DBT Practitioner

Job overview

An opportunity has arisen for three clinicians to become integral to the new NELFT Dialectical Behavioural Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) service. This is part of an exciting expansion of CAMHS specialist services within NCEL that align closely to national, regional and local health and care goals and objectives. The role is a 1-year fixed term opportunity (or possible secondment) with the aim of securing further extension into a permanent role with the successful implementation of the service. The post holders will work closely with the DBT Therapists, clinicians and managers across Tier 4 units, CAMHS and crisis teams, the NCEL Provider collaborative and other stakeholders.

Main duties of the job

The post holders will be responsible for assessing, managing, planning, and delivering care to their allocated patients, maintaining professional and legal accountability. They will support their peers, work effectively both independently and as part of a team, and supervise pre-registration students. A commitment to collaborative working is essential, with a focus on actively supporting and liaising with other health and social professionals and agencies.

The post holders will be responsible for ensuring adherence to the DBT model within the service. The NCEL DBT service offers specialised DBT assessments and interventions to young people and their families referred by CAMHS services. The service is expected to coordinate with CAMHS teams to ensure clear transitions for young people entering or leaving the DBT service and, when appropriate, to support transitions to Adult Services. The post holders will deliver a highly specialised clinical psychology service to these young people and their families who require DBT, manage their own caseload, and provide specialist supervision, consultation, and training to team members. As part of the multi-disciplinary team, the post holder will contribute to the team’s clinical work and be accountable to the CAMHS Strategic Clinical Lead for London.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Ensure the systematic provision of a highly specialised clinical service to service users of the NCEL DBT Service, with a focus on delivering Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) across all sectors of care. This will be done in alignment with the principles of CYP-IAPT.
• Provide highly specialised assessments and therapy, while also offering advice and consultation regarding the care of service users to non-psychologist colleagues, professionals from other agencies, and other non-professional caregivers.
• The post-holder will offer specialist work as Clinical/Counselling Psychologist of the NCEL DBT-A Service delivered from a central base in Barking and Dagenham with potential outreach to Community CAMHS clinics in various localities as required.
• Act as a fully integrated member of the DBT Service multidisciplinary team (MDT), actively participating in MDT meetings and contributing to the collaborative care of service users.
• Work autonomously within professional guidelines.
• To be responsible for organising and prioritising own workload in the day-to-day allocation of work.
• To have organisational knowledge relating to Trust protocols and procedures and adhere to them.
• To be responsible for providing accurate records of information required by the Trust for audit purposes.