Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist

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Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for full details of responsibilities

To provide highly specialist paediatric neuropsychological assessments of children/young people referred to the Service, based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, parents/carers, teachers, family members and others involved in the client’s care.

To develop neuropsychological formulations of presenting problems or situations that integrate information from assessments within a coherent framework that draws upon psychological theory and evidence, which incorporates anatomical, physiological and developmental perspectives.

To develop and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s cognitive, social, behavioural and emotional difficulties, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings

To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for children/young people, their parents/carers, families and groups, within the Service, adjusting and refining psychological formulations by drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account theoretical and therapeutic models and the highly complex and integrative factors associated with the acquired brain injury and developmental processes.  To maintain an awareness of other historical factors, which may have shaped the child/young person, his/her parents/carers and the family.

To provide highly specialist paediatric neuropsychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care for the benefit of all children/young people referred to the Service, across all settings and agencies serving the client group.

To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and to provide advice to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management in line with Trust and inter-agency policies and procedures.

To act as care coordinator, ensuring the provision of a care package appropriate for the clients’ needs, coordinating the work of others involved with care, tasking responsibility for arranging reviews as required and communicating effectively with the client, his/her family and all others involved in the network of care and to monitor progress during the course of interdisciplinary interventions.

To communicate, in a highly skilled and sensitive manner, to clients, parents/carers, family and others as appropriate, information that may be contentious or highly distressing concerning the assessment, formulation and prognosis of clients under their care.

The team is constantly developing through research, audit and service user collaborations.  As such we are looking to recruit an experienced clinical psychologist who has an interest in service development.  The post holder will support the Clinical Lead in the day to day management of the team and implementation of new processes and policies.  This will include rostering, leave, allocations, and liaison with Integrated Care Boards about new referrals.