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Form of work
SalaryCLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES: To provide specialist psychological assessments of patients with general health conditions, including persistent pain, in the agreed locality based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of highly complex data from a variety of sources including self-report measures, rating scales, multidisciplinary case conferences, and semi-structured interviews with patients, family members and others involved in the patient's care. To undertake assessments and therapeutic work that is emotionally demanding, including difficulties such as anxiety, depression, trauma, quality of life, loss, adjustment and end of life issues. To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a patient's psychological and physical health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the patient's difficulties, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings. To contribute specialist knowledge of psychological approaches to the management of persistent pain conditions within the Pain Management Service and physical health conditions within medical teams. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations, drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses. To facilitate the MDT pain management programme. 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. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients whose problems are managed by psychologically based care plans. Where appropriate, to co-ordinate care for patients involving arranging activities, directing input, and meetings with other professionals and agencies. To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to patient's formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan. In particular, to offer specialised advice regarding the psychological management and treatment of individuals with persistent pain. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all patients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving the patient group. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual patients and to provide advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management. To communicate, both verbally and in writing, in a skilled and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients and to monitor progress during the course of both uni and multidisciplinary care.
