Clinical Neuropsychologist job description

The post holder will be responsible for the management of a specialist neuropsychology service for
stroke and rehabilitation patients , working closely with acute and community care teams. This will
include providing psychological interventions through multi-disciplinary teams (acute care, primary
care teams, community nursing) as well as to individual/ family interventions.

The post holder will be part of a larger clinical health psychology team, offering supervision, support and training to other psychologists, psychological therapists and trainees in the department regarding
neuropsychological assessment and specialist interventions for stroke/neurological conditions. The
post holder will be working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework
of the Department’s and Trust’s policies and procedures and will utilise research skills for audit,
policy and service development and research within the area served by the service

Key Result Areas

1 Provide a specialist neuropsychology service for patients with stroke/neurological problems, including neuropsychological assessment, intervention, risk management and referral on to other mental health services as appropriate to need. This will consist primarily of interventions with acute and community rehab care teams supporting patients as well as direct interventions for individuals, families and groups within a wide range of different community settings, although largely treating patients’ in their own homes.

2 Develop effective links and referral pathways with primary and secondary care teams providing care for stroke/neurological patients, including arrangements for communication and joint working.

3 Provide specialist psychological training, supervision, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to the formulation and treatment plans of individual patients; including advice on psychological aspects of stroke/neurological/long-term conditions and selfmanagement. This will include supervision and training of psychologists, psychological therapists and trainees.

4 Support Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist as deputy clinical manager for a team of psychologists, psychological therapists and trainees.

5 Maintain electronic systems for referrals, appointments, activity and outcome monitoring for performance management, including continuous audit and evaluation of service.

6 Represent the Trust at key local and national fora for long-term conditions and clinical health psychology. This would include reporting on the service through written documents and presentations.

1. Key Working Relationships
· Develop and maintain referral pathways from primary, acute and community care teams. Ensure effective communication with these teams about referred patients and activities of the specialist service generally.
· Develop and maintain referral pathways between the specialist stroke/neurological and generic primary care psychology service, ensuring that referrals are allocated appropriately between designated practice psychologists and the specialist service.
· Support the development of specialist clinical health psychology skills and on-going delivery of specialist interventions through training and supervision of qualified and unqualified psychologists.
· Support the implementation of national standards for the psychological care of patients with long-term conditions across primary, acute and community care teams by ensuring that team members are aware of standards and by monitoring outcomes.

2. Functional Responsibilities
2.1 Clinical responsibilities:
· Provide specialist neuropsychological assessments of patients referred to the service based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of highly complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the patient’s care.

· Formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of problems associated with stroke/neurological conditions, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of those problems derived from a broad theoretical knowledge of psychology, and employing evidence based practice.

· Be responsible for implementing a range of specialist psychological interventions for individuals,
families and groups within primary, community and acute care settings, including psychoeducation
sessions.
· Be responsible for implementing a range of specialist psychological interventions for health and
social care teams supporting stroke/neurological patients and their family/carer networks.
· Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and
therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical, developmental and
cultural processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
· Be responsible for providing and receiving highly complex, sensitive, distressing and emotional
information in relation to mental and physical health issues, where there are often difficulties in
terms of acceptance or understanding.
· Communicate across language and cultural barriers, including working for sustained periods of
time by communicating with patients, carers or groups through professional interpreters or
advocates.
· Be responsible for recording, monitoring and reporting on clinical work and communicating in a
skilled and sensitive manner, highly complex, sensitive or contentious information concerning
the assessment, formulation, treatment plans and progress of patients in both verbal and
written formats.
· Undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual patients as appropriate
.
2.2 Supervision and service management
· Provide specialist psychological advice, supervision, guidance and consultation to other
professionals on a case by case basis, contributing directly to the formulation and treatment
plans of individual patients; including advice on psychological aspects of risk assessment
and risk management and including liaising with staff across all sectors of care (for example
primary care, secondary care and specialist/tertiary services).
· Employ a broad theoretical knowledge of psychology and specialist clinical skills to develop
and support the psychological skills of others (including graduate mental health workers,
trainee and qualified psychologists, and members of other staff groups) through the
development and delivery of teaching, training and supervision programmes.
· Ensure that all members of multidisciplinary teams have access to a psychologically-based
framework for the understanding and care of stroke/neurological patients and
families/carers referred to the service, through the provision of advice and consultation and
the dissemination of psychological research and theory. This includes ensuring that a
psychological perspective is provided in a wide range of settings where patient care is
discussed, planned and organised.

2.3 Information management.
Maintain electronic data systems for monitoring activity and outcomes across service area.
Ensure appropriate use and administration of such systems by other members of staff within
the service.
2.4 Research, evaluation and development:
· Undertake continuous evaluation and audit of service area
· Provide written reports and presentations on activities within service area to local and
national fora for long-term conditions and clinical health psychology.
3. Operational Responsibilities
· Take overall responsibility for developing service area, including development of referral
pathways, delivery of interventions and systematic governance of psychological practice
within the service area (stroke/neurological/ long-term conditions).
· 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 clinical and professional supervision and
appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of
clinical psychology and related disciplines.
· Contribute to departmental governance and service management activities such as data
collection and reporting of outcomes within community services, commissioners and other
stakeholders as appropriate.
· Maintain up-to-date knowledge of local resources and service/professional links, legislation,
national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific service and mental
health generally.
· Use and maintain knowledge and understanding of the work and approaches of other key
disciplines, professions and agencies involved in the care and management network,
including medication and physical health issues, employment, social, educational and
criminal justice systems
· 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
4. Accountability
· Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and
discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based treatment
plans.
· To exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice
within the specialty area, reporting to the Consultant Clinical Psychologist (Long Term
Conditions), and contribute across the service by taking part in regular professional
supervision/ appraisal. This would include maintaining an active engagement with current
developments in the field of applied psychology, management of long-term conditions and
related disciplines.
· To maintain and promulgate 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 and Trust policies and procedures.
· To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in
relation to both the specific client group and mental health.
6. Other Duties
The above is only an outline of the tasks, responsibilities and outcomes required of the role.
The job holder will carry out any other duties as may reasonably be required by their line
manager.
The job description and person specification may be reviewed on an ongoing basis in
accordance with the changing needs of the Department and the Organisation.

TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS

· Post-graduate qualification in Clinical Psychology conferring eligibility forchartership by the British Psychological Society, including specifically:

models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, CBT and one other psychological therapy.

 supervised clinical placements including lifespan developmental psychology, mental health specialisms and research skills.

· Formal training in supervision of trainees

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Clinical Neuropsychologist job description