Job Description
Job Title:
Clinical /Counselling Psychologist Band 7, Trauma Service
Accountable to:
Operationally accountable to the CEO of CHUMS CIC, professionally
responsible to the Principal Psychologist
Responsible for:
Trainee Psychologists, Assistant psychologists
Band (AfC):
7
Job Summary:
To ensure the systematic provision of a high quality clinical
psychology service to clients of the Trauma Service. For
children/young people following traumatic death or those suffering
symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. To hold a caseload of
clients and provide assessment, intervention, advice & consultancy to
clients & professionals. To provide clinical guidance to other members
of the service. To work autonomously within professional practice
guidelines and exercise responsibility for the systematic governance
of psychological practice within the service. To carry out audit, policy
and service development. To lecture and teach topics appropriate to
specialist area. To represent the service and the needs of the users at
a national and international level.
Key Result Areas
1. Clinical
a. To provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments of clients
referred to the Trauma Service based upon the appropriate use,
interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources
including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures,
rating scales, structured and semi-structured interviews with clients, family
members and others involved in the client’s care.
b. To provide expertise and advice to facilitate the effective and appropriate
provision of psychological care by all members of the multi-disciplinary team.
c. To formulate plans for the formal and informal psychological treatment and/or
management of clients’ mental health problems and adjustment difficulties
based upon psychological formulation and evidence of efficacy, across the
full range of care settings.
d. To be responsible for implementing a range of specialist psychological
interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across
teams, both individually and collaboratively. Adjusting and refining
psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and
maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
e. To make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options
taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly
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complex factors concerning historical and development processes that have
shaped the individual, family or group.
f. To exercise full responsibility and autonomy for the treatment and discharge
of clients whose problems are managed as a psychologically based standard
care plan ensuring appropriate assessment formulation and interventions,
communicating with the referral agent and other involved with the care on a
regular basis
g. To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and
consultation to other professionals contributing directly to client’s formulation,
diagnosis and treatment plan.
h. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for relevant individual
clients and to provide both general and specialist advice for psychologists
and other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and
management.
i.
To act as care co-ordinator, where appropriate, ensuring the provision of a
care package appropriate for the client’s needs, co-ordinating the work of
others involved with care, arranging client’s care reviews as required and
communicating effectively with the client, his/her family and all others
involved in care; and to monitor progress during the course of multidisciplinary interventions.
j.
To communicate in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, information
concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under
their care and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of care.
k. To provide expert consultation about the psychological care of the client
group to staff and agencies beyond the service.
2. Teaching, training and supervision:
a. To provide clinical and professional supervision to assistant psychologists
working in the service.
b. To provide specialist clinical placements for trainee clinical and/or
counselling psychologists, ensuring that they acquire the necessary clinical
experience and research skills to doctoral level where appropriate/ to
contribute effectively to good psychological practice.
c. To provide pre and post-qualification teaching of clinical and/or counselling
psychology as appropriate.
d. To continue to develop expertise in the area of professional pre and postgraduate training and clinical supervision.
3. Management, recruitment, policy and service development:
a. To participate in the development of a high quality, responsive and
accessible service for clients, their carers and families within the service
b. To exercise responsibility for the appropriate and safe use of specialist
psychological equipment within the sector/section including appropriate
systems of stock control.
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c. To exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological
practice within the service, including maintaining systematic records of
appraisals, clinical record keeping standards and the transcribing of minutes
and records of appropriate professional meetings.
d. To liaise with psychologists and other mental health professionals in local
mental health teams, to develop collaborative models of practice and good
working relationships across different services.
4. IT Management:
a. Record and report personally generated audit and research information, and
data relating to own clinical and non-clinical activity.
b. Enter clinical and audit/research information as required into information
systems.
c. Receive and send emails, and use the internet to access information relevant
to professional practice and research.
d. Carry out sophisticated literature searches in various databases to ensure
that the evidence on which the service’s interventions are based is
continually updated.
e. Prepare teaching materials and presentations to a very high professional
standard.
5. Research and service evaluation
a. To contribute to and take part in planning and implementing systems for the
evaluation, monitoring and development of the services offered, through the
deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit
and ensuring incorporation of psychological frameworks for understanding
and provision of high quality care.
b. To take part in audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and
across the service to help develop and improve services to clients and their
families.
c. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence
based practice in individual work, work with other team members and across
the service.
d. To take part in any research being conducted by the service which will
actively contribute to the body of research on which the service draws,
ultimately enhancing the understanding of how trauma impacts upon children
and families, and how psychological interventions can assist.
e. To organise, co-ordinate and supervise research undertaken by assistant
psychologists and trainee clinical psychologists, including providing
opportunities for and supervision of trainee clinical /counselling psychologists
to complete their doctoral research theses within the service.
f. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in
psychology across the organisation and Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Services nationally.
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6. General
a. To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest
professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and
external CPD training and development programmes.
b. To ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology
within the service area and contribute across the service by exercising the
skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular
professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active
engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and
related disciplines.
c. To ensure the highest standards of clinical record keeping including
electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible
exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional
codes of practice of the British Psychological Society, the Health
Professionals Council and CHUMS CIC policies and procedures.
d. To ensure that all psychologists within the service maintain up to date
knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to
both the specific client group and mental health.
e. To commit to and promote the principles of routine outcome monitoring and
evaluation within the multi- disciplinary team, providing training and guidance
within the extended service as necessary.
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