Job summary
Employer heading
Developmental (B7-8a) Applied Psychologist
NHS AfC: Band 8a
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides specialist mental health, learning disability, and community healthcare services for the population of the Black Country.
Across the whole of the region we provide:
- Adult and older adult mental health services
- Specialist learning disability services
- Mental health services for children and young people
- Community healthcare services for children, young people and families in Dudley
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust was formed on 1 April 2020, with the merger of Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Combining resources, strategies and talented workforce enables us to deliver a wider variety of outstanding services that are based on best practice and are continually improving.
We currently employ over 4,000 people and just like the population we serve, we are made up of diverse cultures and backgrounds. Whatever your role, working in a NHS Foundation Trust, like ours, is a demanding and extremely rewarding experience. Knowing that every day you can help to make a positive difference to someone’s life is a very powerful feeling. We know that our Trust runs on this desire to help and support people, and our Trust vision expresses this. Our vision is to improve health and wellbeing for everyone, especially our colleagues to achieve the best possible work/life balance.
We proudly offer supportive, inclusive and family friendly employment and flexible working policies. We have a wide range of professional services and employee networks to help our colleagues be at their best - and find support if they need it. To find more about our staff benefits, please visit our website: blackcountryhealthcare.nhs.uk.
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and ethnic minority candidates are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Black Country Healthcare we recognise and value all forms of knowledge and expertise, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification or criteria in the job description/person specification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.
For further supporting information to help you apply for this role please see documents attached under ‘Additional documents’.
Job overview
There is an exciting opportunity for a qualified Applied Psychologist interested in specialist learning disability services. This development post is for people passionate about LD. It is a chance to work with an experienced and welcoming team. The role is diverse and rewarding with excellent cross division support.
Suitable for experienced band 7 wishing to progress to 8a without requiring the development process. Also suitable for 8a psychologists wanting to move from current post and develop skills in a CLDT. This multi-disciplinary, community service serves the Dudley area.
Dudley CLDT is supportive, forward-thinking & committed to improving patient care. It serves people with a learning disability experiencing significant mental health needs and/or displaying significant behavioural distress. It is part of a stepped care whole-pathway model linking with the IST, FCT, A&T Inpatient services & local Commissioning services.
Several 8a or 7-8a development posts are available for the appropriate candidates across the LD Division in BCHFT. 2 posts will be based in Wolverhampton and 1 based in Dudley. Applicants for this post who are selected for interview will also be given the option to be considered for either of the Wolverhampton posts too.
Wherever you choose to be based, there are likely to be opportunities to work across the division, linking in to our community based services. You may on the rare occasion be asked to support one of those services should the need arise.
Main duties of the job
The team provides a full range of assessments, interventions, support, training and advice to individuals themselves, their families and paid carers and the network of multi-agency stakeholders who are involved in the care and support of people experiencing complex behavioural and/or emotional distress.
Guided by recovery principles, the team maintains close liaison and pathways with a range of existing and specialist mental health community teams, social support accommodation services and social care agencies across the Dudley area in order to ensure that people with a learning disability and mental health and/or behavioural distress needs are also well supported by the full range of services and opportunities that meet their whole life person centred needs and aspirations.
Working for our organisation
The post-holder will be part of a team committed to MDT working with people with a learning disability. They will bring experience combining the best of evidence based clinical assessment & formulation with integrative, client centred, therapeutic interventions.
They will be skilled in both individual and group work adapted to match the different intellectual & emotional abilities within the client group. They will have experience and skills to oversee the performance and development of existing psychological pathways, such as Trauma, PBS and Dementia.
There are opportunities to develop new and existing group programmes. The post-holder support in training/supervising others, including practitioners & trainees working within the team at different times.
Psychologists throughout services across BCHFT have good links with the full range of Doctoral Psychology courses at the Universities of Birmingham, Coventry and Warwick and Wolverhampton.
Key staff are closely involved with Research and Innovation. CPD and supervision for all grades of staff is highly valued. Psychological professionals are thoroughly integrated at all levels in the quality, governance and service development infrastructure of the Trust.
We are also in a position to offer the successful candidate CPD. BCHFT are committed to investment in our Psychology staff so you will have access to psychology specific dedicated CPD opportunities to support your professional growth
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- To ensure high quality, specialist psychology provision to people with a learning disability with complex mental health needs and/or displaying significant behavioural distress . Working within community settings in the Dudley locality.
- To offer advice, specialist psychological assessment/intervention and or consultation and supervision on this client group’s psychological care either directly with the client or indirectly with their systemic support networks.
- Liaise with psychology colleagues, non-psychology colleagues, external agencies and other non-professional carers regarding client's psychological support needs .
- To perform an important leadership role and work alongside MDT colleagues within and across the settings.
- To work autonomously within professional guidelines and exercise responsibility for systematic governance of psychological practice within the service. To propose and implement policy changes with the areas served by the service.
- To utilise doctoral level research skills for audit, policy and service development and research. To supervise research carried out by Assistant and Trainee psychologists.
- Guided by the person centred Transforming care principles of the recovery model ensure that people with a learning disability and additional support needs are safely supported by the full range of services and opportunities that meet their whole life needs and aspirations, in the least restrictive context.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Qualifications
- Working with a learning disability population
- Experience of assessment, formulation and intervention
- Experience of a range of evidenced-based therapeutic interventions e.g. CBT, Third Wave models, Systemic therapy
Desirable criteria
- Post graduate training
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Andy Sheen
- Job title
- Principal Clinical Psychologist
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07388 227516
- Additional information
For an informal discussion about this post or to arrange a visit please contact:
Dr. Andy Sheen (Principal Clinical Psychologist)
via email at [email protected]
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