Principal Practitioner Psychologist

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical:

1.      Working within a highly specialised clinical area, to provide highly specialist psychological assessments of patients/clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological 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 patients and others involved in the patient’s/client’s care.

2.      To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a patient’s/client’s mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the problems, and employing methods of proven efficacy. Adjusting plans to meet assessed needs of patient/client.

3.      To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.

4.      To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options taking into account both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.

5.      To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients/clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans.

6.      To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to patient’s/clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.

7.      To ensure that all members of the team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of clients of the service, through the provision of advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory.

8.      To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual clients, and to provide general advice and second opinion to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management.

9.      To communicate in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of clients under their care, some of who will be hostile, manipulative and to monitor and evaluate progress during the course of both uni- and multi-disciplinary care.

10.  To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate the effective and appropriate provision of psychological care by all members of the treatment team.

Teaching, Training and Supervision:

1.      To provide clinical placements for trainee clinical and/or counselling psychologists, ensuring that trainees acquire the necessary skills, competencies and experience to contribute effectively to good mental health care and to contribute to the assessment and evaluation of such competencies.

2.      To provide post-qualification training (CPD) and clinical professional supervision to recently qualified clinical and/or counselling psychologists attached to the team.

3.      To provide advice, consultation and training and clinical supervision to other members of the team for their provision of psychologically based interventions to help improve clients’ functioning.

4.      To provide pre- and post-qualification teaching of clinical and/or counselling psychology as appropriate.

5.      To maintain and develop skills in the area of professional pre- and post-graduate training and clinical supervision.

6.      To provide advice, consultation and training to staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate.

Management, Recruitment, Policy and Service Development:

1.      To participate as a senior clinician in the development of a high quality, responsive and accessible service including advising both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational matters need addressing.

2.      To exercise delegated responsibility for managing the psychological resources available to a team, whether in the form of additional qualified and unqualified graduate psychology staff, or in the form of psychological materials employed in the assessment and treatment of patients.

3.      To exercise responsibility for the systematic governance of psychological practice within the service/team.

4.      To participate as appropriate in staff recruitment, both in the short-listing process and as a member of interview panels for assistant, trainees and qualified practitioner psychologists.

Research and Service Evaluation:

1.      To take the psychology lead, as a senior clinician, in the evaluation, monitoring and development of the team’s operational policies, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit and ensuring incorporation of psychological frameworks for understanding and provision of high quality care.

2.      To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

3.      To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to other staff undertaking research.

4.      To initiate project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues within and across the service to help develop and improve services to clients and their families.

General:

1.      To ensure the development, maintenance and dissemination of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes.

2.      To ensure the development and articulation of best practice in psychology within the service area and contribute across the service by exercising the skills of a reflexive and reflective scientist practitioner, taking part in regular professional supervision and appraisal and maintaining an active engagement with current developments in the field of clinical psychology and related disciplines.

3.      To maintain and promulgate 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 British Psychological Society, HCPC and UHB policies and procedures.