Specialist DIabetes Clinical Psychologist-Surrey Downs H&C

Surrey Downs Health & Care

We are currently recruiting for a part time Specialist Diabetes Psychologist which has become available within our Community Diabetes Team in Surrey Downs. This is an exciting opportunity for a Diabetes Psychologist working jointly within our friendly multi disciplinary team of Consultants, Nurses, Dieticians and Podiatrists to offer specialist advice and input appropriate for a diverse range of complex and challenging problems including high levels of distress and risk, interpersonal difficulties and mental health problems for patients across Surrey Downs Health and Care.

Job description

Clinical

1. To be responsible for providing a comprehensive, specialist assessment service for patients referred by Diabetes team members. This input will be based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client's care.

2. To identify the nature, severity and complexity of the client's problems and to communicate this information in a skilled and sensitive manner to client, referrer and other health professionals involved in the client's care

3. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options, considering a range of theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes and medical factors that have shaped the individual, family or group. Decision making will also consider knowledge about the provision of and involve liaising with other local specialist services.

4. To advise clients, family members and others involved in the client's care on the appropriate management of difficulties and arrange referral to other services if needed.

5. Implement a range of psychological interventions with individuals, couples and families, continually adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing on different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provision hypotheses and employing methods based upon evidence of treatment efficacy.

6. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the efficiency of all aspects of the Clinical Psychology Service within the Surrey Downs team including assessment, treatment and discharge of patients.

7. Where patients present with multiple needs e.g. patients with severe mental health problems and persistent pain, to liaise with other local specialist services eg mental health services to enable effective case management, and to offer specialist advice, consultation and guidance to other health professionals concerning the management of such cases.

8. To develop educational materials for use with the Diabetes team to inform clients on psychological aspects of diabetes.

9. To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the team.

10. To ensure that all members of the team at the Diabetes Centre have access to a framework for understanding the range of psychosocial difficulties that clients present with through the dissemination of psychological research and theory.

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification for more details.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.

Desirable

• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.

Experience

Essential

• Assessed experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist for a considerable period with a significant amount at a highly specialist level with people with physical health problems
• Experience of psychological assessment, intervention and management working with a wide range of clinical presentations with complex, long-term co-morbid physical and mental health conditions including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment.
• Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.

Desirable

• Experience in working with people with diabetes

Skills

Essential

• Well-developed knowledge of the psychology of adjustment to illness, role of distress in interfering with treatment and recovery, adherence to and decision-making about treatment, and lifestyle changes to improve and maintain health.
• Highly skilled in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.

Desirable

• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies with complex client groups (eg people with long-term physical and mental health problems)

About the employer

Surrey Downs Health and Care deliver care closer to people's own communities through our Primary Care Networks, Community Hospitals, Specialist Services and our innovative partnership of local NHS organisations.

Surrey Downs Health and Care has a track record of providing person centered care that goes beyond organisational boundaries to do what is best for the individual. This partnership includes: