Clinical/Counselling Psychologist - WF Refugee Psychology Service

at  NELFT NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join the Waltham Forest Refugee Psychology Service, a specialist service for the treatment of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and traumatic bereavement in asylum seekers and refugees.
We are keen to recruit an enthusiastic and committed individual who shares our team’s passion human rights and social justice. We offer excellent development opportunities including high quality and regular supervision, opportunities for research, and close working with other specialist refugee and trauma services across the London region. We also support the development of leadership skills and aim to nurture our staff and support them to become confident supervisors, devise and implement training, and conduct research. If you would like to make a positive difference to the lives of survivors, we would love to hear from you.
Our team of experienced clinicians offer a range of specialist therapy interventions to survivors of torture, human trafficking, and other human rights violations. You will be providing specialist and expert assessments, formulations and evidence-based treatment for PTSD and Complex PTSD. You will be involved in our phase-based treatment programme, providing both individual and group treatment, and will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills in therapy modalities including trauma-focused cognitive therapy for PTSD, EMDR, Compassion Focussed Therapy and Narrative Exposure Therapy. You will also contribute to the supervision of assistant psychologists and trainee clinical psychologists, as appropriate. There will be opportunities to contribute to research, audits and service evaluation, as well as to the development and provision of training focused on working with asylum seekers and refugees, working with interpreters, and treating PTSD. You may also be involved in consultation and liaison to multidisciplinary mental health staff, and other, non-professional carers. There will be opportunities for close working with refugee and other community organisations.
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to provide the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
A long-standing and award-winning approach to Equality and Diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities and LGBT staff
A commitment to supporting our staff achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our efforts to support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a ‘Top 10 Family Friendly Employer’ from Working Families charity
Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for yo u. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that’s job share, part time or another flexible pattern.
For detailed job description and main responsibilities, please see the attached job description and person specification.
The post holder will join the specialist Care Pathway for Refugee Support and will be based in the Waltham Forest Refugee Psychology Service managed by the Care Pathway Lead. The post holder will be expected to offer psychological assessment and therapy to adults with a history of forced migration, living in the borough of Waltham Forest. The post holder will also act as a key point for discussions around supporting refugees with mental health difficulties, and will be involved in some community development work with refugee organisations around mental health, and with teaching and training on relevant topics.
Person specification
Qualifications/ Registrations
Essential criteria
Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 2000) as accredited by the British Psychological Society, or British Psychological Society Statement of Equivalence.
Professional registration with the appropriate professional body - HCPC
Desirable criteria
Completion of further post-doctoral post-qualification specialist training including (1) trauma-focused therapy model e.g. EMDR (2) Training in supervision of trainee clinical psychologists
Skills/ Abilities
Essential criteria
Highly skilled psychological assessment and treatment of complex mental health difficulties, using evidence-based models
Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management of complex and acute PTSD.
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.
Experience/ Knowledge
Essential criteria
Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, including with acute and complex PTSD, across the whole life course and presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity.
Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
Experience of assessment and management of risk and safeguarding adults/children
Experience working with refugees/forced migrants
Knowledge of refugee mental health, particularly working clinically with clients with psychological problems following multiple traumas and forced relocation
Experience of providing evidence-based psychological treatments with interpreters
Desirable criteria
Experience of working with Afghan refugees and/or refugees on resettlement schemes
Experience of clinically-relevant research and/or service evaluation with refugees / forced migrants
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria
An interest in and enthusiasm for refugee mental health care and resettlement support

Please refer the Job description for details