Job summary
This post offers an exciting opportunity for an assistant psychologist with an interest in working with people with offending history and complex personality difficulties. London Pathways Partnership (LPP) is a consortium of five NHS Trusts co-delivering a pan-London Integrated Community Pathways Service (ICPS) for the Offender Personality Disorder (OPD) Pathway alongside Probation Service London (PSL) colleagues.

The OPD Pathway programme provides services to men and women with complex psychological difficulties and serious offending histories, and to the multi-agency professionals working with them. The Southeast London Integrated Community Pathways Service (ICPS) is a team of psychologists, psychotherapists, clinical practitioners and probation practitioners that provides both direct and indirect support to people on probation presenting with complex personality difficulties and a high risk of harm to others with the joint aims of reducing offending and improving psychological wellbeing

Main duties of the job
The post holder will support and enhance psychological input to the SE ICPS under the supervision of a qualified psychological therapist:

• To undertake projects relating to service development and evaluation.
• To set up and maintain databases, spreadsheets, and use these to support with screening, consultation and monitoring of service users, using advanced IT skills in evaluation, audit and research.
• To support consultation, assessment and treatment interventions undertaken by the service as appropriate to level of competence and training.
• To undertake direct and indirect clinical work, such as SPJ assessments, as required under live or regular supervision from a qualified Psychological Therapist.
• To plan, organise and co-facilitate psycho-educational courses and groups with appropriately qualified professional staff.
• To liaise with a range of services (including health, social care and voluntary agencies) relevant to the working area and develop the strong partnership ethos of the pathway.

About us
Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes.

We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. This is strengthened by our new values:

• We're Kind
• We're Fair
• We Listen
• We Care

Job responsibilities
Management, recruitment and service development

• To assist in the design and implementation of service development projects with the service as required.
• To attend meetings in which service developments are planned and discussed.

Teaching, training and supervision

• In common with all clinical psychologists, to receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with professional practice guidelines.
• To gain wider experience of professional psychology within the NHS over and above that provided within the principal service area where the post holder is employed.
• To develop skills and competencies that assist in the delivery of current duties.
• To contribute to the training and support of other staff in psychological care.
• To abide by the BPS code of Ethics and Conduct and the Division of Clinical Psychology Professional Practice Guidelines.
• To maintain confidentiality and information governance in line with Trust policy
• To participate in clinical and professional audit.

Clinical

• To support psychological therapists with assessments and interventions (e.g., risk assessments, neuropsychological tests, self- report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect observations, and semi-structured interviews) of service users, family members and others involved in the service users care, as appropriate to level of training, competence and under live or regular supervision from a qualified Psychological Therapist.
• To formulate and deliver care, training or research plans within settings where there may be a hostile atmosphere, challenging behaviour or high levels of expressed emotion.
• To support the delivery of evidence based psychological interventions for service users.
• To assist in the development of psychologically based frameworks of understanding and care to the benefit of all service users of the service.
• To conduct literature searches, collate audit and outcome evidence, analyse relevant data and produce reports to inform and enhance care delivered by the service.
• To work with other team members to improve care, training and research practices and the quality of life of service users.
• To attend and contribute to multi-disciplinary meetings.
• To carry out other clinical and administrative tasks as appropriate to the post holders grade.

Research

• To design and implement agreed elements of audit and research projects.
• To undertake data collection, analysis, the production of reports and summaries, using IT and statistical programmes.
• To undertake searches of evidence-based literature and research in order to promote evidence based clinical practice. This will contribute to the clinical work of Psychological Therapists and other team members.

IT and Administrations (clinical)

• To develop and manage systems for efficient administration and co- ordination of care, training or research.
• To establish and maintain records and statistics concerning the service.
• To prepare and manage materials for clinical groups and evaluation projects.
• To be acquainted with, implement and maintain all relevant Trust and Psychology and Psychological Therapies policies and procedures.
• To report immediately any incidents affecting staff, users or visitors on health service property in accordance with Trust policies.
• To manage diaries, work plans and project plans as required.
• To carry out other clinical and administrative tasks as appropriate to the post holders grade.

Person Specification
Educational/Qualifications
Essential

• A lower second class (2.2) honours degree or higher in psychology. Entitlement to graduate membership of the British Psychological Society

Experience
Essential

• Experience working therapeutically with a diverse clinical population
• Experience of group and individual therapeutic work

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
Essential

• High level of communication skills (written and verbal) including an ability to work in settings in which the atmosphere may be emotive
• Ability to receive and communicate complex and sensitive clinical information to service users, carers and colleagues in a way that address psychological resistance.
• An understanding of the needs and difficulties of individuals presenting with mental health/complex emotional difficulties and offending behaviours or learning disabilities
• High standard of report writing
• Experience using computers for databases and data-analyses
• An interest in working within forensic settings with individuals with mental health and relational difficulties.
• An understanding of psychology applied to healthcare and an ability to apply existing psychological knowledge to a mental health context
• An ability to interact effectively with staff from all disciples

Other requirements
Essential

• An ability to accept and use supervision appropriately and effectively
• A desire to explore a career in Professional Psychology
• To assimilate complex information and use reflective/analytic thinking

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement.

Additional information
For questions about the job, contact:
Counselling Psychologist
Dr Maelaudene Campbell
maelaudene.campbell5@nhs.net
07769697374