Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Job Description

Croydon CHIT and P&P band 7 split postFull-Time Clinical/Counselling PsychologistAbout the teams:CHIT serviceWe are looking to recruit an enthusiastic and dynamic clinical/counselling Psychologist for the Croydon Care Home Intervention Team. We are a multi-disciplinary team who work with people aged 65 and above living in residential or nursing care homes in Croydon.Psychology and Psychotherapy service (P&P)This is an exciting opportunity to join the secondary mental health Psychology and Psychotherapy service for older adults as a clinical/counselling psychologist. The post holder will be based alongside the community mental health team for older adults and will have a varied role.About the roles:CHIT Service: We specialise in understanding the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), and behaviours that challenge care staff in the context of a person’s mental health needs. We also seek to continually improve our service and the lives of residents by using QI methodology in partnership with care homes. This is an exciting time to join our team. During the COVID-19 pandemic we have had to learn to work in novel ways, and have developed closer links with partner organisations; there is scope to make a huge contribution in developing and shaping our service, both now and for the future. We are dedicated to supporting professional development and we welcome contributions towards team development. As we are a psychology-shaped service, the Clinical Psychology role is integral for maintaining and improving quality and outcomes for services users in our care homes. The post holder will lead on service evaluation and audit, as well as supporting the team as a clinical leader. The post holder will have access to strong peer support networks within the clinical academic group, and to the IOPPN. We encourage applications from individuals who have an interest in working with older adults living with dementia or other mental health needs, and who have passion to make a difference in the lives of people that live and work in care homes. We especially want to hear from applicants who value creativity, innovative thinking, who have a strong interest in the evidence-base for our service users, and who are conversant with policy and legislation for the care home sector.P&P service: The post holder will offer psychological interventions to older adults and their families, consultancy and also contributing to teaching of trainees and research. The service offers CBT, psychodynamic and systemic therapy as well as undertaking neuropsychological assessments and working with behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia. We are looking for an enthusiastic psychologist with an interest in and experience of working with older adults who are aware of the importance of close working relationships with MDT colleagues. We are looking for a psychologist that can offer a dynamic and creative approach to service delivery.About the location:You will be based at Purley Resource Centre, Pampisford Road, Purley, Croydon. Our Trust headquarters is located at Denmark Hill less than 5 minutes from the train station (zone 2). We also provide services and operate across other locations, such as London boroughs of Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; and substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Lambeth, Greenwich and Wandsworth.Benefits:We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and understand the importance of a healthy work life balance. There is an extensive range of excellent benefits for you and your family. We want you to feel like you are part of a close knit team at SLaM. It’s important to us that you valued and appreciated and that are why we have a comprehensive benefits package on offerSome of our benefits are highlighted here:

Generous pay, pensions and leave, we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.

Work life balance, flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.

Career development, There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes

Car lease, our staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars

Accommodation, our staff benefits from keyworker housing available which is available on selected sites

NHS discounts, with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website.

Other benefits include:

Counselling services

Wellbeing events

Long service awards

Cycle to work scheme

Season ticket loan

Childcare vouchers

Staff restaurants

We look forward to receiving your application.For further details / informal visits contact:NameDr Maureen McIntoshJob titleSenior Counselling Psychologist and Acting Community Team Lead for P&PEmail addressmaureen.mcintosh@slam.nhs.uk