Job summary
- Main area
- CAMHS Community
- Grade
- 8a
- Contract
- 12 months (12 months - Fixed Term or Secondment)
- Hours
- Part time - 30 hours per week (M-F 09:00-17:00hrs)
- Job ref
- 334-CLI-7390767-A
- Employer
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Christopher Wren House
- Town
- Croydon
- Salary
- £61,631 - £68,623 per annum incl. HCAs Pro rata
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 18/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
8a
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has a rich history, well-established community links and an international reputation. We deliver specialist services in the London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark, Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Wandsworth and Richmond.
We are committed to provide a high quality and specialist care to our service users and we are recognised for our care and treatment we provide. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’.
We launched our five-year strategy, Aiming High; Changing Lives in 2021 together with Our Care Improvement System as our quality management system methodology to make a positive impact on patient care, outcomes and staff experience. By joining SLaM, all staff will get the opportunity to be part of this exciting improvement journey supported with learning and development to harness everyone’s potential as change makers.
The trust recognises the unique and valuable contribution that people with lived experience of mental illness can bring to a role. We therefore welcome applications from people with lived experience and consider them as an asset to the Trust.
Our Values
We take pride in providing specialist care to our service users where our Trust values and our promise to be caring, kind, polite, prompt, honest, listen and do what I say I’m going to do is at the heart of everything we do. When you join us, you’ll be part of something special.
As a Trust we are happy to talk flexible working.
Job overview
We are looking to appoint an exceptionally skilled Clinical/Counselling psychologist to support the delivery of highly specialist assessments and interventions for children and young people with moderate to severe mental health disorders.
The role will require excellent skills in engaging with young people, their families and others involved in their care and education. It will also require excellent organisation and communication skills (verbal and written) and an ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team.
The successful candidate will be assertive, work well within a team and be passionate about providing a high-quality service. We are looking for a candidate who is efficient and inspired by the idea of making a difference.
Main duties of the job
Key Responsibilities:
To provide specialist input to the assessment, formulation and treatment planning of children with complex mental health concerns and/or neurodevelopmental disorders. This will be based on the post holder’s specialist and advanced theoretical knowledge of psychological theories, up to date knowledge of literature and evidence-based practice to make formulations about clinical presentation and to contribute to intake assessment clinics for a wide range of children and young people who present with mental health and/or neurodevelopmental difficulties in Croydon CAMHS.
To provide Clinical leadership for implementation of the KIT programme,
This is a programme which provides an opportunity to engage with young people and families at an earlier stage in their journey with CAMHS. KIT will offer a range of interventions, information and support for those waiting for assessment and treatment and a way to clarify what Croydon CAMHS offer and what service users should be able to expect.
To provide specialist clinical psychology skill, therapeutic input and consultation to other staff members to support their assessments and treatment planning. Children will have a range of presentations including anxiety, low mood, land may have suspected or diagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders
Working for our organisation
Croydon CAMHS Treatment team
The Croydon CAMHS specialist mental health assessment and treatment team offers assessment and intervention to those referred with concerns about complex mental health problems that require a multidisciplinary 9 t3) approach. It is based within a lively and exceptionally supportive broad CAMHS service with opportunities for working with clinicians based in other teams.
The team offer generic and specialist CAMHS placements to Clinical Psychologist trainees on the IOPPN and Salomon’s D.Clin Psych courses and Croydon CAMHS regularly offers training placements to psychiatrists, nurses, CBT practitioners and to systemic therapists. There are strong links with researchers at KCL.
This post provides an exciting opportunity to work in a well-established highly skilled and flexible team of clinicians who are committed to going the extra mile to engage young people and their carers and to support professionals working within a child or young person’s network.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The successful applicant will:
- provide a highly specialist psychology service to a tier 3 CAMHS service including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
- contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
- provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a lead specialist in a Tier 3 CAMHS service.
- undertake service evaluation, audit and research.
- Work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.
- Agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Entry-level qualification in Applied Psychology (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration. This can include Clinical, Counselling or Forensic Psychology.
- Additional Training in an a diagnostic tool e.g. ADOS, ADI Additional Training in a Trauma intervention e.g. Trauma focussed CBT or EMDR).
- Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC
Desirable criteria
- Completed training course in clinical supervision
Experience
Essential criteria
- • Experience of clinical assessments, formulation and interventions with children and young people
- • Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of children with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in child and adolescent mental health
- • Experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. This may have been gained through work, research, volunteering and / or lived experience.
- • Experience of developing and carrying out research projects
- • Significant experience of working with diverse populations and clear in depth understanding of anti-racism in the workplace and how this impacts both staffing and client group
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of advanced practice and clinical experience as a clinical psychologist working with children within CAMHS
- Experience of supervising junior clinical staff working with children with complex MH presentations
- Evidence of service development, leadership, QI projects
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- • Specialist and transferable psychological skills and knowledge of the theory and evidence base relevant to work with child and young people with moderate to severe mental health needs and/or challenging behaviour
- • Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities including the Children Act, child protection procedures, and the Mental Health Act
- • Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis
Desirable criteria
- Specialist advanced knowledge of the clinical and practice issues for children with complex mental health presentations
Skills
Essential criteria
- • To deliver psychological therapy in at least two models of psychological therapy including adapted cognitive behavioural therapy for children and young people with complex MH difficulties and across cultural and other differences
- • To select and administer specialist psychological assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources
- • To be skilled in the administration of psychometric tests, including those that require complex manipulation of test materials
- • Consultation skills to work with the multi-professional team or other professional groups within own service
- Well-developed IT skills including entry and analysis of research data
Desirable criteria
- Advanced skill as a clinical psychologist to adapt therapeutic work for children with complex MH presentations and with Neurodevelopmental conditions
Abilities
Essential criteria
- • Proven ability to engage therapeutically with the client group, using a range of therapeutic interventions.
- • Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles
- • Ability to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during observations, assessments and psychological interventions, and to deal with unexpected interruptions or changes during these
- • Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour
- • Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
Desirable criteria
- Advanced ability to work with diverse populations Advanced ability to offer therapeutic support to children and families with complex presentations.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Sue Goode
- Job title
- Consultant Clinical Psychologist / Therapies Lead
- Email address
- [email protected]
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