Senior Clinical Psychologist - Learning Disabilities Services
o Provide specialist psychological services for adults of working age within the Adult Learning Disabilities Team. o Provide leadership on psychological knowledge and approaches for the Community Learning Disabilities Teams (CLDT). o Carry a specialist clinical psychology caseload of clients over the age of 18 years old under the care of the CLDT. o Take an active role in CLDT business, attending CLDT, Referral meeting, MDT and other relevant meetings.
Main duties of the job
- Provide highly specialist clinical psychology services to adults with learning disabilities, including those with complex needs, behaviours that challenge, autism, mental health difficulties, and/or neurodevelopmental conditions. The role includes psychological assessment, formulation, intervention, consultation, training, supervision, service development, research, and contributing to multidisciplinary care.
- Work with adults with complex presentations including forensic risk, autism, sensory profiles, mental health difficulties, and profound/multiple learning disabilities.
- Work as an independent practitioner and be responsible for a specialist clinical psychology caseload of clients of working age under the care of the Community Learning Disability Team.
- Make appropriate clinical judgements, formulations, diagnoses and decisions involving complex facts or situations, which require the analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options, and provide the basis for the development of therapeutic interventions.
- Undertake specialist eligibility assessments for access into the Learning Disability service, using recognised criteria (e.g., assessment of intellectual functioning, adaptive functioning, developmental history, and differential diagnosis).
About us
This section has been trimmed to focus on the role; promotional content about the organisation has been removed to maintain a job-focused description.
Job responsibilities
Full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents, or please click Apply now to view in Trac. We would particularly welcome applications from Welsh speakers, but if you dont speak Welsh, or want to develop your skills, the health board will support you with training.
Person Specification
Qualifications & Knowledge
- Degree in Psychology (or other BPS recognised combined degree including Psychology)
- Post-graduate Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology or Counselling Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS
- Eligibility for Chartered status with the BPS
- HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist
- Training in clinical supervision (or equivalent experience)
- Training and qualification in leadership
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology
- Familiarity with key strategy documents, policies, and procedures, together with knowledge of legislation in relation to Autism, Neurodivergence, and Mental Health in Adults in Wales
- Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS and HCPC
- Awareness of a wide range of therapeutic psychological models and an advanced understanding of at least two
- Advanced knowledge in the assessment and diagnosis of Learning Disabilities in Adults
- Highly developed knowledge of the range of psychological models in their application to complex presenting problems
- Advanced knowledge of cognitive and sensory impairment, delayed development, biopsychosocial models and the interaction of health and social care model to inform formulation of issues
Experience
- Relevant post qualification experience in the assessment and diagnosis within Learning Disabilities
- Significant experience of working clinically as a qualified Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with adults with a diagnosis of Learning Disabilities
- Deliver at least one evidence-based psychological therapy adapted for people with learning disabilities (e.g., CBT, ACT, PBS)
- Integrate multiple models into complex formulations
- Knowledge of trauma-informed practice and autism-informed care
- Providing supervision and consultation to Clinical/Counselling Psychologists both qualified and in training and to Assistant Psychologists and other professionals
- Broad experience of delivering teaching and training
- Undertaking doctoral level research, service evaluations and ongoing audit activity in addition to advising and supervising others' research and audit activities
- Advanced computing skills, working knowledge of statistical analysis packages, e.g. SPSS
- Training in PBS at an advanced level
- Competence in ACT, CFT, or systemic approaches
- Skills in neuropsychological assessment to inform intervention or eligibility decisions
Skills and Attributes
- Use a high level of interpersonal and communication skills to convey and receive highly complex/sensitive information effectively, requiring empathy and reassurance in highly emotive, sometimes hostile atmospheres
- Undertake comprehensive psychological assessments, interpret highly complex material, construct psychological formulations, develop specialised individualised intervention plans, and monitor and evaluate the intervention appropriately
- Communicate highly technical, sensitive material verbally and in writing to clients, their families, carers, and other professionals within and outside the NHS
- Tolerate direct exposure to highly distressing/emotionally demanding situations and interactions
- Work collaboratively in multidisciplinary settings
- Create and maintain effective working relationships
- Tolerate stress and anxiety that may be associated with service users\' challenging, aggressive or risk-taking behaviour, whilst always maintaining a high level of professionalism
- Make clinical and service-related judgements involving complex facts requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of several options
- Critically evaluate, disseminate and apply research evidence relating to clinical effectiveness and service development
- Formulate solutions, plan and organise a range of clinical or service-related activities and programmes which impact across services / agencies
- Act based on own interpretation of clinical/ professional / organisational / occupational policies which impact the Learning Disabilities team and other services, seeking advice as necessary
- Responsibility for the development of specific service initiatives within the Learning Disabilities Team
- Working within organisational policies
- Some ability to speak, read and/or write Welsh, or an eagerness to learn
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
£58,379 to £65,723 a year per annum pro rata
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