Clinical Lead: West Mercia MHTR Team

Job content

Are you ready for the next step in your career?

Are you interested in helping to improve access to psychological therapies?

Would you like to help improve health and social outcomes for individuals, their families, and communities?

We have an opportunity for a highly motivated Practitioner Psychologist to join our team as the Clinical Lead for our Mental Health Treatment Requirement (MHTR) Team in West Mercia.

Working as part of a wider Health and Justice Team our MHTR Team provide psychological assessments and short-term psychological interventions with the aim of addressing common mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, thereby improving health and social outcomes for the individual, their family and the wider community.

As the Clinical Lead for the pathway, you will have responsibility for reviewing assessments undertaken by Assistant Psychologists; deciding whether an individual is suitable for an MHTR and for the supervision and management of a team of Assistant Psychologists who provide assessments and interventions for individuals referred to the service.

You will

• Be responsible for the day-to-day management of the MHTR Team
• Have knowledge of community mental health services and experience of providing clinical leadership within a multi-disciplinary team
• Support the psychological assessment of individuals referred to the service
• Supervise and support the assessment, formulation and treatment interventions provided by Assistant Psychologists and other professional colleagues where appropriate
• Deliver training relating to MHTR’s to colleagues working in Criminal Justice Services and other partner organisations
• Liaise with Commissioners and partnership organisations, including Criminal Justice colleagues
• Contribute to the development of local and national policy
• Be able to work flexibly to suit your personal circumstances and be able to travel to a range of venues across West Mercia and the wider West Midlands on occasion

Working for our organisation

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust provides physical and mental health care, learning disability, and adult social care services across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, the Black Country, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. In addition, we provide services on a wider regional and national basis. We serve a population of 1.5 million and currently employ around 8,500 members of staff.

By joining MPFT you will become part of a diverse and inclusive team who are empowered and supported to deliver care in a way which is consistent with our values:

• putting people at the heart of what we do
• empowering people to improve care and wellbeing
• delivering better health, better care in partnership

We are particularly seeking applications from individuals who may be from under-represented groups, such as black, Asian, or other ethnic groups, individuals with a disability, or LGBTQ+ individuals who meet the specific criteria.

We are embedding values based and inclusive recruitment practices to ensure that all applicants, from any backgrounds, have an equal chance of success in achieving a role with us.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Working as part of the wider Health and Justice Service you will

• Work with service users and other professionals in community settings, including local Courts, Probation Offices and mental health resource centres
• Have responsibility for the delivery of the MHTR service in West Mercia
• Have clinical responsibility for the delivery of interventions for service users sentenced to an MHTR following a recommendation by the service
• Ensure that robust procedures are in place for ensuring service users’ informed consent is gained and recorded
• Ensure robust assessment procedures are in place using agreed psychometric assessments
• Review MHTR assessments with Assistant Psychologists and decide whether a recommendation for an MHTR is appropriate, agreeing a decision to treat or decline and giving reasons in writing
• Evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual. Agree appropriate interventions with Assistant Psychologists and supervise their delivery
• Liaise with colleagues in other services delivering MHTR’s to ensure continued professional development and implementation of best practice
• Provide clinical supervision and case management for Assistant Psychologists
• Ensure that end of treatment reviews and post treatment follow up are completed
• Ensure that accurate data returns are completed in line with agreed schedules
• Refer service users on to local services for ongoing support/treatment where appropriate
• Undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual service users. Where necessary, to undertake weekly, daily, or minute-by-minute assessment of the risk a service user poses to himself/herself or others

Qualifications and training

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology (or its equivalent), as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology and/or Post graduate level training in Forensic or Counselling Psychology (Doctoral level) as accredited by the BPS
• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional areas of specialised psychological practice
• Post qualification training in clinical supervision

Experience

• Experience of working with community mental health services and delivery of psychological interventions in a community setting
• Experience of working with a wide variety of service user groups across the whole life span, presenting with a full range of severity across in-patient and outpatient settings, community, primary care, inpatient and residential settings
• Experience of working with people who have attracted the label of personality disorder
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for service users’ psychological care and treatment
• Experience of teaching, training and providing professional/clinical supervision to others
• Experience of use of complex multi-media skills for presentations in public, professional and academic settings

Knowledge

You will

• Be skilled in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management and their application within community contexts
• Have high level skills in the assessment and management of risk
• Have well-developed skills to communicate effectively, both written and orally
• Have knowledge of relevant health and social care legislation

For further information on the Job Description, main responsibilities, and Person Specification to ensure you have the relevant skills for the post, please see the attached documents below.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied psychology (or its equivalent), as accredited by the BPS, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology and/or Post graduate level training in Forensic or Counselling Psychology (Doctoral level) as accredited by the BPS. Post-doctoral training in one or more additional areas of specialised psychological practice. Post qualification training for role of clinical supervisor to Doctorate trainees in applied psychology. Eligible for chartered status with the British Psychological Society. Eligible for full membership of the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP) and/or Division of Forensic Psychology (DFP)/Division of Counselling Psychology (DCC). Currently registered with HCPC.

Experience

Essential criteria

• Substantial experience of working as a qualified psychologist with people with severe and enduring mental health problems; including assessment and clinical interventions for a wide range of presenting problems. Experience of working with community mental health services and delivery of psychological interventions in a community setting