Title: Clinical / Counselling / Educational Psychologist
 (Staff Grade)

Hours: Full Time

Salary: Aligned to HSE consolidated pay scale dependent on experience. 56,823 – 97,280

Location: Childhood Matters, The Bessborough Centre, Blackrock, Cork

Childhood Matters is seeking to recruit a Clinical / Counselling / Educational Psychologist to join our MDT and work across our Tusla-funded specialist teams.

Interventions across all services are attachment and trauma focused, and incorporate dyadic and systemic ways of working with the child, carers and team around them. We use a relational approach and draw on models such as Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP); Theraplay; Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT); Sensory Attachment Intervention (SAI) among others. Our Multidisciplinary Teams are currently comprised of clinical psychologists, occupational psychologists, play therapists, child art psychotherapists, social workers and social care workers.

The successful candidate/s will play a key role in contributing to MDT discussions of each child or family’s needs as well as those of the system around them, formulating the presenting difficulties and considering appropriate intervention. The clinician/s joining our organisation will provide both direct and indirect therapeutic input. They will liaise with partner agencies to endeavour to achieve positive outcomes for children in care, or on the edge of care, and their carers, working to build/restore placement stability and enhance key relationships in the child’s family/support network.

Childhood Matters is a trauma-informed and equal-opportunity employer. We are committed to embedding an evidence-based culture of trauma-informed care and therapeutic practice and therefore keen to continually assess the effectiveness of our service. We strive to be a positive place to work, providing staff with reflective practice, regular supervision and a training budget. We offer competitive salary packages as well as benefits including enhanced maternity leave; pension contribution scheme; health care plans; flexible working hours; internal and externally provided training opportunities, and competitive annual leave entitlement.

Job Description:

• To work as a member of multi-disciplinary teams, providing high-quality, psychological input to children in care and/or their carers.
• To support psychological practice within the team through consultation, supervision, formulation and training/education
• To be responsible for holding and managing a clinical caseload and exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the planning and prioritising of own workload and the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients within the bounds of the service’s operational policies
• To engage with service development opportunities, developing leadership capacity and autonomous responsibility where appropriate
• To operate as lead clinician on complex cases in interagency contexts when required
• To compile comprehensive assessment and treatment reports and any other reports as required in connection to the children and their parents with whom they are working.
• To use analytical and judgment skills and be responsible for taking clinical management decisions in complex clinical issues (with support of senior colleagues)
• To provide consultation, mentorship, supervision and advice about psychological issues to other members of the team/service and other professionals working with service users, across a range of agencies/ settings as appropriate.
• Promote an effective and productive team ethos, fostering our Childhood Matters trauma-informed and trauma-responsive approach at all times
• Promote equality, diversity and human rights, and treat others with dignity and respect ensuring services are developed, managed and delivered to meet specific needs linked to protected characteristics.
• Promote equality, diversity and Human Rights in working practices by developing and maintaining positive working relationships, ensuring that colleagues are treated fairly and contributing to developing equality of opportunity and outcomes in working practices
• Contribute to developing and maintaining equality of opportunity in working practices by complying with legislation and organisational policies. Advise colleagues about equality, diversity and human rights policies and procedures and ensure they are followed
• To attend court, if required, as an expert witness.

Person Specification

Qualifications:

• Doctorate in Clinical Clinical/Counselling/Educational Psychology (or equivalent if training was pre-doctorate accreditation)
• Qualification recognised by an accrediting body i.e. PSI, BPS

Experience:

• Experience of providing attachment-based psychological interventions to children who have experienced developmental trauma is important.
• At least two years post qualification experience working as a clinical psychologist is required to be considered for the senior position.

Essential Skills & Knowledge

• An ability to offer attachment-focussed, evidence-based psychological interventions tailored to meet the individual needs of children/young people and their carers referred to CHIPPS
• An ability to work dyadically with carers and children as well as systemically with the network around the child
• Familiarity with key legislation relating to children in the care of the state and awareness of partner agencies involved in working with children in care
• Experience in conducting cognitive assessments and using psychometric tests and routine outcome measures in child mental health services
• Skills in the provision of supervision and consultation to both external and internal professionals and teams (where appropriate and dependent on level of experience)
• Excellent communication skills (oral and written) and an ability to explain psychological concepts to non-clinical professionals/colleagues as well as to children/young people and carers
• Excellent time management skills and an ability to meet deadlines and prioritise workload
• Exceptional organisational skills and a capacity to balance clinical tasks and administrative workload including clinical note-writing, letter/report writing, updating of services databases etc.
• High level of knowledge of developmental trauma, attachment, child development and neurodiversity, and child and adolescent mental health issues
• Awareness of the complexities and challenges of working therapeutically with children who have experienced developmental trauma as well as their carers and the system around the child
• Knowledge of psychological theory and research in the field of developmental trauma, attachment and therapeutic models and frameworks relevant to this population
• An understanding of the use creative, non-directive approaches in therapy for children who have experienced developmental trauma
• An excellent understanding of safeguarding children issues as well as an understanding of care and control, notification procedures and equal opportunities, data protection and general good practice
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Outlook; Power Point, and Excel

Desirable Skills & Knowledge

• CPD/training completed in any of our core therapeutic models including Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP); Theraplay; Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT) approaches; Sensory Attachment Intervention (SAI), Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW) or other attachment-focussed interventions and systemic approaches to working with developmental trauma
• Experience of consulting to/liaising with social care teams and professional groups such as teachers, court-appointed guardians and other professionals in the justice system
• Post-qualification experience as a Psychologist in a child mental health setting
• Experience of using digital clinical record systems

To Apply

To apply submit your CV and covering letter to hr@childhood-matters.ie by 9am on Tuesday 3rd December. Interviews are planned to take place on 11th / 12th November 2024.

For further information or to discuss the role in more detail, please contact Dr Rachel Falk, Clinical Director, via email on rfalk@childhood-matters.ie or call 021-4357730 or visit www.childhood-matters.ie