Specialist Clinical Psychologist (Tier 3/ ND Screening) inMitcham inMitcham PUBLISHED WED 11 DEC 2024

The Merton Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) service provides out-patient assessment, intervention and consultation services to children experiencing a range of mental health and neurodevelopmental difficulties.

Merton CAMHS Tier 3 'Getting More Help' Team specialise in the provision of evidence-based treatments for children and young people presenting to the service with moderate to severe mental health and neurodevelopmental difficulties and assessment of risk. The team benefits from having a range of different clinicians from different disciplines and quality supervision is provided. The team is especially warm and friendly and works within an inviting Listed building.

Merton CAMHS Single Point of Access (SPA) provides triage and assessments for children, adolescents and their families experiencing a range of mental health, neurodevelopmental and emotional health difficulties. The SPA manages the screening for all neurodevelopmental referrals, with close links to the Trust's CAMHS Neurodevelopmental Team (NDT) who provide specialist ADHD and ASD diagnostic assessments, across five London Boroughs.

Merton CAMHS SPA is a friendly team, with the screening and assessment processes are led by experienced and qualified clinicians with support from assistant psychologists and administrators. The whole team values having supportive relationships with each other.

This is an exciting role for a clinical/counselling psychologist, with previous CAMHS experience, excellent communication and assessment skills and a particular interest in Neurodevelopmental disorders. The role involves working 3 days in the Tier 3 treatment team, providing direct and indirect evidence based interventions to young people and families, including working closely with other agencies. The other 2 days are based in our Merton Single Point of Access (SPA), triaging and assessing new referrals and working closely with colleagues in the Neurodevelopmental team.

The successful candidate will be able to contribute to the overall mental health assessment service but will develop leadership specifically on the neurodevelopmental screening pathway. Successful candidates will also be supported in developing specialist neurodevelopmental competencies as part of the role and ADOS training is included.

This role is open to qualified psychologists with the following:

• HPCP registration.
• Experience of working with children and young people
• Experience of work within a multi-disciplinary team
• The ability to relate and provide accessible services to a diverse community.
• The ability to efficiently manage a caseload.
• Knowledge and skills in risk management and safeguarding
• Ideally a special interest in child neurodevelopment and neurodiversity
• The ability to adapt to the fast-paced nature of CAMHS SPA work, with good IT and computer recording skills

About us

Clinical

• To provide specialist assessments of children/ young people and their parents/carers referred to the service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and where appropriate, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews in line with CYP IAPT methodology.
• To formulate and implement plans for evidence-based interventions, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, to improve the parent/child relationship.
• To be responsible for implementing a range of psychotherapeutic interventions employed individually and in synthesis, maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses, adjusting and refining formulations or understandings, drawing upon different explanatory models and employing methods of intervention that are based upon evidence of efficacy.
• 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 and the family.
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans
• To provide specialist mental health advice guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to the care of the young child and their parents/carers
• To contribute to and/or use evidence-based, integrated working tools and processes, to ensure young children and their parents/carers receive holistic and co-ordinated services in response to their mental health needs.
• To undertake risk assessment and risk management for young children and their parents/carers.
• To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of young children and their parents/carers who are under their care.
• To monitor progress during the course of interventions, ensuring that all interventions are fully assessed, planned, implemented and evaluated in conjunction with CYP IAPT minimum dataset standards.
• To maintain accurate and accessible health care records according to Trust policy and Information Governance requirements.
• To demonstrate high level communication skills, both written and verbal, within all agencies.

Teaching, Training, and Supervision

• To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior psychologist and, where appropriate, other senior colleagues.
• To gain additional experience and skills relevant to the profession and/or the service (as agreed with the responsible professional and team manager) in accordance with the CAMHS Directorates common expectations for P&P staff.
• To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staffs psychological work as appropriate.
• If required, to provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings.

Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development

• To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services operational policies and services (as directed), through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
• To contribute to a culture that is therapeutic, productive, accessible, inclusive and flexible to meet the needs of the local population.

Research and Service Evaluation

• To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.
• To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.

Other

• To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the post holders professional and service manager(s).
• To contribute to and commit to undertaking an annual professional development review (PADR).
• To undertake personal and professional development as identified in the Personal development Plan (PDP) as required by the service and set out in the job plan.
• To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice and Trust policies and procedures.
• To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health. For this post these specifically include:

1. Current Mental Health Legislation
2. The Childrens Act (1989)
3. Trust, London Borough and panLondon child protection procedures.
4. Local and national developments in SWLStG CAMHS
5. Risk Assessment and Management
6. Clinical Governance
7. Local and national developments in line with Every Child Matters
8. Joint working practices between voluntary and statutory sector

Training and Development

• To undertake mandatory and statutory training, supervision and annual appraisal as required by Trust policy.
• To contribute and commit to undertaking an annual Development Review/appraisal.
• To undertake personal development as identified in the Personal Development Plan (PDP).