Job overview

The job offers an excellent opportunity to develop clinical skills, service development skills appropriate to the grade, as well as those needed to work within a multidisciplinary team. Regular supervision is provided within the well-established Locomotor service from a Band 8A CBT Therapist with experience in third-wave psychological therapies and physical health conditions related to Long COVID.

The post holder will be responsible for providing a specialist High intensity CBT service to patients accessing the Covid Rehabilitation (CoRe) service, providing specialist psychological assessment, formulation, and therapy.

The post holder will work alongside an interdisciplinary team with disciplines including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, CBT Therapists, Psychological well-being practioners, dietetics and respiratory medicine supporting people who live with ongoing symptoms relating to Long COVID/Post-COVID 19 Syndrome. This will involve helping patients to develop skills and strategies so that they can continue to do the things that are important to them in life even in the presence of the ongoing symptoms.

The City & Hackney COVID Rehabilitation Service sits within the well-established therapy-led community outpatient Locomotor Service which houses integrated teams working within Persistent Pain, ME/CFS, Advanced Practice Physiotherapy for musculoskeletal conditions and outpatient musculoskeletal physiotherapy.

Main duties of the job

  • Provide a specialist psychological therapy service for patients with Long Covid from primary care practices across City & Hackney, including assessment, intervention, risk management and referral on to other mental health services as appropriate to need
  • Provide specialist psychological therapy training, supervision, guidance, and consultation to other professionals 
  • Exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment, and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based treatment plans.
  • To develop and maintain good working relationships with the Multi-Disciplinary Team in CoRe, with the purpose of facilitating client care, planning and dissemination of relevant information as well as external stakeholders to facilitate good pathway working
  • To communicate highly sensitive and complex information to clients, relatives, and other professionals in easily understood language. 
  • Develop and deliver group programmes and standalone workshops/webinars.
  • Communicate across language and cultural barriers through professional interpreters or advocates.
  • Be responsible for recording, monitoring, and reporting on clinical work and communicating in a skilled and sensitive manner
  • To undertake project management, including complex audit and service evaluation, with colleagues to help develop service provision
  • To exercise responsibility for governance of psychological practice within the specialty area, reporting to the Band 8a CBT Therapist
  • Working for our organisation

    Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a high performing and flourishing organisation serving the population of Hackney, East London, The City and beyond.

    We are extremely proud of the fact that Homerton Hospital has recently attained the highest possible rating of “Outstanding” from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

    Our integrated Trust provides comprehensive hospital and community health services for its local population and a range of specialist services for a wider group of patients. In addition, the Trust manages services out of St Leonard’s Hospital and the Mary Seacole Nursing Home.

    Homerton aims to ensure equality and value diversity, and we are committed to inclusion for all of our staff. This is reflected in our policies, procedures and People Plan. All of our staff are expected to embody our Trust values at all times.

    We are also committed, through our Fair Recruitment Standards, to ensuring all applicants are treated fairly.

    Homerton has a proud tradition of supporting and developing its staff, including its well regarded and valued nursing community, and all staff are able to take advantage of a great range of benefits.

    Homerton is proud to have been included on the HSJ & Nursing Times Best Places to Work list.

    Person specification

    Education / Qualifications

    Essential criteria

  • Post graduate qualification in CBT leading to BABCP accreditation OR Post-graduate qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology conferring eligibility for chartership by the British Psychological Society
  • Registration with appropriate professional body (HCPC/BABCP)
  • Desirable criteria

  • BABCP accreditation or strong evidence of interest and further training in CBT
  • Training in and experience of delivering adapted CBT for clients with Long Term Conditions
  • Skills / Abilities

    Essential criteria

  • Highly-developed skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, including the use of theoretical models to analyse information and to develop formulations upon which to base choice of treatment.
  • Ability to act as a specialist psychological therapist and work autonomously in community and hospital settings.
  • Desirable criteria

  • Skills for facilitating communication in interventions with families and staff teams
  • Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
  • Doctoral-level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex, multivariate data analysis as practised within the field of clinical psychology.
  • Experience

    Essential criteria

  • Experience of working with a wide variety of patient groups across the life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across a range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, inpatient and residential care.
  • Experience of work in a multi-cultural setting, including working with interpreters.
  • Desirable criteria

  • Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
  • Experience of working with clients with persistent physical symptoms
  • Experience of teaching or training other staff.
  • Knowledge

    Essential criteria

  • Knowledge/understanding of confidentiality issues
  • Working knowledge of the practices and approaches of other key disciplines, professions and agencies involved in the care and management network, including medical, employment, social, educational and criminal justice systems.
  • Knowledge of legislation in relation to the specialism and mental health generally
  • Other Requirements

    Essential criteria

  • Commitment and adherence to equality, diversity, and inclusion
  • Ability to concentrate intensively for substantial periods of time during patient contact, teaching/supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc & produce high quality professional results to specified deadlines and other time constraints
  • Ability to manage effectively frequent exposure to highly distressing/emotional circumstances & manage effectively verbal aggression and abuse from patients, carers
  • Work creatively, co-operatively, reliably & consistently as an independent practitioner, as a mentor & supervisor, & in multi-disciplinary & team settings & demonstrably respectful approach to patients, carers, colleagues, other professionals & professional contacts & Willingness to negotiate and ability to handle confrontation effectively and professionally.
  • Trust Values

    Essential criteria

  • Understanding and demonstration of the Trust Values
  • General Guidance for Applicants

    The Trust is committed to supporting flexible working wherever possible. The Trust also welcomes applications from candidates wishing to job share with or without job share partners.

    We are committed to equal opportunities, and have been approved as a Disability Confident Employer.

    The Trust offers a number of benefits, including a relocation loan for new starters moving to the area. More details on our range of benefits can be found on the Homerton website.

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