Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical, Forensic or Counselling)

The Psychology Service for the Nottinghamshire Adult Mental Health Acute Care Unit provides high quality psychological assessment, advice and intervention within local adult acute mental health wards.

We are seeking a Qualified Psychologist with a keen interest in adult acute mental health to join our enthusiastic and supportive multi-disciplinary team.

The Acute Care Unit consists of a team of Qualified Practitioner Psychologists, CAP'S, Assistants, and Trainees. We pride ourselves on taking care of one another and nurturing personal and occupational wellbeing and growth. As a close knit and supportive team, we recognise the importance of one another's lives out of work and are considerate and flexible of the personal responsibilities that individuals hold. Recognising individuals' strengths, ambitions for continual professional development, and learning are all high priorities for the leadership team and opportunities for specialist training are supported financially and logistically.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £26.40 (standard) or £54.40 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.

Job description

The post holder will be based at Highbury Hospital, Bulwell Nottingham and will provide input to Willows PICU, working with a male population. There will be a team of Qualified, Assistant, Clinical Associate and Trainee Psychologists to provide professional support and additional clinical resource.

The posts are suitable for recently qualified individuals or those with some experience. We would welcome applications from current third year trainees with a view to them developing to 8as within the first 12-18 months through structured preceptorship and continual professional development support in order to develop their practice further.

The successful applicant will join an established, friendly and supportive group of Psychologists and Assistants working into the inpatient wards across Nottinghamshire. The post is line managed within the profession and clinical supervision will be provided by a senior psychologist in the service.Flexibility to provide clinical supervision and specialist input across the Mid Notts and Highbury wards may be required, according to the demands of the service.

All our posts have a strong emphasis on Continuing Professional Development and there are monthly departmental meetings to ensure good networking, peer support and consistency across the Care Unit, trust wide. This includes inpatient, Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT) and Rehab psychology services - ten qualified psychologist positions exist within these services.

We have close links with DClinPsych courses at Nottingham/Lincoln (Trent), Leicester and Sheffield, which offer opportunities for teaching and placements/supervision.

The Adult Mental Health Acute Care Unit provide services to the City (Highbury Hospital) and Mid and North Notts (Sherwood Oaks Hospital) regions. There are excellent transport links to the rest of the UK and easy access to the cities of Nottingham, Derby, Leicester and Sheffield. AMH are a closely networked service of Practitioner Psychologists and Psychotherapists, focusing on delivering a range of therapeutic interventions to a complex client base. We are motivated to support recovery through least restrictive practice across our inpatient provisions. Family and carer engagement is deemed essential as we continue to improve how we support, involve and communicate with unpaid carers, families, friends and siblings of those we care for.

The successful applicant will need to be highly motivated and able to work independently with complex cases, within the guidelines, policies and procedures of the service and the Trust. They will need to be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, or eligible for registration, and able to meet the travel needs associated with the post.

Person specification

Qualification

Essential

• HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable

• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees
• Post-doctoral training in one ore more specialisms

Experience

Essential

• Working as an applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across a range of care settings
• Exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care as a care coordinator within the context of a multidisciplinary team
• Teaching, training and clinical supervision and field supervisor for doctoral theses
• Research and development

Desirable

• Experience of joint working with statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies
• Experience of working with individuals with neurodevelopmental difficulties

Training

Essential

• To have completed Doctoral Level training as a practitioner Psychologist (DClinPsych, DCounsPsych, DForenPsy)
• Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees

Knowledge

Essential

• Doctoral level knowledge of evidence-based practice relevant to the role
• Doctoral level knowledge of risk assessment and risk management
• Doctoral level knowledge of clinical governance
• Doctoral level knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
• Doctoral level knowledge of audit and research methodology
• Doctoral level knowledge of social inclusion agenda

Desirable

• Knowledge of trauma informed approaches

Skills

Essential

• Communicate highly complex and highly sensitive information effectively, to a wide range of people
• Adapt creatively the evidence base for interventions in mental health for clients with communication difficulties/learning disabilities
• Provide effective teaching, training and clinical supervision for the multidisciplinary team
• Work effectively as part of a multidisciplinary team and undertake care coordination/lead practitioner responsibilities
• Undertake complex multi-agency working and liaise with multiple systems
• Utilise psychometric tests competently
• Identify, provide and promote appropriate interventions/means of support for carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours
• Utilise appropriate clinical governance mechanisms within own work
• Use multimedia materials for presentations in professional, academic and public settings

Values and Behaviours

Essential

• All colleagues are expected to demonstrate at interview that they act in line with Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust Values: Trust Honesty Respect Compassion Teamwork

Personal Attributes

Essential

• Able to engage with vulnerable people and work effectively in highly distressing and challenging circumstances
• Able to work flexibly and cooperatively as part of a team
• Able to use own initiative and make decisions independently
• Committed to continual quality and service improvement
• Committed to professional and personal development
• Frequent concentration required, e.g. psychometric assessment, sessions with clients, report writing
• Frequent exposure to emotionally distressing situations, including distressing family circumstances, giving unwelcome news
• Provides assessment and therapy to emotionally demanding clients

Contractual Requirements

Essential

• A full UK driving license and vehicle for business use is required for this post; however reasonable adjustments will be made for disabled individuals in line with the Equality Act 2010.

About the employer

#TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.

We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.

We offer a variety of employee-led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.

The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in-house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.

The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net-zero commitment