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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

1. To provide specialist psychological assessments to children who are referred to the Team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the child or young person’s care.
2. To support the development of the PRU-CAMHS service, through specific service development projects, in collaboration with the wider PRU staff groups and CAMHS colleagues.
3. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of the mental health problems of children and young people who are based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of their problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy across the full range of care settings.
4. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological and psycho-educational interventions for individual children, carers, families and groups, within and across teams including community settings employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
5. To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options for children and their families in conjunction with other professional colleagues, taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family, group or system.
6. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of children whose problems are managed by psychologically-based standard care plans.
7. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan for the children.
8. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically-based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all children, across all settings and agencies serving this client group.
9. To undertake mental health risk assessment and risk management for individual children and young people and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
10. To act as mental health care coordinator, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans under enhanced CPA including the children, their carers, referring agents and others involved the network of care. This includes organising case conferences and professional network meetings where appropriate.
11. To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of children under their care and to monitor progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

Teaching, Training, and Supervision

1. To receive regular clinical professional supervision from a senior clinical psychologist / psychotherapist / family therapist and, where appropriate, other senior professional colleagues.
2. To gain additional highly specialist experience and skills relevant to psychology / psychotherapy and/or the service (as agreed with the team’s professional manager and team manager) in accordance with the CAMHS Directorate’s common expectations for P&P staff.
3. To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision and to provide supervision to other MDT staff’s psychological work as appropriate.
4. To provide, professional and clinical supervision of trainee and assistant psychologists / psychotherapists, as well as contributing to clinical supervision of Band 6 and Band 7 staff working across the local and dedicated services.
5. To contribute to the pre- and post-qualification teaching and training of staff, as appropriate.
6. To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings.

Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development

1. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the Directorate’s operational policies and high quality responsive and accessible services, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
2. To advise both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.
3. To manage the workloads of assistant and trainee clinical psychologists, within the framework of the team/service’s policies and procedures.
4. To be involved, as appropriate, in the shortlisting and interviewing of assistant / graduate psychologists.

Research and Service Evaluation

1. To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other team members in CAMHS.
2. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.
3. To undertake project management, e.g., audit or service evaluation, in line the CAMHS Directorate’s common expectations for P&P staff, and by agreement and under direction from the Team Manager with colleagues within CAMHS.

Other

1. In common with all psychologists / psychotherapists, to receive regular clinical supervision in accordance with good practice guidelines.
2. 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 line CAMHS Directorate common expectations for P&P staff and by agreement and under direction from the post holder’s professional and service manager(s).
3. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in psychology / psychotherapy across the service, by continuing to develop the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist-practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision line CAMHS Directorate common expectations for P&P staff and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the fields of psychology / psychotherapy and related disciplines.
4. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping including electronic data entry and recording, report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance in accordance with professional codes of practice of the Health Professions Council and Trust services policies and procedures.
5. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both children and young people and mental health.

Training and Development

1. To undertake mandatory and statutory training as required by Trust policy.
2. To contribute and commit to undertaking an annual Development Review/appraisal.
3. To undertake personal development as identified in the Personal Development Plan (PDP).