Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist

This Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist post sits within the Brent & Harrow Perinatal Mental Health Service run by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust. The work centres on specialist psychological assessment and evidence-based treatment for women with mental health, social and emotional difficulties during the perinatal period. Interventions are adapted to include infants and families, and the post-holder also provides shared clinical supervision to trainee and Band 7 psychologists. Current HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist, and eligibility for BPS chartered status, are required.

What the job involves

• Provide highly specialist psychological assessments of women referred to the service, including a formal evaluation of the parent-infant relationship
• Formulate and deliver evidence-based treatment for severe and complex perinatal disorders and parent-infant relationship difficulties, such as Video Interactive Guidance
• Act as Lead Professional, coordinating care packages, arranging reviews and monitoring progress across multidisciplinary interventions
• Undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and advise other professionals on psychological risk
• Work autonomously on the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients managed by psychologically based care plans
• Provide specialist psychological advice and consultation to other professionals, in line with NICE guidelines
• Deliver individual and group-based interventions within the community and support the running of therapeutic groups where the service model allows
• Work closely with maternity, Talking Therapies, mental health and children’s social care services to support coordinated care pathways
• Provide shared clinical supervision to trainee and Band 7 psychologists and other professionals
• Provide comprehensive psychological reports and carry out psychological testing for the service or the courts
• Contribute to service development, audit and research in perinatal mental health
• Ensure practice operates within the adult and children safeguarding frameworks

What’s required

Qualifications

• Good Honours degree in Psychology (2.1 or above) giving eligibility for Graduate membership of the BPS
• Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology accredited by the BPS, or equivalent for those trained before 1996 or in lateral transfer
• Eligibility for chartered status with the BPS

Registration & licences

• Registration with the HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist

Experience

• Substantial clinical supervision while working as a clinical psychologist (50 hours over a minimum of 18 months)
• Demonstrated commitment to a specialist area through training, study, experience or research, evidenced by a CPD log

Skills & knowledge

• Very high level of interpersonal and communication skills, including handling complex and sensitive information in emotive or hostile situations
• Assessment and therapeutic skills for complex and severe mental health problems
• Ability to consult with non-psychology colleagues and to teach and train others
• Formal training in supervising other psychologists
• Ability to make judgements in complex clinical situations and choose appropriate action from a range of options
• Ability to plan and organise tasks and programmes and adapt them to changing needs

Nice to have

• Experience of working with adults with complex mental health problems
• Experience of working with perinatal presentations
• Experience of working with families affected by mental health problems
• Experience of working with trauma, loss and grief
• Training in EMDR or trauma-focused CBT
• Ability to prioritise complex work demands

What’s offered

• High Cost Area Supplement (HCAS) included in the salary

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