15 Oct
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
London
Job description
Job overview
About the role :
The Lewisham Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Team is looking to recruit a skilled therapist who is passionate about DBT and enjoys working with clients who struggle to regulate their emotions, behaviours and relationships.
Main duties of the job
Job Purpose :
To provide a specialist Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) service to clients with Borderline / Emotionally-Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD / EUPD) and comorbid difficulties associated with underlying emotional dysregulation.
The job will entail delivering comprehensive DBT (individual DBT sessions, DBT skills training group sessions , DBT telephone coaching and attending weekly DBT Team Consult meetings),
planning and delivering DBT-informed groups within the Treatment Team, conducting specialist assessments and comprehensive monitoring of clinical outcomes.
The job will also require the post holder to offer consultation to other professionals and teams as appropriate, and plan and deliver training or teaching as needed.
The post holder will also be required to contribute to service evaluation, audit and research.
Working for our organisation
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre.
Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations : care and treatment, science and research, and training.
SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards,
outpatient and community services.
Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark;
as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.
By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care.
You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field.
SLaM delivered more than 14,000 training experiences in 2014; providing an extensive range of learning opportunities for staff at all levels.
In addition,
our working relationship with King's Health Partners allows those working at the Trust to get involved in academic research.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To deliver comprehensive DBT, including individual DBT sessions, skills training (group and individual), and out-of-hours DBT telephone coaching.
This work will also include delivering Prolonged Exposure (DBT-PE) for trauma, for clients with comorbid PTSD.
To provide specialist assessment and clinical formulation to clients with significant difficulties with emotional and behavioural dysregulation, particularly clients with Borderline / Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (BPD / EUPD) who engage in suicidal and parasuicidal behaviour and have co-morbid difficulties (e.
g.
substance misuse, eating difficulties, anger control problems).
To design and deliver adjunctive therapy groups, both for clients in the DBT Service and for appropriate clients in the Lewisham Treatment Service (e.
g. DBT First Steps Group, Managing Emotions groups), monitoring outcomes and modifying and adapting interventions, drawing on principles and skills from DBT / CBT.
- To work as an autonomous professional within Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the policies and procedures of the Trust and both the wider and local DBT Service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions, under guidance from both DBT Consult and individual DBT supervision.
- To attend and contribute fully to the weekly DBT Consult team meetings on Thursdays. To work as an effective team member (being non-defensive, willing, fallible, open, supportive of others etc.)
- To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review treatment plans and care plans.
- To assess and monitor risk regularly in sessions and draw up appropriate risk management plans and adapt these plans accordingly, particularly for clients with multiple services involved.
- To be responsible for delivering DBT-informed psychological interventions with carers (or families as appropriate) of referred clients, including offering Family Connections’ groups.
- To support DBT clients' care coordinators in the community teams and offer consultation to other team members with queries in relation to DBT service provision.
- To advise other members of the DBT Service, the wider borough community services (Lambeth, Croydon and Southwark), and appropriate other services (e.
g. PCMHTs, local CAMHS services, acute wards) on specialist psychological care of clients with BPD / EUPD and related difficulties.
To communicate complex and sensitive information skilfully, compassionately and thoughtfully to clients and carers, taking account of any sensory and cultural barriers to communication in line with clients' wishes.
Person specification
Qualification
Essential criteria
Entry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy / mental health / social welfare profession,
and demonstrable psychotherapeutic practice in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy or a therapy relevant to the practice of DBT.
Training can include professional Doctorate, or a combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level plus supervised practice and additional training, that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration.
Registered with one of the following professional bodies, as appropriate to discipline : HCPC / SfDBT / BABCP / BACP / BABCP / ACAT / NMC.
Desirable criteria
- Completion of the Post Graduate Diploma in DBT, or Intensively trained in DBT
- Accredited with the Society for DBT or the Linehan Board of Accreditation.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of delivering Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or comprehensive Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
- Experience of working with clients who have received a diagnosis of Borderline / Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder
- Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature
- Experience of receiving regular clinical supervision across a range of client needs
- Experience of working with, and addressing issues of, diversity
Desirable criteria
- Experience of delivering comprehensive Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
- Experience of developing and carrying out research projects
- The DBT Service, and the Trust as a whole, encourages and welcomes applications from people with lived experience of mental health challenges.
We see this as valuable and recognise the positive impact this experience can have on the work we do
Knowledge and Skills
Essential criteria
- Theoretical knowledge of DBT
- Theoretical knowledge of CBT and psychopathology and the evidence base for the relevant treatment
- Specialist and transferable psychological skills and knowledge relevant to working with clients with Borderline / Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder
- Knowledge of psychological assessment and formulation
- Awareness of diversity issues and factors affecting access to mental health care
Desirable criteria
- Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for skills groups, presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
- Well-developed IT skills, particularly in use of Microsoft applications
▶️ Dialectical Behaviour Therapist/Clinical or Counselling Psychologist
🖊️ South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
📍 London