Job Description

This is an interesting opportunity to join the Lewisham Personality Disorder Service for a nine months fixed term contract covering maternity leave, delivering MBT and SUN crisis and support groups.



The service aims to improve patients' well-being and personality functioning. The main treatments consist of weekly individual and group therapy over 18-months: MBT and Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP). The post-holder would join the MBT arm of the service.



We would provide the post-holder with training and supervision. S/he would assess patients and deliver individual and group MBT.



Specialist consultation to other teams is also part of the role, supporting CMHT staff in working with patients with a PD.



We would train the post-holder in facilitating a SUN group . 'Service User Network' groups are coping skills and crisis planning groups. These use a containing structure, drawing on the ideas of group members to support each other.



The post holder would need psychotherapy or clinical/counselling psychology qualification and experience of working with this patient group, some psychoanalytic training and/or experience, and broad mental health experience. We value diversity and welcome applicants from a BME background.



Deliver MBT individually



Deliver MBT in groups



Potentially assess patients



Co-facilitate a SUN group.



Potentially liaise with community teams about referrals

The service was launched in 2021. There are 13 clinicians:

psychotherapists, clinical and counselling psychologists, psychiatrist, OT and employment worker and administrator. We are a supportive team, with an ethos of collaboration.



Lewisham is a multi-ethnic London borough with good transport links. The Wallace Centre is located between Deptford High Street and Greenwich town centre.



Benefits



We are committed to ensuring our staff get the most out of their benefits package and believe in a healthy work-life balance. We want you to feel part of a close-knit team, to feel valued. Our benefits package includes:



Generous pay, pensions and leave, dependent on the role and length of service.



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



Career development, opportunities to progress and we support your development through mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes



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



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



Counselling



Wellbeing events



Cycle to work scheme



Season ticket loan



Childcare vouchers

Job Purpose:

To work as a member of the Lewisham Personalities Disorder Service providing specialist assessment and treatment of patients with a personality disorder.



To help other staff, service users and carers to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe and therapeutic environment.



To provide individual and group therapy in and facilitate Service User Network groups (SUN) in the community.



To work as a link worker with other mental health teams, consulting to staff and co-facilitating groups in primary and secondary-care multidisciplinary teams.

Key Responsibilities:

KR 1 Clinical and Client Care



To provide specialist psychotherapeutic assessments and interventions for clients in the Lewisham Personality Disorders Service at Band 7, i.e. achievable by newly-qualified psychotherapists or psychologists after a few months on-the-job training.



To provide culturally appropriate psychotherapeutic interventions with carers or families of referred clients when required.



To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.



To act as keyworker, taking responsibility for reviewing care plans, and arranging meetings.



KR 2 Contributing to team or service clinical functioning



To contribute to the effective working of the Lewisham Personality Disorders Service and to a psychotherapeutically informed framework for the service.



To contribute to the team or service's delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.



To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.



To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.



KR 3 Policy and service development



To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes.



To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.



To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.



KR 4 Care or management of resources



To take care of, and use carefully, the Trust's equipment and physical resources.



To ensure that the post-holder has sufficient resources by estimating future needs and requesting or ordering supplies as needed.



KR 5 Management and supervision



To supervise trainee psychotherapists or applied psychologists within own area of specialism after completion of the relevant Supervision Training.



To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of an assistant psychologist if required, under supervision from a more senior psychologist.



KR 6 Teaching and Training



To provide occasional specialist training in psychotherapeutic approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.



To disseminate research and service evaluation findings through presentations and reports.



KR 7 Record-keeping and Information Governance



To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.



To maintain the highest standards of clinical record keeping and report writing, according to professional and Trust guidelines, including electronic data entry.



KR 8 Research and development



To undertake regular complex service evaluation, audits or research relevant to service needs.



KR 9 Maintaining professional standards and continuing professional development



To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychotherapist or psychologist according to the relevant professional body and Trust guidelines.



To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPC/UKCP/BACP for psychotherapists and the HCPC/BPS for psychologists, and for both the Trust Personal Development Plan requirements.



To maintain an up-to-date knowledge of current developments in professional and clinical practice and of relevant legislation and policies.



To adhere to Trust policies and procedures.

Psychotherapists:

To comply with the BPC/UKCP/BACP (depending which registered with) Standards or Code of Conduct, and ensure professional development in line with these.

Psychologists:

To comply with the HCPC 'Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics' and 'Standards of Proficiency', and ensure professional development in line with these.



To adhere to the BPS's Professional Practice Guidelines and Trust policies and procedures.



KR10 General



To travel to home visits, community team bases, team meetings, inpatient units and across the Trust when required.



To be aware of risk relating to aggressive and challenging behaviour amongst the client group, and follow trust policies relating to its management.



To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing such as challenging behaviour and to support others involved in such situations.