Specialist Psychotherapist or Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

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 Havering secondary care adult mental health psychological service. This post involves carrying out psychological assessments and interventions, offering consultation and supervision to members of the multi-disciplinary teams. 

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. 

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. 

Main duties of the job

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.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.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.To work closely with multidisciplinary members of other mental health teams ensure effective multi-professional communication and decision making. 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. To contribute to the support of trainee clinical or counselling psychologists or psychotherapy/ counselling trainees on accredited training courses.

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 £4,551 to a maximum of £5,735 pro rata for part time).

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

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.

For further details, please refer to the Job description and person specification attached.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy training to Masters level leading to full registration with: 1. UKCP (CPC, CMP, CPJAC, HIPC) 2. BPC 3. 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 Core mental health profession or a demonstrable working knowledge of NHS values, clinical structures in secondary mental health care, referral pathways, how services are funded and the roles of NHS professionals. Further training in another psychological modality relevant to time-limited psychological interventions; for example MBT or DIT NVQ level 2 or equivalent standard of literacy and numeracy

Desirable criteria

Additional specialist post-graduate training relevant to this population ( EMDR, NET, DIT, MBT, Schema Therapy, CAT, Behavioural Couples Therapy)

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of working with high levels of risk and severe mental health difficulties Experience of providing specialist psychodynamic assessments (brief screening and in -depth) and interventions to patients with complex problems. 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 supervision, management and leadership

Desirable criteria

Experience of providing specialist Psychodynamic Psychotherapy to patients with diverse clinical presentations. Experience of providing other specialist therapies (please specify) to patients with diverse clinical presentations. Experience of teaching and training Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi-disciplinary care.

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Knowledge, understanding and experience of working with service users from diverse ethnic, economic and cultural backgrounds Knowledge and experience with working with safeguarding issues, issues concerning forensic risk and highly complex mental health problems An awareness of NHS priorities Well-developed knowledge and skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management Knowledge of the theory and practice of more than one psychological approach to therapy and assessment in specific difficult -to -treat groups ( complex needs, self -harm, personality disorder, psychosis, dual diagnosis, substance misuse, persons with additional disabilities etc).

Desirable criteria

Knowledge of research methodology, research design and data analysis Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult-totreat groups ( complex needs, selfharm, personality disorder, psychosis, dual diagnosis, persons with additional disabilities etc).

Skills

Essential criteria

An ability to work autonomously, setting appropriate goals, in accordance with professional ethics guidelines and Trust policies Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the preparation of highly complex clinical reports and assessments 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.

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.