Community Clinical Psychologist

This is unique opportunity to contribute to delivering and developing an innovative pilot service for 0-25-year-olds at risk of or affected by youth violence. This role is part of the NHS England North Central London Vanguard, to develop a model of care for children and young people who may be affected by serious youth violence. The service adopts a holistic and multi-agency integrated approach based on the understanding that no individual service has the solution for the complex issues facing some young people.

The service model draws largely on community psychology, narrative, AMBIT, attachment-based and trauma informed principles.

The team is made up of Clinical Psychologists, specialist youth workers, young people and community leaders employed as community consultants. As a partnership service we draw on a strong collective of shared values and the team deliver accessible evidence-based and holistic mental health interventions in environments where young people feel in control and safe, including a community hub, youth clubs, other community spaces and young people’s homes.

Recognising the contextual factors that affect wellbeing, interventions are targeted across different areas of a young person's life (e.g., emotional, social, relational, occupational, etc.). The service has been coproduced alongside young people and the communityunderpinned by the ethos that they are experts in their own lives and are best placed to know what would support their community.

The post holder will hold a central role in providing flexible, adapted evidence-based psychological interventions to young people within a variety of settings. This role has a specific focus on supporting young people who have faceda number of barriers to accessing support for their mental health and offering holistic interventions to improve their wellbeing.

The service works across multiple levels, seeking to shift how the wider system perceives and works with young people and to address inequalities, creating sustainable change. The post holder will have opportunities to work alongside those with lived experience to coproduce creative activities, social action projects and influence service design and delivery. Embracing new ways of working will be key, as the model constantly evolves to respond to the needs and aspirations of young people it serves.

As this is a pilot project, a core aspect of the role will be utilising research skills for data collection, audit, policy, service development and evaluation and wider research in order to evaluate the service and provide evidence for further service development and broader systemic change. The role will also include offering advice, consultation, training and team supervision/reflective spaces to other services including grass roots and community organisations.

To offer specialist, highly flexible and innovative assessments to young people and occasionally their families and/or refer a young person to other services as appropriate. This may include risk assessment, and subsequent risk management, with the provision of specialist advice for other professionals.

To formulate and implement highly specialised and innovative plans for the psychological treatment and/or management of a young person's mental health needs; be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals and groups and to evaluate and make decisions about the intervention options available.

To act as a lead professional, where appropriate, taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans. This will involve offering staff from other agencies guidance on mental health.

To work in line with the service model which draws largely on community psychology, narrative, AMBIT, attachment-based and trauma informed principles. These approaches guide direct therapy work as well as holistic well-being support and multi‑level systems interventions.

To work collaboratively and jointly with other members of the team as well as alongside professionals from other agencies involved in the networks of young people.

To offer accessible,…