Practitioner Psychologist 7-8a Development Post

An opportunity has arisen for a registered practitioner psychologist (Clinical/Forensic/Counselling) who wishes to develop their forensic skills and expertise to join the Adult Mental Health Forensic Psychology Service (AFPS) to work within the Community Forensic Team (CFT) in Hertfordshire. The CFT covers the whole of Hertfordshire and provides services for HPFT service users who have offended and are at high risk of further offending, both those stepping down into the community from secure services or prison and those referred from community or other inpatient wards. The CFT works closely with community teams across Hertfordshire as well as secure services and other agencies involved in service users' lives. The team is currently in the process of expanding, due to an increase in funding from the East of England Provider Collaborative, in order to provide enhanced services to the highest risk service users, to facilitate their step down from secure services and support them in the community. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in developing and expanding the service., This post is an opportunity to work with a complex and interesting group of service users, both directly and through consultation to other professionals, in a person centred and positive way to help them to manage their offending behaviour and make changes in their lives. It is a chance to work with individuals while they are detained, through the process of discharge and then on into their own communities and social networks, in a way that can have an impact well beyond the individual service user. The CFT is a core member of the Hertfordshire MAPPA and you may be required to represent the CFT and HPFT at these meetings and participate in the liaison between teams within HPFT and the other agencies involved.

You will be a qualified Clinical or Forensic Psychologist with experience in working with offenders. You will be skilled in assessing and formulating risk and in sensitively communicating the resulting formulations and management plans. You will also be experienced in providing interventions to forensic service users on an individual and/or group basis. As this is a development post, you will have opportunities to further develop skills learnt on training and will be able to pursue special interests, through a personal development plan discussed within supervision. You will be working across Hertfordshire and will sometimes need to assess service users in out of area placements or prisons. You will be a car driver (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving). Applications for flexible working are welcomed., Essential criteria

• Doctoral level training in clinical psychology or chartered forensic psychologist status
• Training/experience in supervision of other psychologists
Desirable criteria
• Further training in the use of assessment tools pertinent to offending behaviour e.g. SRP, RSVP & HCR-20., Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings
• Previous experience of working with clients with offending histories, including the use of complex risk assessments
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
Desirable criteria
• Experience of the application of clinical /forensic psychology in different cultural contexts
• Previous experience of working within the criminal justice system, Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialized psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups
• Knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for work with mentally disordered offenders
Desirable criteria
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Skills in working with trauma related difficulties, You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
  
  Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission.
Our family of over 4,500 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout, HPFT supports people with mental ill health, learning disabilities and autism across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Norfolk and Essex. We employ around 4,500 people who deliver these services within the community and in inpatient settings. We also deliver a range of nationally commissioned specialist services including Tier 4 services for children and young people, perinatal services and medium and low secure learning disabilities services. We have operated as a NHS Foundation Trust since our authorisation in August 2007.