Principal Clinical Psychologist inSt Albans inSt Albans PUBLISHED 17 OCT 2024

Band 8b: £62,215 to £72,293 a year per annum, pro rata + 5% of basic salary (min £1,066 max £1,845) PERMANENT GOOD SALARY

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust r84nA4Ld

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To ensure that all members of the treating team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of clients of the service, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Principal Clinical Psychologist already working at an 8B level, or well ready to make that move, to join the Hertfordshire Children and Young Person Mental Health service (CYP-MHs). The successful candidate will work as part of an expanding, friendly and supportive CAMHS multi-disciplinary team providing a range of specialist assessments, formulations and interventions to children, young people and their families.

This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate. The Hertfordshire Children and Young Person Mental Health services have a strong pedigree in developing and delivering high quality care and treatment to the young people who use their services. It has strong links with system partners, ensuring ongoing care is effective, joined up and safe.

The post-holder will work within theChildren and Young Person Mental Health service (CYP-MHs) and will play an integral part of a multi-disciplinary team providing a high standard of service to children and adolescents with a menatl health need.

As well as being responsible for overseeing the specialist psychological assessment of children and adolescents who present with a range of highly complex emotional, psychological and behavioural problems alongside their mental health, the post holder will also be fundamental in the formulation of their presentation and for overseeing the delivery of a high standard of evidence-based psychological interventions to these young people.

This role will also include leadership and organisational expectations including supporting the development and improvement processes that are currently taking place within the service.

The post holder will need to develop key working relationships with colleagues within the team, with CAMHS services across HPFT Trust, and with other local external agencies and our valued partners.

About us

Clinical Responsibility

To be responsible for a caseload and to work autonomously as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide assessments and consultations for children and adolescents with eating disorders.
To provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the Children and Young Person Mental Health service (CYP-MHs), based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including 5 psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.
To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients complex mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
To be responsible for implementing a range of evidence based psychological interventions including CBT for individuals, carers, families and groups, employed individually and in synthesis, co-working with other team members/disciplines as appropriate, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
To make highly skilled evaluations and 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. This evidence-based approach includes monitoring outcomes, modifying and adapting interventions drawn from a range of theoretical models.
To exercise autonomous professional responsibility within HCPC guidelines for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation and interventions, communicating with referrers and others involved with the care on a regular basis.
To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan, facilitating the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the teams to the client.
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 ensure that all members of the treating team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of clients of the service, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory
To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, ensuring provision of a care package appropriate for the clients needs, taking responsibility for initiating, planning and review of the clients care, including the child/adolescent, their family/carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.
To formulate a range of treatment options based on an appropriate conceptual framework and employing methods based upon evidence e.g. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

Leadership, Training and Staff Management Responsibility

To clinically and/or professionally supervise Assistant Psychologists, trainees & CBT therapists within the Children and Young Person Mental Health service (CYP-MHs) West Team as appropriate and as agreed with professional leads and operational managers
To lead and contribute to teaching and training programme for all professionals working in theChildren and Young Person Mental Health service (CYP-MHs) West Team. This is to include organising and facilitating teaching to other members of the team and contribute to the teaching programme. To provide consultation internally and externally
To provide clinical/professional supervision to assistant psychologists and clinical/counselling psychologists within the MDT and across quadrants as agreed by appropriate operational managers and professional/consultant leads and to provide clinical supervision to other disciplines within the MDT as agreed with Operational Manager and Professional Lead for Psychological Services (CAMHS)
To participate in supervision and to identify own supervision needs. To undertake any other duties or responsibilities as directed by the Psychological Therapy Lead &/or Team Manager
To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines.
To examine independently and critically all aspects of work to ensure they comply with the British Psychological Societys and HCPCs Ethics and Code of Conduct, and Trust policies and procedures.
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 of the British Psychological Society and Trust policies and procedures.

Service Development and Improvement

To ensure the continuous development of the Children and Young Person Mental Health service (CYP-MHs) West Team through taking a lead role on appropriate projects.
To encourage the involvement of service users and their relatives in the evaluation of the service provision
To be aware of the Trusts vision and long-term strategic aims and to ensure the Children and Young Person Mental Health service (CYP-MHs) West Service and staff are moving towards these
To contribute to clinical strategy development and contribute to the clinical governance agenda
To contribute to service development projects within own service area and other relevant agencies as required. This can involve contributing to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the service operational policies or other organizational issues, by initiating and using ones professional skills in research, service evaluation, outcome measures and audit.
To undertake projects in support of service modernisation and organisational priorities
To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and to provide advice and supervision to other staff towards the same.
To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.
To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and published articles.
To contribute and participate with in-service training within the Children and Young Person Mental Health service (CYP-MHs) West Team e.g. multidisciplinary team meetings/ Audit Meetings/ Research Projects etc.
To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the service provided by the multi-disciplinary team; including the collection and use of service user feedback and clinical outcomes information.
To liaise with other agencies and service providers in relation to the provision of psychological services and service developments, as agreed with the appropriate operational manager and Professional Leads.
To identify unmet needs of the service and bring these to the attention of senior clinicians/managers.
To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research
To initiate project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and across the service to help develop and improve services to clients and their families
To take the psychology lead, as a senior clinician, in the evaluation, monitoring and development of the teams operational policies, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit and ensuring incorporation of psychological frameworks for understanding and provision of high quality care.
Keep abreast of national and international research findings and policy developments, disseminate and promote the application of these to clinical care and service developments
To read and disseminate information about mental health provision from evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice and to derive and publish evidence from clinical practice
Anticipate and identify key strategic issues, developing joint working across care groups, taking into account relevant internal and external factors. Analyse, synthesise and present knowledge and information, including complex issues and concepts, to a range of audiences and stakeholders in order to influence key decisions
To collaborate with the Senior Psychological Therapy staff, Consultant Psychiatrists and Service Managers in planning psychological therapy services to the speciality
To initiate relevant service planning, evaluation and quality assurance activities occurring within the relevant fields and to participate in other such activities as agreed and commensurate with the grade
To consult and liaise with the operational managers and professional leads regarding Clinical objectives and directives.

This role will also include leadership and organisational expectations including supporting the development and improvement processes that are currently taking place within the service.

The post holder will need to develop key working relationships with colleagues within the team, with CAMHS services across HPFT Trust, and with other local external agencies and our valued partners.