver training programmes to enhance psychological knowledge and skills of psychology and non-psychology staff as required

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

• Maintain and update research skills and knowledge
• Utilise theory, literature on evidence-based practice and research to support evidence-based practice in own work and work with other members of the team or department
• Undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research
• Organise and supervise research undertaken by assistant psychologists where appropriate
• Develop and implement clinical audit, survey projects and service evaluation within agreed department and service objectives