Principal Clinical / Forensic Psychologist

To provide a highly specialist psychological assessments to patients within the allocated services, 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 patients and others involved in the patients care. To formulate and implement plans for the psychological treatment and/or management of a patients psychological problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy. To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions, individual and group, 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. 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. To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of patients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans. To liaise closely with other members of the multidisciplinary team, giving authoritative specialist advice on psychological aspects of care, contributing directly to formulation, diagnosis and treatment planning. To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all patients of the service. To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual patients and to provide advice and training to other professions on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management. To communicate in a skilled, persuasive and sensitive manner, information concerning the assessment, formulation and treatment plans of patients, and to monitor progress during the course of their multidisciplinary care. To further develop knowledge and skills in both general aspects of forensic clinical psychology, as well as a designated specialist area. Lead on forensic/clinical psychological quality improvements within a clinical pathway. Be a hospital wide resource regarding neurodevelopment assessment and treatment especially autistic spectrum disorder. Also, contribute to the forensic care group wide neurodevelopmental expert group. To receive regular clinical supervision from the Lead Consultant Psychologist. To teach up to post-doctoral level clinical and forensic psychology across the hospital and forensic care group as required. Also in conjunction with local academic institutions. To provide supervision to psychologists up to band 8a. To provide teaching, training and supervision to psychology staff and MDT colleagues, as agreed with the Head of Psychology. To continue to gain experience, particularly in agreed highly specialist areas of clinical knowledge and skills. Be the lead psychologist for psychology trainee and placement provision To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence-based practice in individual work and work with other MDT colleagues. To undertake appropriate research and provide research advice to others undertaking research, to develop service and Clinical Forensic Psychology knowledge base as agreed with the Head of Psychology. To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, as agreed with the Head of Psychology. To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the services through the development of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit and attendance of service development meetings, as directed by the Head of Psychology. To advise service managers (through the Head of Psychology) on those aspects of the service where psychological or organisational matters need addressing. To lead and manage the workloads of colleagues up to Band 8a in the womens pathway primarily but also across other clinical pathways in the hospital, as required. To conducting individual annual appraisal performance reviews of Psychologists up to Band 8a. To be involved, as appropriate, in the short-listing and interviewing of psychology staff. To contribute and as required take lead roles in the development and maintenance of the highest professional standards of practice, through active participation in internal and external CPD training and development programmes, in consultation with the Head of Psychology. To contribute to the development and articulation of best practice in Psychology across the service, by continuing to develop 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 fields of Clinical and Forensic Psychology and related disciplines. To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping, including electronic data entry and recording, and report writing and the responsible exercise of professional self-governance, in accordance with professional codes of practice of the BPS and HCPC and Trust policies and procedures. To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific patient group and mental health. To ensure that in all aspects of professional activity (e.g. communication with patients, relatives, and colleagues as well as in the assessment, development/ delivery of interventions) issues of diversity such as race, culture, identity, gender and sexuality are sensitively considered and incorporated to reflect individual differences appropriately. To ensure that service users are appropriately consulted about relevant aspects of their care and are empowered to express their views in a responsive environment enabling such views to be assimilated/ incorporated into continued service development. To develop individual formulations and to lead team formulation planning applying theoretical models of personality and offending to observed behaviour, cognitive, emotional and interpersonal patterns, for patients in the allocated service, who present complex clinical cases.