Specialist Clinical Psychologist

Job Overview

To provide a highly specialist psychology service to patients of Clinical Health Psychology with long-term conditions such as HIV, and problems in relation to sexuality and sexual health including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.

Job Overview

To provide a highly specialist psychology service to patients of Clinical Health Psychology with long-term conditions such as HIV, and problems in relation to sexuality and sexual health including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.

Main duties of the job

To triage, assess and either refer appropriately or treat a diverse range of patients with HIV, HTLV and/or concerns relating to sexuality, gender, sexual health or sexual function, offering individual or group treatment as appropriate, using evidence based treatment modalities flexibly and appropriately according to patient need.

To record treatment sessions, to measure and record outcomes and carry out audit to improve services

To contribute to the department in offering suggestions re innovations and procedures and by offering support to colleagues

To supervise trainees or Assistant Psychologists where appropriate

Working for our organisation

Compassion : Our staff will be led by compassion and embody the values of care outlined in our Staff Charter.

Respect : We will respect and value the diversity of our patients, service users and staff, to create a respectful and inclusive environment, which recognises the uniqueness of each individual.

Empowerment : We will involve, inform and empower our patients, service users, carers and their families to take an active role in the management of their illness and adopt recovery principles. We will ensure our staff receive appropriate direction and support, to enable them to develop and grow.

Partnership : We will work closely with our many partners to ensure that our combined efforts are focused on achieving the best possible outcomes for the people we serve.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

Job Purpose:

• To provide a highly specialist psychology service to patients of Clinical Health Psychology with long-term conditions such as HIV, and problems in relation to sexuality and sexual health including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a specialist in Clinical Health Psychology, especially in the above areas
• To undertake service evaluation, audit and research.
• To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.
• To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.

Person specification

Experience

Essential criteria

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in HIV and sexual health or a relevant speciality
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in HIV, sexual health or a relevant speciality
• Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychologists having completed the relevant training.
• Experience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects.

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology, or equivalent
• Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for a range of problems addressed by Clinical Health Psychology
• Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities.
• Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis
• Familiarity with factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care.

Desirable criteria

• Interest in, and experience of Neuropsychological testing, especially with HIV populations and those with other infectious diseases Experience in other long-term conditions
• Experience of, or interest in, contributing to funded or unfunded research projects in the area of specialisation

Skills

Essential criteria

• To deliver psychological therapy across cultural and other differences.
• To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources.
• To communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information.
• To plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers, and for meetings such as case reviews
• To plan allocation of tasks to assistant psychologists.
• Well-developed IT skills including entry and analysis of research data.
• Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups

Desirable criteria

• To be skilled in the administration of psychometric and neuropsychological tests, including those that require complex manipulation of test materials.

Abilities

Essential criteria

• Ability to work effectively within a multi disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate.
• Ability to develop and use complex multi media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
• Ability to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during observations, assessments and psychological interventions, and to deal with unexpected interruptions or changes during these.
• Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour.
• Ability to manage, with appropriate support as necessary, verbal aggression and hostility directed at self.

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