Highly Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist/Psychotherapist

A Vacancy at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.

To provide a highly specialist psychological interventions to adults with learning disabilities with additional mental health needs and/or behaviour which challenges, including specialist assessment, treatment, training to other staff, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.

To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.

To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a lead specialist in MHLD.

To undertake service evaluation, audit and research and policy development.

To work as an autonomous professional within registration body guidelines and codes of conduct and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.

To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.

To contribute psychological expertise within the wider multi-agency context.

To be active in the provision of staff support within their area, including but not limited to Critical Incident Staff Support and Reflect-Support-Resolve. To participate, as a recipient, in staff support work when appropriate.

Clinical & Client Care (KR 1)·

Team Functioning & Diversity (KR 2)

Service Development & Policy (KR 3 & 8)

Management, Supervision & Training (KR 5 & 6)

Governance, Professional Standards & Research (KR 4, 7, 9 & 10)

The Psychology service forms part of the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities (MHLD) Service within the Croydon and Behavioural and Developmental Psychiatry Directorate. Psychology and Behavioural Support Practitioners are led by the Consultant Clinical Psychologist and borough Team Leaders. Clinical work is delivered within separate borough teams (Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark), each managed by a Team Leader. Opportunities exist for service developments and CPD across boroughs and the wider Trust. Lambeth and Southwark teams are at the Maudsley Hospital; the Lewisham team is in central Catford, co-located with Lewisham CTLD staff from Guy's and St Thomas' Trust.

Each team comprises clinical psychologists, a Behavioural Support Practitioner, trainees, psychiatrists, CPNs, and administrators. We partner with CTLD health and social care colleagues. Service users live alone, with families, or in supported living. Both direct and indirect interventions aim to reduce challenging behaviour, improve mental health, recovery, and quality of life. Consultation and training are major components, often delivered with the Estia Centre (the Directorate’s training arm).

Lambeth, Lewisham, and Southwark are inner London boroughs with highly diverse ethnic minority populations.

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care

· To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients with learning disabilities, challenging behaviour and mental health needs.

· To select, administer and interpret psychometric and neuropsychological tests, requiring skilled manipulation of test materials, and interpretation and integration of complex data.

· To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients with learning disabilities.

· To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.

· To provide psychological reports, including relevant formulation, opinion and interventions, in order to inform referrers, service users, their families and professional network.

· To select and deliver specialist evidence based therapeutic interventions, drawing on a range of theoretical models, monitoring outcome and modifying and adapting interventions as necessary, based on the highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual and their network.

· To promote psychological support for carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients.

· To work as an autonomous professional within professional guidelines and the policies and procedures of the service, taking full responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions.

· To communicate skilfully and sensitively highly complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues taking account of sensory and cultural barriers to communication.

· To act as care coordinator for identified clients taking responsibility for CPA coordination and meetings.

KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning

· To contribute to the effective working of the team or service and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.

· To contribute to the team or service’s delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.

KR 3 Policy and service development

· To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.

· To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.

· To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

KR 4 Care or management of resources

· To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust’s equipment and physical resources.

· To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed

KR 5 Management and supervision

· To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of more junior psychological practitioners with support from a more senior practitioner.

· To supervise trainee applied psychological practitioners, behavioural support specialists and psychological practitioners, within own area of specialism.

KR 6 Teaching and Training

· To undertake occasional teaching and training of pre- and post- qualification psychological practitioners and specialised training to other professions and staff in local services as appropriate.

· To contribute to the development of the knowledge and skills base within the serviceby maintaining an active awareness of current developments in psychological therapy and learning disabilities and by implementing knowledge gained in practice.

KR 7 Record-keeping and Information Governance

· To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.

· To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.

KR 8 Research and development

· To initiate, undertake, support and supervise regular complex service evaluation and audits.

· To initiate and carry out appropriate research as agreed.

· To provide research advice to other staff undertaking research within the service.

· To initiate and implement the development of outcome measurement and assessment and assist other staff in the implementation of same.

KR 9 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development

· To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more seniorpsychological therapist according to professional body and Trust guidelines.

· To maintain own Continuing Professional Development in line with professional body and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and professional Standards for Continuing Professional Development.

KR10 General

· To travel to home visits, community placements and various departmental and Trust meetings as appropriate and across the Trust when required.

· To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group and follow trust policies relating to its management.

This advert closes on Monday 31 Aug 2026