Mental Health Matters
Job Description
Job Title:
Principal Clinician
(IAPT)
Responsible to:
Talking Matters Manager
Reporting to:
Talking Matters Manager
Key Relationships:
 GPs and clinical commissioners
 MHM Clinical Hub
 Secondary care mental health services
 Social services
 Local community and support groups
Function of the post:
The post holder will be the clinical face of Talking Matters Kent, being accountable for all
clinical delivery within Kent. During our ramp-up period, the post holder will play a key part in
the implementation of Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service, leading
work-streams as required, and will provide high intensity interventions and initially some low
intensity interventions. The post holder will work with clients who have a range of largely,
Anxiety and Depression related problems for which CBT, in particular, is demonstrated to be
clinically effective. The post holder will line manage clinical staff based in Kent, and will be
accountable for clinical outcomes delivered by those staff.
The post holder will work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using
interpreters when necessary and should be committed to equal opportunities
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
1. Clinical
1.1. Accept referrals received into the Talking Matters Clinical Hub which have been
assessed for suitability for psychological interventions
1.2. Make decisions on suitability of new referrals, adhering to the Talking Matters
referral protocols, and refer unsuitable clients on to the relevant service or back to the
referral agent as necessary.
1.3. Formulate, implement and evaluate therapy programmes for clients.
1.4. Use highly developed communication skills in working with people to understand their
personal and often very sensitive difficulties
1.5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment and treatment
of clients in line with the service.
1.6. Educate and involve family members and others in treatment as necessary
1.7. Adhere to an agreed activity contract relating to the number of client contacts offered,
and clinical sessions carried out per week in order to minimise waiting times and
ensure treatment delivery remains accessible and convenient.
1.8. Participate in multi-disciplinary meetings relating to referrals or clients in treatment,
where appropriate.
1.9. Complete all requirements relating to data collection within the service.
1.10. Keep coherent records of all clinical activity in line with service protocols
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1.11. Work closely with other members of the team as it develops, ensuring appropriate
step-up and step-down arrangements are in place to maintain a stepped care
approach.
1.12. Assess and integrate issues surrounding work and employment into the overall
therapy process
1.13. Carry out clinical audits of service performance, including service user surveys and
evaluations, and help to collate and disseminate the results for feedback.
1.14. Liaise with other health and social care staff from a range of agencies in the care
provided clients.
1.15. Provide specialist advice and consultation to other professionals, services and
individuals as appropriate
2. Training and Supervision
2.1. As an accredited supervisor, provide appropriate supervision to staff in the service.
2.2. Ensure that clinical staff based within Kent are receiving appropriate Supervision that
supports clinical and operational practice
2.3. Provide appropriate training and work with the Talking Matters Manager to identify
training needs within the service
3. Professional
3.1. Ensure the maintenance of standards of practice according to the employer and any
regulating, professional and accrediting bodies (e.g. BPS, UKCP, BABCP), and keep
up to date on new recommendations/guidelines set by the Department of Health (e.g.
NHS plan, National Service Framework, National Institute for Clinical Excellence).
3.2. Ensure that client confidentiality is protected at all times and that all staff are
Information Governance trained
3.3. Be aware of, and keep up to date with advances in the spheres of CBT and other
psychological therapies.
3.4. Ensure clear professional objectives are identified, discussed and reviewed with for
practitioners and therapists in the service
3.5. Attend clinical/managerial supervision on a regular basis as agreed with the Head of
Service.
3.6. Participate in individual performance review and respond to agreed objectives.
3.7. Keep up to date all records in relation to CPD and ensure personal development plan
maintains up to date specialist knowledge of latest theoretical and service delivery
models/developments.
3.8. Attend relevant conferences / workshops in line with identified professional
objectives.
3.9. Participate in service improvement by highlighting issues and implementing changes
in practice.
4. Leadership/Management
4.1. Be the primary point of contact for clinical matters related to the Kent IAPT service
4.2. Promote and maintain links with Primary Care and Secondary Care Staff to help coordinate the provision of an effective Psychological Therapies Service.
4.3. Be accountable for the clinical outcomes of interventions delivered within Kent
4.4. Liaise with Service Manager and Clinical Lead in the Clinical Hub to ensure that
communication and protocols between Kent and the Clinical Hub are robust and that
patients experience a seamless service
4.5. Carry out all day to day and line management duties including annual appraisal and
performance management of clinical staff based in Kent
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5. General
5.1. To lead the development of best practice within the service, in line with MHM
practices and developments.
5.2. To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and
procedures in relation to IAPT provision.
5.3. All employees have a duty and responsibility for their own health and safety and the
health of safety of colleagues, patients and the general public.
5.4. All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information
processed for both patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line
with the Data Protection Act (1998) and Security and Confidentiality Policies.
5.5. It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for
personal gain, to seek advantage of further private business or other interests in the
course of their official duties.
5.6. This Job Description does not provide an exhaustive list of duties and may be
reviewed in conjunction with the post holder in light of service development.
Core Competencies – job specific




Ability to explain complex clinical practice to non-specialists in a positive and clear way
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Ability to motivate individuals and teams
Good understanding of performance within a clinical environment with the ability to set,
measure and improve both operational and clinical performance
 Ability to work with others to find solutions to problems
All employees have a responsibility to undertake training and development as required. They
also have a responsibility to assist, where appropriate and necessary, with the training and
development of fellow employees.
All employees have a responsibility of care for their own and others health and safety.
You are required to make positive efforts to maintain your own personal safety and that of
others by taking reasonable care, carrying out requirements of the law and following
recognised codes of practice. You are also required to be aware of and comply with Mental
Health Matters policies on health and safety, etc.
In the course of your employment with Mental Health Matters you may handle confidential
personal information concerning either service-service-user, staff or company intellectual
property. You must not read, discuss, disclose or pass on confidential information unless it is
necessary in the pursuance of your legitimate duties. Unauthorised disclosure of such
information will be treated as a serious disciplinary matter. In addition it is important that you
realise that if this confidentiality is breached, this may result in civil proceedings or a criminal
prosecution. This confidentiality must continue at all times and this agreement will continue
beyond your period of employment with Mental Health Matters.
This job description is not exhaustive and is subject to continuous change, in consultation
with the postholder. Please note this job description gives a statement of the general purpose
of the job and provides an outline of the duties and responsibilities involved. This does not
constitute a contract of employment.
Approved:
Job Title:
Date:
Approved:
Date:
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Job Title:
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This section is required for all Managerial IAPT roles
Core Competencies
These will include being able to demonstrate knowledge of:
How to be non-judgemental
How to promote anti-discriminatory practice
How to maintain confidentiality
How to promote equality and diversity
How to engender empowerment and well-being
How to promote equal opportunities
How to ensure service users are treated with dignity and respect as part of ethical practice
General:
1. To actively promote a positive image of Mental Health Matters.
2. To actively promote mental health issues positively
3. To ensure good communications both within Mental Health Matters and external agencies.
4. To attend all supervision sessions or notified meetings where relevant.
5. To attend all mandatory training sessions.
6. To contribute to the development of best practice within the service.
7. To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and procedures in
relation to Mental Health and Primary Care Services.
8. All employees have a responsibility and a legal obligation to ensure that information processed
for both patients and staff is kept accurate, confidential, secure and in line with the Data
Protection Act (1998) and Security and Confidentiality Policies.
9. It is the responsibility of all staff that they do not abuse their official position for personal gain,
to seek advantage of further private business or other interests in the course of their official
duties.
10. To promote and implement MHMs Equality Policy in all aspects of employment and service
delivery.
11. To maintain the confidentiality of all electronically stored personal data in line with the provision
of the Data Protection Act.
Finance:
1.
To ensure that all authorisation procedures are adhered to in line with Mental Health Matters
finance authorisation procedures.
2.
To ensure the flow of relevant information to the Finance Department.
Communication & administration:
1.
To keep all relevant records and information pertaining to area of responsibility and report
information, where necessary your line manager, whilst working within the agreed
administration procedures.
2.
Ensure that your line manager is fully informed of any issues, which may effect the quality of
service provision.
3.
To attend all relevant meetings both internally and externally.
4.
To provide reports as and when required.
Risk Assessment:
1. Must follow all risk assessments planning protocols and incident reporting
2. Must report any area of risk and/or changes or concerns
3. Must review and update all risk assessments
4. Must liaise with third parties regarding risk and risk assessments.
5. Support the development of effective risk assessments
6. Agree and authorise all service-user risk assessments and risk management plans
7. Inform line management of heightened risk/significant changes in risk
8. To complete a risk register on a monthly basis and return to Central Office
9. To monitor compliance to risk assessment management procedures and report any
discrepancies/concerns to line management
Guardian 24:
1. You must register with Guardian 24 (G24) and use in every lone working situation
2. You must report immediately any faults, problems or concerns regarding G24 to your line
manager.
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3. Responsible to ensure that all staff line managed follow G24 procedure and responsibility for
ensuring that all staff are registered and use the system.
4. Must monitor compliance and activity on a weekly basis of the registered staff
5. Acts as the system administrator and updates G24 information on a monthly basis and reports
compliance in the monthly report.
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Personal Specification
Qualification
Essential
Qualification from High Intensity
IAPT Course (Post Graduate
Diploma)
Desirable
Relevant experience in
Primary Care treating
anxiety and depression.
OR
Accredited Supervision
training for Low Intensity
Practitioners
Equivalent:
e.g. A recorded/registered
doctoral level qualification in
clinical or counselling
psychology/ a
recorded/registered qualification
in one of the following - nursing,
social work, occupational
therapy, arts therapy or a
psychological therapy – plus
further post graduate
qualification training in a
psychological therapy which may
be CBT or another IAPT
appropriate evidence based
therapy (i.e. IPT) to at least
equivalent of a post graduate
diploma
Assessment Method
Application Form
Management Qualification
AND
significant experience working
as a psychological therapy
practitioner and demonstrating
the competences as required.
Accredited IAPT supervision
training for High Intensity
workers
Experience
Accredited with BABCP
Demonstrable experience of
working in primary care mental
health services
Application Form
Interview
Ability to meet agreed/specified
service targets
Worked in a service where
agreed targets in place
demonstrating clinical
outcomes
Ability to manage own caseload
and time
Interview
Demonstrates high standards in
written communication
Application form / test
Able to write clear reports and
letters to referrers
Portfolio / test
Experience with routine outcome
monitoring
Experience of teaching and
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liaising with other professional
groups
Interview
Experience of managing people
Application
Skills &
Competencies
Full range of skills and
competencies as laid out in the
competence framework for CBT
(Roth and Pilling 2007)
Interview
Computer literate
Interview question
/portfolio
Well developed skills in the
ability to communicate
effectively, orally and in writing,
complex, highly technical and/or
clinically sensitive information to
clients, their families, carers and
other professional colleagues
both within and outside the NHS
Interview /
application/portfolio
/test
Has received training (either
formal of through experience)
and carried out risk assessments
within scope of practice
Interview
Interview / Reference
Able to develop good therapeutic
relationships with clients
Application
Trained in provision of
supervision for CBT
Application
Accredited with a professional
psychological therapy
organisation
Application
Completed clinical audits within
a service
Knowledge
Demonstrates an understanding
of anxiety and depression and
how it may present in Primary
Care
Interview question
Demonstrates a knowledge of
the issues surrounding work and
the impact it can have on mental
health / benefits & employment
systems
Interview question
Knowledge of medication used
in anxiety and depression and
other common mental health
problems
Interview question
Demonstrates an understanding
for the need to use evidence
based psychological therapies
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and how it relates to this post
Training
Other
Requirements
Knowledge of child protection
issues and other relevant
legislation
Interview question
Good record of Continuing
Professional Development and
willingness to continue this
Application / Interview
High level of enthusiasm and
Motivation.
Interview
Advanced communication skills
Interview
Ability to work within a team and
foster good working relationships
Interview / reference
Ability to use clinical supervision
and personal development
positively and effectively
Application form/
interview
Ability to work under pressure
Interview test
Regard for others and respect
for individual rights of autonomy
and confidentiality
Interview
Ability to be self reflective, whilst
working with service users, & in
own personal and professional
development and in supervision
Interview
The ability and skills to act as an
advocate for a new service, to
engage and foster good
professional relationships with all
health professionals in
promoting the good integration
of this service with the wider
health care system
Interview
Car driver and/or ability and
willingness to travel to locations
throughout the organisation
Interview
Fluent in languages other
than English
Experience of working with
diverse communities and
within a multicultural setting
Application / Interview
Interview
Review date:
Reviewed by:
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