Kidney Psychotherapist

Job overview

Kidney Psychotherapist / Psychological Therapist (Accredited)

Kidney disease carries a significant psychological burden. Our renal department offers comprehensive psychosocial care to patients and their carers. The Kidney Psychosocial Team is comprised of three psychological therapists, two social workers and a mental health nurse, with input from psychiatry. We are looking for a dynamic, robust and flexible psychotherapist to join our patient-centred service.

Psychological therapies and interventions focus on adjustment, coping, treatment adherence and the complex psychological effects of living with a long-term health condition, including depression, anxiety and PTSD.  We promote and model a psychosocially-aware culture within the department, including through teaching.

The successful candidate will be a creative and driven practitioner, trained in more than one therapeutic modality, with a good understanding of the relationship between psychological functioning and physical health. Our patients have complex needs and significant psychosocial challenges, including current and past traumas. In this setting psychological practitioners need to be robust and resilient, and to be experienced in working with complex presentations.

The team base is Denmark Hill, but some in-person attendance at our satellite dialysis units across south-east London may be required (to be negotiated / shared equitably by team members).

Part time - 30 hours per week (Ideally to work the first half of the week. This, and the possibility of compressed hours, is negotiable).

Main duties of the job

Job Purpose:

• To provide specialist psychological interventions and talking therapies to adult kidney patients and their families and carers, in a timely manner and tailored to clients’ needs. This includes specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To provide clinical supervision, consultation and training, as appropriate.
• To undertake service evaluation, audit and research with support from the Highly Specialist Psychotherapist, Kidney Psychosocial Service Lead
• To work as an autonomous professional and in adherence with psychotherapy accreditation body guidelines (BACP, BABCP, or UKCP) – and codes of conduct, and guided by the policies and procedures of the service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions with support of clinical supervisor.
• To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved
• To contribute to service and strategic developments in conjunction with the service lead.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical responsibilities

To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations, interventions and talking therapies for adult kidney patients coping with the impact and psychological consequences of long term and life-limiting health conditions. These difficulties include, but are not limited to: adjustment and adjustment-related distress; coping with - and adhering to - demanding and life-long treatments, like dialysis; anxiety; panic; low mood and depression; post-traumatic stress; health anxiety; altered sense of self and identity; relationship stress; loss and grief.

• To provide psychological interventions and talking therapies remotely (i.e. by telephone or video call), where appropriate or necessary
• To provide culturally appropriate talking therapies and/or psychological interventions with carers or families of referred clients, when required.
• To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
• To deliver debrief sessions, crisis intervention and reflective practice sessions to colleagues affected by emotionally distressing or traumatic situations involving patients, as appropriate Contributing to team or service clinical functioning
• To contribute to the effective working of the team or service and to a psychologically informed framework for the service To contribute to the team or service’s delivery of accessible and acceptable services to diverse local communities.
• To be proactive in challenging discrimination and support the development of culturally competent services.
• To advise other members of the service on specialist psychological care of clients.
• To liaise with referrers, GPs and other professionals concerned with clients in order to develop and review care plans.
• To utilise theory, evidence-based literature and research to support evidence based practice in individual work and work with other team members.

Policy and service development

• To implement policies and procedures in own area of work, and to propose improvements or beneficial changes. To contribute to the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities. To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.