Job summary
The Personality Disorder Hub is a countywide service that works to promote understanding of difficulties associated with Personality Disorder and deliver effective interventions for emotion dysregulation, across community and inpatient services. The service provides Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), DBT for adolescents (DBT-A), leads the delivery of Structured Clinical Management and delivers numerous Understanding and Managing Emotions (U&ME) groups. It also has a Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) that is involved in promoting hope, improving services, and co-developing and delivering training.

This is a split role across the DBT-A (3 days) and U&ME (2 days) sub teams delivering a countywide service.

U&ME is an 18-session DBT group-based skills programme that aims to help individuals to learn strategies for managing their emotions and be more effective in relationships. The group was developed to meet the needs of adults who would have traditionally fallen through the gap between primary and secondary care services.

DBT-A includes multi-family groups and caregiver involvement and works in collaboration with Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

The successful candidate will be supported in their role by colleagues, being line-managed and supervised by the specialist service, attending & contributing to professional development activities within the Hub, and co-delivering group interventions and staff training with their colleagues.
Main duties of the job

• Provide assessment to clarify service users' presenting difficulties and suitability for the programmes.
• Provide lead facilitation of U & ME group sessions alongside another member of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT)
• Collaborate in using outcome information to inform and develop good practice and review individuals' progress on completing the programme.
• Help develop systems and audit projects to allow any data collected to inform Trust management, commissioners, users and other relevant stakeholders of the needs of this population.
• Contribute to further service development that will help service users to access to the most appropriate interventions available across the pathway and enable referring service colleagues to promote the use of effective coping strategies within their own short-term interventions.
• Regular clinical supervision will be provided by a Clinical Psychologist and management supervision by the Service Manager/ Clinical Lead. There are a range of development opportunities due to the service's role in training others, its strong internal CPD programme and commitment to reflective practice, and the integrated nature of Psychology Services across NHFT. It is essential that applicants have a recognised undergraduate qualification.

About us
NHFT is an NHS Community and Mental Health Foundation Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in hospital settings and in the community. We provide over 200 services across the county - as well as some specialist services in bordering and nearby counties. We work together with our partners to ensure that everyone who comes through our doors receives compassionate, person-centred care, regardless of their background or circumstances.

NHFT promotes a culture of learning, to improve the care and safety of our patients and colleagues. We have achieved our 'outstanding' rating by encouraging opportunity, innovation, development and growth across our workforce.

At NHFT we believe that work should be rewarded in every sense which is why we are proud to an accredited living wage employer.

We aim to support financial wellbeing and create an environment where are people feel valued and able to thrive.

The Personality Disorder Hub has a strategy to provide an equitable, inclusive, representative and anti-racist service for service users. We have a commitment to creating and maintaining a diverse workforce and therefore encourage anyone who self-identifies as belonging to a marginalised and/or minoritised community to apply for the post. We encourage all applicants to communicate an understanding of the difficulties marginalised and minoritised communities face in accessing psychological therapies in their application and/ or interview.
Person Specification
Behaviours and Values
Essential

• oAn ability to interact with people with mental health difficulties/ mild learning disabilities, with a well-developed service-user focus and desire to work with others in the pursuit of better mental health.
• oAbility to work with team members as well as independently reliably and consistently, with work agreed and supervised at regular intervals.
• oAble to work using own initiative and manage self in a busy and sometimes emotive environment.

Knowledge and Experience
Essential

• oAn upper second class honours undergraduate degree or higher in psychology and Graduate Basis for Registration with the British Psychological Society or relevant postgraduate study
• oExperience of working with people with mental health difficulties and/or other disabilities as an assistant psychologist
• oExperience using computers for databases or data-analysis, especially Excel

Desirable

• o Experience and confidence in delivering group-based interventions
• oTraining or experience of psychological interventions
• oLearned and/or lived experience of the barriers facing service users from minority groups in accessing psychological healthcare

Skills and Abilities
Essential

• oFull clean driving license and access to a vehicle for use at work.
• oHas training and experience of audit, evaluation and research
• oExperience using computers for databases or data-analysis, & skills in presenting this data (particularly Excel)

Desirable

• oAbility to communicate sensitive information to clients, carers and colleagues in a way that addresses psychological resistance, with a high standard of report writing.
• oProvide clear and consistent leadership ensuring a positive working environment for the team.
• oDemonstrate reflective practice and the ability to use available supports to reflect on the emotional impact of the role and how strong emotions/judgements may impact on being effective

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.