Clinical Psychologist job description

CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITY

1. To provide highly specialist psychological assessments of service users referred to the team, based upon the appropriate use, analysis, interpretation and integration of highly complex psychological data from a variety of sources including: psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations, semi-structured interviews with service users, family
members and others involved in the service user’s care.
2. To be responsible for formulation and implementation of complex plans for formal psychological treatment and/or management of service users’ offending behaviours, mental health/learning disability/behavioural problems, based on an appropriate conceptual framework of the problems and employing methods of evidence based efficacy across the full range of care settings.

3. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups based on formulations and drawing on different explanatory psychological models and maintaining a number of provisional
hypotheses.
4. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options and any adjustment to plans, as treatment progresses, taking into account theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical, developmental processes,
which have shaped the individual, family or group.
5. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for psychological assessment, treatment and discharge of service users, communicating with the referral agent and others involved in care on a regular basis.
6. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to colleagues in the team, carers from the public, private and voluntary sector and families, as well as courts and solicitors.
7. To ensure members of the clinical team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding care of service users through provision of advice and consultation and dissemination of psychological research and theory. To advise,
support and facilitate effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the team.
8. To undertake risk assessment and management of individual service users especially in relation to offending behaviour on behalf of the team and to provide advice for other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and
management.
9. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner information concerning assessment, formulation and treatment plans and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of both uni and multi disciplinary care.

10. To act as care co-ordinator, when required, ensuring the provision of a care package appropriate for the service user needs, co-ordinating the work of others involved with care, taking responsibility for arranging CPA reviews as required and
communicating effectively with the service user, his/her family and all others involved in the network of care and to monitor progress during the course of multidisciplinary interventions.

11. To be responsible for development of a specialists area of psychological interest and service in agreement with Head of Clinical Psychology Services and according to service priorities.

12. To provide reports to court and MHRT as required.

LEADERSHIP AND STAFF MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY
1. To maintain and develop skills in areas of professional pre- and post graduate training and clinical supervision.
2. To provide clinical placements of trainee clinical psychologists, ensuring that trainees acquire necessary skills, competencies and experience and to evaluate these competencies. To supervise and manage work of trainees on placement.
3. To provide consultation and supervision to other non-psychologist staff in carrying out psychological work as appropriate.

4. To provide professional and clinical supervision to assistant psychologists, trainees and other staff as mutually agreed.
5. To provide advice, consultation and training and CPD activities for staff working with learning disabled offenders across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.
6. To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from senior colleagues and participate in peer supervision.
7. To participate as a senior clinician in the development of high quality responsive and accessible service including advising service and professional management on those aspects of service where psychological and organisational matters need addressing.
8. To ensure development and articulation of best practice by exercising the skills of a reflective and reflexive scientist practitioner to take part in regular professional appraisal supervision and maintaining up to date knowledge of relevant legislation , national and local policies and current developments in the field of psychology and Learning Disability Services.
9. To represent as and when required the Learning Disability Service as a whole to external agencies.
10. To contribute to identifying needs of service users in respect of current services and the planning of future provision and participate in appropriate planning and development meetings.
11. To participate as appropriate in staff recruitment, both in the short-listing process and as a member of interview panels for assistants and trainees and other staff members of the Forensic LD Service.
12. To exercise delegated responsibility for managing the psychological resources available to a team, whether in the form of additional qualified and unqualified graduate psychology staff, or in the form of psychological materials employed in the
assessment and treatment of learning disability service users.
13. To exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service or team.
14. To advise and participate in service development in a specialist area of psychological interest and service in agreement with the Head of Psychology Service and be a resource for consultation to colleagues regarding this specialist area.
15. To manage assistant and trainee psychologists within the service area as well as offering clinical supervision for other members of the multi-disciplinary clinical team and for other professionals / agencies with the wider NHS and professional community.

SERVICE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVEMENT
1. To take the psychology lead as a senior clinician, in the evaluation, monitoring and development of the team’s operational policies, 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.
2. To utilise evidence based literature and research to support practice and work.
3. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff.
4. To undertake project management including complex audit and service evaluation with colleagues within and across the service to help develop and improve services.

Clinical Psychologist job description