Joining #TeamNELFT means you’ll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We’re CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.

The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.

Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for a vibrant, suitably qualified, BPC registered Specialist Psychodynamic Psychotherapist to join our dynamic Waltham Forest secondary care adult mental health psychological service. This is a permanent, full-time post in the secondary care. This post involves carrying out psychological assessments and interventions, offering consultation and supervision to members of the multi-disciplinary teams. It will also involve ensuring the coherent operation of the services users care pathway and being responsible responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological therapies practice.

The post holder would join a well-established and well-respected team of psychologists and psychodynamic psychotherapists. We are a friendly, collaborative and supportive team who deliver individual and group psychotherapy interventions to adults with complex mental health difficulties.

This post would suit someone with a strong interest in multidisciplinary working, working with service-users who present with complexity and significant levels of risk. The post holder will join a well-established and supportive group of psychologists offering outpatient psychodynamic therapy.

We are keen to recruit people who share that vision of contributing to best practice, national guidelines and an evidence base. We offer excellent development opportunities including high quality and regular supervision, opportunities to supervise, teach and involvement in research.

Main duties of the job

Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with secondary care mental health problems within the NHS is essential. A keen interest in working with this client group is essential as well as the ability to work with autonomy and flexibility.

Additional specialist training in MBT, as well as experience in teaching and delivering training, would be desirable. Experience and/or interest in setting up, running and/or co-facilitating groups would be essential.

Working for our organisation

Probationary Period

This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).

Starting with NELFT

NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.

High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London

This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,313 to a maximum of £5,436 pro rata for part time).

Certificates of Sponsorship

Although we are a registered sponsor organisation, we are unable to offer sponsorship for all job roles.Please check your eligibility under the UKVI points based system

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

1. Have a Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training to Masters level leading to full registration with: UKCP (CPC, CMP, CPJAC, HIPC); BPC; BACP or Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or Counselling Psychology (or equivalent if trained before 1996) or BPS statement of Equivalence and able to demonstrate eligibility for BPS CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist), and with a specialism in psychodynamic psychotherapy

2. Be able to provide a highly skilled psychological service to clients with secondary care (non-psychosis) mental health difficulties. Duties include: psychological assessment, and therapeutic interventions (individual and group) to adults with complex mental health difficulties. This role will include the provision of enhanced specialist psychological clinical assessment, working within the policies, procedures and protocols applicable to the service.

3. Have highly developed skills in the assessment and management of clinical risk and mental health conditions, and to undertake risk assessments and risk management for patients with complex mental health conditions providing expert advice to colleagues on the psychological aspects of risk assessment and its management and effectively documented in a timely manner when needed.

4. Deliver a culturally and ethically sensitive, equitable psychodynamic psychotherapy therapy service to all minority groups regardless of race and ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, culture, religion, and disability; to include service users in the design and delivery of the service.

5. To work closely with multidisciplinary members of other mental health teams ensure effective multi-professional communication and decision making.

6. To offer advice and consultation on patients’ psychological care to colleagues and to other, non-professional carers, working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service’s policies and procedures.

7. To contribute to the support of trainee clinical or counselling psychologists or psychotherapy/ counselling trainees on accredited training courses.

8. Experience of being responsible responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological therapies practice.

9. Experience of participating in staff recruitment, both in the short-listing process and as a member of interview panels as appropriate to experience.

10. Experience of supervision, management and leadership.

Use of AI

Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training to Masters level leading to full registration with: UKCP (CPC, CMP, CPJAC, HIPC); BPC or BACP. OR Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or Counselling Psychology HCPC with post-doctoral psychodynamic training

Desirable criteria

Further training in another psychological modality relevant to time-limited psychological interventions; for example MBT.

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of providing specialist psychodynamic assessments (brief screening and in-depth) and interventions to patients with complex problems. Experience of ensuring equality of access and acceptable intervention to diverse populations Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity Experience of ensuring the coherent operation of the services users care pathway Experience of being responsible responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological therapies practice Experience of supervision, management and leadership

Desirable criteria

Experience of delivering psychodynamic groups

Skills

Essential criteria

Experience of management, supervision, teaching and coordinating of trainee psychotherapists and doctors. Experience of clinical supervision of other psychotherapists as agreed with Consultant Psychotherapist Understanding of the principles underlying at least two main models of psychological therapy and knowledge of clinical applications of the models Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment including Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, including the use of theoretical models to analyse information and to develop formulations upon which to base choice of treatment

Desirable criteria

At least Masters level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex, multivariate data analysis as practised within the field of clinical psychology

Benefits

We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:

A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff. A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our effortsto support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from the Working Families Charity. Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors. Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.

As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.