TITLE: Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
HOURS: 3 days a week (open to negotiation)
SALARY: Dependent on experience
LOCATION: The Bessborough Centre (will include travel within Co. Cork)
RESPONSIBLE TO: ChiPPs Clinical Lead (Senior Clinical Psychologist)
The Bessborough Centre, in collaboration with Springboard Project
Cork, are seeking to recruit a clinical/counselling psychologist for a
new child and adolescent mental health, and early intervention,
service, specifically for children in foster or residential care
between the ages of 5 and **Apply on the website**.
The service, called ChiPPS (Children?s Intervention and Prevention
Pathways), aims to provide a range of treatment and assessment
approaches tailored to children who have experienced developmental and
attachment trauma through a stepped-care prevention and intervention
model. The service will have multidisciplinary focus and draw on a
wide range of allied health professionals, including Occupational
Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Psychotherapists and Play
Therapists.
The successful candidate will take a key role in the provision of
assessment and formulation of the needs of children in care, as well
as providing both direct and indirect specialist psychological input
to achieve positive mental health outcomes for children, engage with
children and foster carers to build or restore placement stability and
intervene to enhance key relationships in the child?s family/support
network.
The role will include offering specialist training and consultation to
colleagues and the wider team/system around the child, such social
workers, foster carers, and residential and support workers supporting
children in care. We are committed to embedding an evidence-based
culture of trauma-informed care and therapeutic practice and therefore
keen to assess the effectiveness of our service. As such, service
evaluation will be an integral part of the role.
The Bessborough Centre is trauma-informed and equal opportunity
employer. We offer a competitive salary package as well as benefits to
include, enhanced maternity leave, pension contribution scheme,
flexible working hours, internal and externally provided training
opportunities and competitive annual leave entitlement.
JOB DESCRIPTION:
* To work as a member of the multi-disciplinary therapy team,
providing a high quality, specialist applied psychological service to
clients, their families or carers offering advice via telephone or
video conference, email support, consultations, assessments and
treatment to children and their parents/carers
* To support psychological practice within the team through
consultation, supervision, formulation and training /education.
* To be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload and
to exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the planning
and prioritising of own workload and the assessment, treatment and
discharge of clients, within the bounds of the service?s operational
policies
* To compile comprehensive assessment and treatment reports and any
other reports as required in connection to the children and their
parents with whom they have been working.
* To use analytical and judgement skills and be responsible for
taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues.
* To provide consultation, mentorship, supervision and advice about
psychological issues to other members of the team/service and other
professionals working with service users, across a range of agencies/
settings as appropriate.
* To monitor assessment and treatment reports for quality assurance
purposes and ensure they are disseminated on time.
* To provide clinical and managerial supervision to more junior
Psychologists and, if appropriate, staff of other disciplines
* To contribute to the development, evaluation and monitoring of the
team?s operational policies and services, through the deployment of
professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit.
* Promote an effective team ethos.
* Promote equality, diversity and rights, and treat others with
dignity and respect ensuring services are developed, managed and
delivered to meet specific needs linked to protected characteristics.
* Promote equality, diversity and Human Rights in working practices
by developing and maintaining positive working relationships, ensuring
that colleagues are treated fairly and contributing to developing
equality of opportunity and outcomes in working practices
* Contribute to developing and maintaining equality of opportunity
in working practices by complying with legislation and organisational
policies. Advise colleagues about equality, diversity and human rights
policies and procedures and ensure they are followed
* To attend court, if required, as an expert witness.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
QUALIFICATIONS:
* Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or equivalent if
training was pre-doctorate accreditation)
EXPERIENCE:
* Experience of carrying out specialist assessments and providing
tailored therapeutic support to children who have experienced
developmental trauma and their carers/adoptive parents
* Experience in the provision of DDP and/or Theraplay to looked
after or adopted children and their carers/adoptive parents is
desirable but not essential
* Experience of psychological therapy assessment and treatment of
clients across a range of settings and client groups including both
adults and children
* Experience of conducting formal research, audit or service
evaluation in a healthcare setting
ESSENTIAL SKILLS:
* Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment
formulation and management frequently requiring sustained and intense
concentration.
* Excellent skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally
and in writing, highly technical, and clinically sensitive information
to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues
both within and outside the service.
* Skills in the provision of supervision and consultation to
individuals and teams
* Skills in providing consultation to other professional and
non-professional group
* Skills in carrying out service audits
* Excellent time management skills and an ability to meet deadlines
and prioritise workload.
* Exceptional organisational skills, particularly in administration.
KNOWLEDGE:
* An understanding of developmental trauma, attachment, infant mental
health, child development and neurodiversity, child and adolescent
mental health issues
* An understanding of working therapeutically with children who have
experienced developmental trauma and their carers/adoptive parents.
* An understanding of theory and research in the field of
developmental trauma, attachment and therapeutic interventions with
this population
* An understanding of the role of sensory integration work in the
treatment of some children who have experienced developmental trauma
* An understanding of the use of the creative arts in a therapeutic
setting.
* An excellent understanding of safeguarding children issues as well
as an understanding of care and control, notification procedures and
equal opportunities, data protection and general good practice.
TO APPLY
To apply submit your CV and covering letter to Human Resources
Department, Bessborough Centre, Blackrock, Cork or email: **Apply on
the website** by 5pm on Wednesday 8th December **Apply on the
website**. Interviews will be held week beginning **Apply on the
website**th December and can be accommodated virtually if necessary.
We need : English (Good)
Type: Permanent
Payment:
Category: Health
