Parent Infant/Psychological Therapist or Clinical Psychologist

Job summary

NHFT has an exciting opportunity to partner with North Northamptonshire Council Family Hub's programme to deliver a Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P) pilot to parents living in North Northamptonshire who are experiencing parent infant relationship difficulties.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Band 7 Psychological Therapist, Parent Infant Therapist, Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join the newly developed Parent Infant Relationship Pilot for 18 months/2 years to oversee the assessment for suitability, delivery and evaluation of COS-P to parents experiencing parent infant relationship difficulties who may be experiencing perinatal mental heath conditions

Circle of Security Parenting (COS-P) is a parenting programme for caregivers of children between the ages of 4 months and 6 years. It is a targeted-selective programme delivered in a variety of settings and aims to improve the parent-infant relationship. The pilot will deliver COS-P to selected parents with children up to 24 months old.

COS-P is based on attachment theory and aims at helping parents reflect on their own experiences of being parented to reduce their negative mental attributions to the child's normal attachment-seeking behaviours. Parents can then better provide a secure base for their distressed child and their exploratory behaviours, improving the parent-infant relationship.

Main duties of the job

The main clinical work undertaken by the post-holder will be to provide assessment, delivery and evaluation of COS-P intervention for parents with infants under 24 months old. The post-holder will receive clinical and managerial supervision from a Principal Clinical Psychologist within the team and support the collection of data for family hubs and consider the case for Parent Infant Relationship Services as part of a comprehensive 0-5 mental health offer.

The post holder will be involved in Multi-disciplinary team discussions to inform psychological thinking throughout the service and will work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the teams' policies and procedures. They will utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the service.

The programme will be delivered both face-to-face and online. In-person delivery locations will align with the Family Hub early adopter areas Wellingborough and Corby, later moving into Kettering and virtual delivery in East Northants when these sites are online.

The programme can be delivered to individual parents or couples and is often delivered to parents with mental health conditions or other risk factors that may contribute to parent-infant relationship difficulties.

About us

NHFT is an Outstanding rated integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire

NHFT welcomes applications from people, regardless of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status or pregnancy or maternity status.

NHFT is committed to building a diverse workforce, ensuring staff are treated fairly at work and ensuring all staff have the learning and development they need on equality in order to undertake their job role.

We aim to use monitoring information provided by our staff and by job applicants to ensure that we do not discriminate in employment and to use this information to plan any Positive Action to address inequality.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Experience of working in the Perinatal Mental Health field is desirable but not required. We would expect the applicant to have developed their knowledge of Perinatal Mental Health and Parent Infant Relationship Difficulties, prevalence rates, treatment interventions and Safeguarding Policies and Procedures although formal training in these areas is not required. A keen interest and passion for working with parents and their families is a must, as is the ability to work closely with a range of professionals from health visiting, Maternity, Childrens Services and the Third Sector. Although perinatal mental health and parent infant relationship experience is not essential, we do expect that the applicant has an interest in this area and can demonstrate knowledge of perinatal mental health and parent infant relationship services and evidence of transferable skills.

There will be an opportunity to train in the delivery of COS-P and opportunities for further training via local and regional delivered training programmes. We have strong links with the East Midlands Regional Perinatal Network. The post holder will also be expected to contribute to the development of a locally agreed programme that delivers training to health and social care professionals in Northamptonshire.

If you want to work as part of this exciting pilot project, we want to hear from you.

Please ensure you read the job description and person specification attached and that your supporting information reflects the relevant skills and experience you have, as your application will be shortlisted against these criteria.

The post holder will help with assisting with service improvement and developing pathways of care to meet the service needs in line with National and Local strategies and evidence-based best practice.

The post holder will work with people with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary.

You will work as part of a small pilot team consisting of:

  • 0.6 band 4 Assistant psychologist
  • 0.6 band 3 administrator
  • 0.2 Band 8b Clinical Psychologist

The Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Interim Strategic Lead for Perinatal Mental Health Services will oversee this project. It will sit outside the perinatal team and service a unique cohort of families that cannot access Parent-Infant Relationship Support.

Person Specification

Education and Training

Essential
  • Recorded/registered doctoral level qualification in clinical or counselling psychology
  • A recorded registered qualification in one of the following - nursing, social work, occupational therapy, arts therapy or a psychological therapy - PLUS further post graduate qualification training in a psychological therapy which may be as EMDR, Trauma focused CBT, CBT for anxiety and OCD, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Compassion focused Therapy and Parent Infant Psychotherapy
  • Current professional registration with professional body such as NMC, HCPC, or similar
  • British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) Level 2 accredited Post Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy with experience of Parent Infant Interventions
  • successful completion of postgraduate psychoanalytic child and adolescent psychotherapy which is approved and monitored by the Association of Child Psychotherapists Practicing Psychotherapist who is full qualified registered member of the accrediting body
Desirable
  • Training in other methods of psychological therapy or parent infant interventions
  • Specialist Perinatal Mental Health and Parent Infant Relationship Training
  • Circle of Security Parenting training
  • Video Interaction Guidance Training

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

Essential
  • Experience of working in a community setting with people experiencing complex presenting difficulties.
  • Experience of working with a broad range of psychological and psychiatric problems within a core professional role.
  • Advanced knowledge of psychological models of complex mental health presentations, and up-to-date techniques and treatment protocols relevant to psychological therapy with these groups.
  • Knowledge and experience of evidence-based practice and clinical governance in relation to perinatal mental health and parent infant relationship difficulties.
Desirable
  • Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
  • Experience of working therapeutically with groups
  • Experience of working with severe and complex mental health difficulties during the perinatal period
  • Experience of working therapeutically with parents and infants

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.

Employer details

Employer name

Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust

Address

Campbell House Northampton or Rectory Road Rushden

Campbell Square Northampton or Rectory Road Rushden

Northampton or Rushden

NN1 3EB


Employer's website

https://www.nhft.nhs.uk/


Company
Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust
Location
Northampton or Rushden, United Kingdom NN1 3EB
Employment Type
Fixed-Term
Salary
£43742.00 - £50056.00 a year
Posted
Company
Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust
Location
Northampton or Rushden, United Kingdom NN1 3EB
Employment Type
Fixed-Term
Salary
£43742.00 - £50056.00 a year
Posted