Clinical/Forensic Psychologist

at  Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Clinical or Work Practice To provide specialist psychological assessments to patients within the allocated services, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of 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 patients and others involved in the patients care. To formulate and implement plans for the psychological treatment and/or management of a patients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the patients problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions, individual and group, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual.
To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans. To liaise closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team, giving authoritative specialist advice on psychological aspects of care, contributing directly to formulation, diagnosis and treatment planning. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all patients of the service. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual patients and to provide advice and training to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.
To communicate in a skilled, persuasive and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment formulation and treatment plans of patients, and to monitor progress during the course of their multidisciplinary care. To disseminate knowledge and skills in both general aspects of forensic clinical psychology, as well as a designated specialist area. To represent Rampton Hospital and Psychology on Trust wide and other committees and groups, as agreed with the Head of Psychology and with a clear brief. To develop networks and contacts to update the policy and practice of forensic clinical psychology, particularly as applied to mentally disordered offenders, to support professional and service development.
Teaching, Training & Supervision To receive regular clinical supervision from a qualified psychologist and, where appropriate, other professional colleagues. To deploy skills in the area of professional postgraduate teaching, training and supervision, particularly of clinical and forensic psychologists. To supervise junior psychology staff and professional psychology trainees. To provide teaching, training and supervision to staff and MDT colleagues, and other psychologists.
To continue to gain experience, and particularly in an agreed specialist area. Research & Service Evaluation To use theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other MDT colleagues. To devise and undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to others undertaking research, to develop service and clinical forensic psychology knowledge base as agreed with the Lead Psychologist. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, as agreed with the Head of Psychology.
Policies & Procedures The duties and responsibilities of this post will be undertaken in accordance with the policies, procedures and practices of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust and with the Code of Conduct and Guidance on Professional Practice issued by the British Psychological Society and the Health and Care Professions Council. t is the post-holders responsibility to ensure that they keep up-to-date with these policies and other policy documents. Works in accordance with Forensic Division and Rampton Hospital procedures, in particular security and health and safety. Applies equal opportunities principles at all times and participates in training activities and Individual Performance and Development Reviews.
Management, Recruitment & Service Development To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services through the development of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit as agreed with the Head of Psychology. To identify and to advise service managers on those aspects of the service where psychological or organisation matters need addressing. To help manage the workloads of junior psychologists as directed by the Head of Psychology. To conduct individual performance reviews of junior staff by agreement with the Head of Psychology.
To be involved, as appropriate, in the short-listing and interviewing of psychology staff. Health and Safety To work within the provisions of the Trust Health and Safety Policy. General Duties To contribute to the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the Head of Psychology. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the fields of clinical and forensic psychology and related disciplines.
To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic data entry and recording, and report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance, in accordance with professional codes of practice of the British Psychological Society, the health and Care Professions Council 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 patient group and mental health. To ensure that all aspects of professional activity (e.g. communication with patients, relatives, colleagues as well as in the assessment, development/delivery of interventions) issues of diversity such as race, culture, identity, gender and sexuality are sensitively considered and incorporated to reflect individual differences appropriately.
To ensure that service users are appropriately consulted about relevant aspects of their care and are empowered to express their views in a responsive environment enabling such views to be assimilated/incorporated into continued service development and improvement. Additional Duties To develop individual formulations and to lead team formulation planning, applying theoretical models of the psychology for mental health and offending to observed behaviour, cognitive, emotional and interpersonal patterns, for patients in the allocated services, who present complex clinical cases

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