Senior Psychologist/Senior Psychological Therapist

Trosolwg o'r swydd

This is an exciting opportunity to join our highly regarded award-winning Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service (SPMHS) which operates over the whole of Sussex.

The Specialist Perinatal Mental Service (SPMHS) which sits within Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust now requires a Senior Psychologist or Psychological Therapist in Perinatal Mental Health. The post is for 30 hours a week and open to clinical psychologists and psychological therapists with at least two years experience in a perinatal mental health setting.

This post provides opportunities to develop highly specialist clinical skills within the perinatal service, with scope for senior responsibilities and leadership development.

Days of the week are negotiable but are likely to include Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The post holder will be based in Brighton and may be expected to travel across Sussex. The post holder will report to the Principal Clinical Psychologist within the team. 

Advert

The post holder will have a training in Clinical Psychology or a training in a Psychological Therapy and will be responsible for delivering NICE concordant perinatal psychological therapies to women, their babies and their families.

The Senior Psychologist/Senior Psychological therapist in the specialist community perinatal mental health service will work with the main community service treatment pathway and will contribute to the bereavement pathway (neonatal loss and stillbirth).

Within the larger community service, the post holder will be responsible for typical and atypical perinatal mental health presentations, alongside formulation of parent-infant mental health. The post holder will need to have an up to date knowledge of adult and infant safeguarding practices and thresholds and must have at least two years of experience in a perinatal mental health context. A working knowledge of DBT and/or compassion focussed groups in a perinatal context is desirable. 

Within the bereavement pathway, the post holder will be responsible for providing a highly responsive individualised therapy and support for women and their families who have experienced the death of a baby from 24 weeks gestation to one month after birth. A knowledge of trauma informed interventions for individuals, couples and family would be desirable and specialist supervision regarding bereavement and traumatic loss will be provided.

Gweithio i'n sefydliad

The Long-Term Plan for Mental Health sets out national and local ambitions to improve care for people in pregnancy through the first stages of the babies' life who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, mental health difficulties.

One in five women experience post or ante natal depression, anxiety or in some cases psychosis, during pregnancy or in the first year after childbirth.

Perinatal community mental health services provide specialist care for women (and their babies) with moderate to severe mental illness, such as bipolar disorder or severe depression. The long-term benefits of this kind of specialist care offers early help and support to parents and babies to help with a range of perinatal issues including parent infant bonding.

The Bereavement pathway (BP) is one of the key 'flexible deliverables' in the LTP, called therein as the 'Maternal Mental Health Service's (MMHS). Each service-based iteration is designed to meet local needs and wider maternal health pathways, while at the same time, forming a continuity of care the national design of the MMHS cohorts. Our BP is focussed on providing high calibre individualised care to women, their partners and their families who have experienced neonatal loss or still birth, defined as loss at 24 weeks.