Ty Catrin Hospital
Job Description
Title: Clinical / Forensic Psychologist
Reporting to: Regional Psychologist for Wales
Responsible to: Regional Psychologist for Wales
Grade: 8
Overall objective: To provide a psychology service to patients at Ty Catrin Hospital as directed by the Head of Psychological Services.
1. Core Statement of Job
1.1 To provide a psychological service to patients at Ty Catrin Hospital as agreed by the Head of Psychological Services. This includes face-to-face work with individuals, groups, families, and consultation work advising staff of other disciplines on the psychological aspects of casework and patient management plans. Involves conducting psychological assessments and the delivery of appropriate therapeutic interventions for the full range of referred difficulties accepted by the service.
1.2 To provide teaching and training about psychological principles to staff of other disciplines as appropriate.
1.3 To conduct research and audit as appropriate and to develop and evaluate new clinical and psychological programmes as required. To participate in relevant research/audit groups as required.
1.4 To contribute to the development of psychological services and to participate in service planning and development.
1.5 To work as a member of a multi disciplinary team and to contribute to the activities and developments of this team.
1.6 To participate fully in the professional activities of the Psychological Services Department.
1.7 To gain further experience of professional issues and to become familiar with current strategic thinking in mental health and forensic services.
2. Duties – Clinical
2.1 To identify which of those patients who have been referred to the Psychological Services Department are suitable for psychology services.
2.2 To conduct psychological assessments on patients using appropriate methods, ranging from interview techniques, psychometric tests, behavioural observation and consultation with staff and patients’ families.
2.3 To conduct full formal psychometric testing for patients as appropriate.
2.4 To construct psychological formulations for each patient’s difficulties and develop an individualised intervention and management plan accordingly.
2.5 Provide the psychological therapy required to address patient’s difficulties as outlined by the formulation or to facilitate such therapy from others.
2.6 To provide consultation and advice to professional staff from other disciplines on psychological assessment, therapy and techniques for working effectively with particular patients.
2.7 To be a major contributor of psychological knowledge and expertise to the work of a multi-disciplinary team.
2.8 To communicate and liaise with colleagues in the multi-disciplinary team regarding progress and therapy and other team member’s involvement with patients.
2.9 To provide regular feedback to the multi-disciplinary team regarding patient progress and the outcomes of assessment including risk assessment.
2.10 To be responsible for all administrative tasks relating to casework including recording contemporaneous notes in care notes, contributing to care plans and timetabling of patient activities, therapeutic correspondence, CPA records, etc. This should be in line with policies and procedures of the Psychological Services Department and PiC.
2.11 To use the Carenotes / PathNav documentation and process.
2.12 To engage in joint clinical work with colleagues where appropriate.
2.13 To liaise with staff from other disciplines and agencies about the psychological assessment, treatment, management and care of patients as appropriate.
2.14 To organise own caseload and be responsible for prioritising workload.
2.15 To be responsible for own clinical work in line with appropriate supervision.
3. Teaching, Training, Supervision and Consultation
3.1 Provide training in the use of psychological approaches to other professional staff and agencies, undergraduates in psychology and psychology assistants.
3.2 To supervise work of staff from other disciplines as appropriate.
3.3 To design and deliver teaching packages to address identified psychological skills gaps of other professional staff.
3.4 To provide consultation and advice to other staff and agencies on the psychological treatment and management of their patients.
3.5 To provide supervision to psychology undergraduates as directed by the head of psychological services.
3.6 Identify training needs and contribute to training events and conferences organised or coordinated by Ty Catrin Hospital, as required.
4. Research and Evaluation
4.1 To conduct and if appropriate publish formal research in areas relevant to the delivery of psychological services at Ty Catrin Hospital, as appropriate.
4.2 To be involved in conducting service evaluation projects as required.
4.3 To conduct ongoing assessment and monitoring of clinical outcomes, in order to evaluate current interventions and improve services.
4.4 To participate in the clinical governance meetings and activities within the hospital as required.
5. Planning and Service Development
5.1 To monitor workload and referrals and feedback to the Head of Psychological Services.
5.2 To contribute to the planning and development of psychological services in agreement with the Head of Psychological Services.
5.3 To encourage and support the development of multi-disciplinary teamwork within Ty Catrin Hospital.
5.4 To attend and contribute to clinical governance sub-committees as agreed as relevant with Head of Psychological Services.
6. Managerial and Administrative
6.1 Provide a psychology service to patients at Ty Catrin Hospital as agreed with Head of Psychological Services.
6.2 To work towards objectives agreed with Head of Psychological Services.
6.3 To utilise resources and time efficiently and effectively.
6.4 To follow the policies and procedures of Ty Catrin Hospital and the Psychological Services Department.
6.5 To carry out such administrative tasks that may be required by the Head of Psychological Services.
7. Professional Development
7.1 To meet with colleagues within the Psychological Services Department on a regular basis to discuss service issues.
7.2 To be responsible for ensuring and continuing professional development is kept up to date in line with HCPC recommendations and the Psychological Services Department policies.
7.3 To engage with the Head of Psychological Services for the purposes of completing an appraisal.
7.4 To meet regularly with an experienced qualified psychologist for supervision in accordance with the good practice guidelines as outlined by the BPS.
7.5 To keep an up-to-date record of supervision received.
7.6 To keep-up-to-date with current developments in clinical and forensic psychology practice, professional issues, service developments and developments in strategic thinking by reading, using library internet services, attending short courses and embarking on more lengthy and intensive programmes leading to further qualifications as identified in the appraisal process.
7.7 To disseminate recently acquired knowledge to colleagues within the service following literature searches and attendance at courses and conferences.
7.8 To be responsible for keeping up-to-date with policies and procedures relevant to direct case work with patients.
7.9 To participate in the professional meetings and activities at Ty Catrin Hospital.
8. Health and Safety
8.1 All staff are reminded of their duties and responsibilities as employees to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions.
9. Data Protection Act
9.1 All staff are reminded of their duties and responsibilities as employees under the data protection act to ensure that personal data are not negligently nor unlawfully handled nor disclosed to unauthorised persons.
This job description is an outline only and may be changed to take account of changing circumstances.
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