Clinical Psychologist SOAMHS inEastbourne inEastbourne PUBLISHED FRI 10 MAY 2024

Job summary

Applications are invited from Practitioner Psychologists registered with the HCPC for a permanent Band 8a post (up to 37.5 hours per week) with options for flexible working in the Eastbourne Specialist Older Adults' Mental Health Team (SOAMHS), based at St Marys House Eastbourne.

This post is also available at Band 7 with preceptorship to Band 8a.

If you are new to working in SOAMHS we will be keen to consider any additional specialist training relevant to the post to support you to develop your knowledge, skills and confidence in this area.

You might also be interested in developing a specialism within your role to build your expertise in an area of interest, such as within dementia, neuropsychology, developing skills in CAIT, family work, trauma or complex emotional and relational needs. Please talk with us if you have an area of work you're passionate about and would like to develop and we'll see if we can support you.

Main duties of the job

SOAMHS is a multi-professional community team and psychologists are valued members of the service, offering specialist assessment and interventions, including neuropsychology. The post-holder will be creative and flexible and able to inspire others in working with people with dementia and older people with complex mental health problems, their families and carers.

Psychologists in SOAMHS are key members of our local leadership team and play a valuable role in team and service development. Our SOAMHS teams place a strong emphasis on co-production and drawing on the expertise of people with lived experience and we welcome staff who share these values to join our service.

We encourage and support flexible working. We know that a positive work/life balance brings about huge health-related benefits, which has a positive impact on the care we provide. Please speak to us about flexible working, for example, home-working, flexible start/finish times or anything else. If it works for you and works for the role, we'll do our best to make it happen.

About us

As a mental health trust Sussex Partnership places a huge focus on the wellbeing of our staff, as well as ensuring our reward packages reflect the immensely important work they do.

Your benefits:

• Access to a host of discount schemes including reductions on fuel, high street and online purchases, as well as Blue Light Card advantages!
• Generous holiday entitlement (starting at 27 days + 8 bank holidays)
• Excellent NHS Pension
• Discounted gym memberships
• Free parking on-site
• A position within a trust rated as 'Outstanding' for caring and 'Good' overall by the CQC
• Access to full psychological support via our internal wellbeing team
• Excellent supervision programmes, with ongoing opportunities for training and development

Job description

Job responsibilities

Highly Specialist Clinical or Counselling Psychologist (Band 8a, 1.0wte) Specialist Older Adult Mental Health Service SOAMHS, Eastbourne.

We are delighted to be advertising for an 8a Practitioner Psychologist who has experience of working with Older Adults. This post provides an exciting opportunity for someone with experience and established clinical skills to work within the Specialist Older Adult Mental Health Service (SOAMHS) based at the St. Marys House, Eastbourne. Our Service provides specialist care and interventions to older people who are struggling to live to their potential due to a mental health difficulty such as anxiety, depression, personality disorder or psychosis, as well as care for people with dementia, and because distress will often impact on the wider system, our support extends to families and carers.

Within this post you will have several responsibilities: clinical work with patients; assessing both therapeutically and neuropsychologically; formulating and guiding intervention allocation; offering evidence based psychological therapy for complex mental health conditions to the person, as well as providing support to families in the community. Equally important in this role is experience in multidisciplinary team working. You will be expected to support psychological practice within the wider team through consultation, formulation, supervision, teaching and training. You will provide advice and consultation to the multi-disciplinary team and other mental health and physical health professionals. The post holder will be expected to have supervisory experience. Your role will include the supervision of clinical psychology trainees, assistant psychologist's and psychology graduate volunteers, on placement within the team.

Contribution to service development and improvement would also be required for candidates at 8a level.The future of our older adult services is changing in line with the national Transformation model. You will have an opportunity to contribute to and support developments to improve access to psychological therapies for older people with severe mental health problems. There are opportunities to utilise research skills for audit and research within the area and to be involved in staff wellbeing initiatives. We are looking forsomeone who has the ability to work autonomously within the context of a busy multi-disciplinary team.

Working for our organisation

You will be based within a friendly multidisciplinary team consisting of community mental health nurses, psychiatrists and occupational therapists. The team has strong links with the Salomon's, University of Canterbury, Doctoral Training in Clinical Psychology and regularly hosts Salomon's Clinical Psychology Trainees. You will have a close relationship with the Adult Psychology team within the local secondary care community Assessment and Treatment Service, who will provide a cohesive and supportive network. There is a valued programme of CPD, peer supervision and reflective practice for psychology staff. You will receive high standards of clinical and professional supervision from the East Sussex Professional Lead for Older Adult Psychology, who is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist, as well as peer-group and modality-specific supervision where appropriate. Current supervision groups include neuropsychology, CBT and family therapy. The Trust supports career development and we anticipate exciting training opportunities in the future through HEE funding.

For informal enquiries please contact Dr. Jane Vinnicombe, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist on

Closing date for applications: 2 weeks from date of advert

Interview date: T.B.C.

Job description
Job responsibilities

Highly Specialist Clinical or Counselling Psychologist (Band 8a, 1.0wte) Specialist Older Adult Mental Health Service SOAMHS, Eastbourne.

We are delighted to be advertising for an 8a Practitioner Psychologist who has experience of working with Older Adults. This post provides an exciting opportunity for someone with experience and established clinical skills to work within the Specialist Older Adult Mental Health Service (SOAMHS) based at the St. Marys House, Eastbourne. Our Service provides specialist care and interventions to older people who are struggling to live to their potential due to a mental health difficulty such as anxiety, depression, personality disorder or psychosis, as well as care for people with dementia, and because distress will often impact on the wider system, our support extends to families and carers.

Within this post you will have several responsibilities: clinical work with patients; assessing both therapeutically and neuropsychologically; formulating and guiding intervention allocation; offering evidence based psychological therapy for complex mental health conditions to the person, as well as providing support to families in the community. Equally important in this role is experience in multidisciplinary team working. You will be expected to support psychological practice within the wider team through consultation, formulation, supervision, teaching and training. You will provide advice and consultation to the multi-disciplinary team and other mental health and physical health professionals. The post holder will be expected to have supervisory experience. Your role will include the supervision of clinical psychology trainees, assistant psychologist's and psychology graduate volunteers, on placement within the team.

Contribution to service development and improvement would also be required for candidates at 8a level.The future of our older adult services is changing in line with the national Transformation model. You will have an opportunity to contribute to and support developments to improve access to psychological therapies for older people with severe mental health problems. There are opportunities to utilise research skills for audit and research within the area and to be involved in staff wellbeing initiatives. We are looking forsomeone who has the ability to work autonomously within the context of a busy multi-disciplinary team.

Working for our organisation

You will be based within a friendly multidisciplinary team consisting of community mental health nurses, psychiatrists and occupational therapists. The team has strong links with the Salomon's, University of Canterbury, Doctoral Training in Clinical Psychology and regularly hosts Salomon's Clinical Psychology Trainees. You will have a close relationship with the Adult Psychology team within the local secondary care community Assessment and Treatment Service, who will provide a cohesive and supportive network. There is a valued programme of CPD, peer supervision and reflective practice for psychology staff. You will receive high standards of clinical and professional supervision from the East Sussex Professional Lead for Older Adult Psychology, who is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist, as well as peer-group and modality-specific supervision where appropriate. Current supervision groups include neuropsychology, CBT and family therapy. The Trust supports career development and we anticipate exciting training opportunities in the future through HEE funding.

For informal enquiries please contact Dr. Jane Vinnicombe, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist on

Closing date for applications: 2 weeks from date of advert

Interview date: T.B.C.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology [or its equivalent for those trained before 1996 or outside the UK*] as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
• *For forensic psychologists working in forensic settings: Masters degree (with the award of the British Psychological Society qualification in forensic psychology or equivalent).
• Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HCPC).

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
• Demonstrate specialist experience gained postqualification of working as an applied psychologist with evidence of having received a substantial amount of clinical supervision (normally in the region of approximately 50 hours).
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Experience of the application of applied psychology in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework
• Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
• Experience or demonstrable knowledge of working with the particular client group served by the team/service.

Person Specification
Qualifications

Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology [or its equivalent for those trained before 1996 or outside the UK*] as approved by the HCPC, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
• *For forensic psychologists working in forensic settings: Masters degree (with the award of the British Psychological Society qualification in forensic psychology or equivalent).
• Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Professions Council (HCPC).

Knowledge/Experience

Essential

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
• Demonstrate specialist experience gained postqualification of working as an applied psychologist with evidence of having received a substantial amount of clinical supervision (normally in the region of approximately 50 hours).
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
• Experience of the application of applied psychology in different cultural contexts and experience of working within a multicultural framework
• Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.
• Experience or demonstrable knowledge of working with the particular client group served by the team/service.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the .

From 6 April 2, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. .
UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Additional information
Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the .

From 6 April 2, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. .
UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see

Employer details

Employer name

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
Address

St Marys House

52 St Leonards Road

Eastbourne

BN21 3UU

Employer's website