Principal Clinical Psychologist

The full Job Description is attached in additional Information section Scope and range The post holder will be primarily responsible for the teams delivery of safe and compliant delivery of autism assessments as part of the assessment team. The post holder will work closely with the service manager to achieve targets and key performance indicators for both assessment and post diagnostic services. The post holder will provide clinical leadership for the delivery and reach of autistic support across the CMHF, collaborating and supporting other clinical leaders develop and integrate the delivery of adapted interventions to mainstream mental health services. The aim of the Post Diagnostic Autism service is to steer people with a diagnosis of Autism, to services and support that will help them navigate their way through life. It will facilitate connections with people and enduring support networks that will prevent acute episodes of poor mental health and reduce unhelpful and unnecessary hospital admissions Service Delivery The post holder will be clinically responsible for delivering an effective autism assessment multi-disciplinary team. They will have responsibility to deliver a team model that meets NICE guidance and optimises the team resources. The post holder will work collaboratively with the Service Manager providing highly specialised clinical input to the development of the service model, responding to growing and changing needs. The post holder will, where clinically indicated, provide highly specialist diagnostic assessment and will ensure formulation and intervention f those people with a diagnosis of ASC who access the service, with the support of the PASS practitioners o Assessment: Gathering, interpreting, and integrating data from a variety of sources including previous professional reports, psychometrics, range of psychological tools and direct assessment methods with the individual, family members and others involved in their care to provide diagnosis. o Formulation: Drawing upon and selecting the most appropriate psychological model from an in-depth knowledge of a range of theoretical positions and evidence of efficacy, the post holder will o Intervention: Take a specialist and senior clinician role in the organisation, delivery, adaptation, development, evaluation of interventions for adults with ASC aimed at preventing or reducing highly complex and persistent mental health/behavioural problems. In doing so to a) draw upon an in-depth knowledge of a range of psychological models, theories, interventions and their evidence base and b) maintain a number of provisional hypotheses c) monitoring efficacy and outcome and altering the intervention accordingly d) support professional staff and organisations supporting the person and their family The post holder has full freedom to act within this designated area working within professional ethics and adhering to Trust policies and is accountable for his/her own professional actions. The post holder will plan both individual consultations and group sessions within a designated clinical setting or within the persons home. The post holder is responsible for referring or supporting other Livewell mental health services to refer to the Devon Additional Autism Intervention Team (DAAIT) where the complexity of a persons needs requires support over and above that of local services. Implementation of policy The post holder will be clinically responsible for reviewing the efficacy and output of the service, ensuring that it meets the needs of those accessing its support. By evaluating feedback and outcomes, the post holder will, in conjunction with the Service Manager, adapt and amend operational practice. In addition to developing clinical practices within the team, the post holder will advise and influence the practices of mainstream services, via consultancy and training in order that those services are able to make reasonable adjustments to practice and delivery to accommodate the needs of people with Autism. The post holder will be part of the the teams contribution to the Autism Partnership Board and Communication andRelationships The post holder will be responsible for communicating complex and sensitive information to clients, families and other colleagues that may be contentious in a highly skilled and sensitive manner. This information could be communicated in emotive, contentious and hostile circumstances. Communication could occur in in face to face situations, in meetings, in written reports and formal legal contexts e.g. court reports. The post holder will be available to provide clinical leadership and support across the assessment and post diagnostic teams. The post holder will communicate with the Service Manager in relation to operational issues related to the delivery of their service responsibility The post holder will communicate with relevant LSW boards in relation to service developments within the service, at the request of the Service Manager The post holder will access clinical and professional supervision from LSW Lead Psychologist The post holder will communicate with other service providers across the city and peninsula (including Devon Partnership Trust) The post holder will communicate with external agencies in relation to consultancy and training. The post holder will hold delegated responsibility to represent the autism services at commissioning and strategic meetings. The post holder will be required to chair multi-disciplinary and multi-agency meetings that will include service users, families and a range of stakeholders.