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Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To provide highly specialist psychological and neuropsychological assessment and intervention, using highly complex cognitive and psychological data gained from a variety of sources.

To ensure the systematic provision of neuropsychological service, including the responsibility to prioritise work appropriately.

To communicate assessment results, formulations, outcome data, and other complex and sensitive information orally and in written form in order to support the work of multidisciplinary colleagues.

To provide highly specialist psychological advice, guidance, consultation and supervision to other professionals and staff contributing to the formulation, diagnosis, treatment plans and management of clients, both within and outside the Trust.

To contribute to the development of services through reviewing service outcomes, designing and participating in audit, research and clinical governance initiatives, and working cooperatively with colleagues to achieve service goals and maximise service effectiveness. This will involve communication with a wide range of clinical and managerial colleagues, within and outside the Trust.

To provide supervision to trainee clinical/counselling psychologists on placement, to assistant psychologists, volunteers and other colleagues, including professional and doctoral research supervision, as required.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Analytical Skills

Ability to produce expert comprehensive biopsychosocial formulations of client issues and advice in highly complex clinical situations, which will require the combination of a range of complex and sometimes contradictory, unclear or conflicting information and where expert opinion may differ.

The experience and skills to provide highly specialist psychological and neuropsychological assessment and therapy, using highly complex cognitive and psychological data gained from a variety of sources.

Planning and Organisational Skills

The post holder will prioritise their own work, and that of any attached staff, trainees or assistants. They will plan, organise and re-organise complex activities to meet long and short term clinical and managerial goals and to take account of changes in priorities, and will adjust work programmes to fit changes in the urgency of the clinical work which arise. They will contribute to service planning collaboratively with colleagues as required.

Measurable Result Areas

Accountability: to work as an autonomous specialist clinician, participating in regular clinical and managerial supervision, working at all times within professional guidelines and adhering to standards set out by the Health Professions Council.

To contribute to policy/service development as required

Resources: to be responsible for resources and equipment associated with the post, advising managerial and secretarial colleagues on any difficulties or shortages in a timely manner

Responsibility for information resources: to use computer and statistical packages, as required, to record, analyse, and to communicate information. To produce reports using statistical analyses and/or diagrams and charts on occasion.

Management responsibility: to provide teaching, supervision and training, as required, for example, providing clinical placements for trainee clinical or counselling psychologists, contributing to the doctoral training course and to other professional, multidisciplinary, or community training initiatives. To participate, as appropriate, in staff recruitment, contributing to short listing and interviews, as required.

Responsibility for research and development: to regularly contribute research and audit skills to the multidisciplinary teams, advising on methodology, and providing supervision as required. To carry out audit and research projects. To use skills to share relevant research findings with colleagues, advising on any methodological issues involved.

As a clinical supervisor, to be responsible for the research work that the doctoral trainees carry out whilst on placement in this locality.

Communications and Working Relationships:

To provide training to others

To communicate to a variety of professional and non-professional audiences highly complex and sensitive clinical information

To employ high level communication skills in individual and group setting with clients and staff around emotional and sometimes contentious topics.

To communicate with the multi-disciplinary around the sensitivity/complexity issues.

To provide consultation and support to other members of the team and further advice consultation to management as required.