Senior Clinical / Counselling Psychologist Adult Refugee Service

The post holder will be part of a new mental health outreach support service that is dedicated to supporting refugees and asylum seekers within Havering. The post holder will be expected to offer psychological assessment and therapy to adults (aged 18+) asylum seekers and refugees living in the borough of Havering. The post holder will act as a key focal point for discussions around supporting asylum seekers and refugees with mental health difficulties, and will be involved in some community development work with community and voluntary sector organisations around mental health and wellbeing, providing teaching and training on relevant topics.
The post holder will operate within the asylum seeker and refugee arm of the Mental Health and Wellness Teams and will be expected to work refer on/work closely with other relevant health and social care services available through Havering. They should be sensitive to working with a culturally diverse community and understand culturally specific views on mental health.
The post holder will support the delivery of the NELFT trauma informed care strategy in the Havering locality., This post will be subject to a probationary period. Internal applicants are exempt from the probationary period (unless you are an internal applicant currently part way through a probationary period or currently a bank member of staff).
Starting with NELFT
NELFT place a great deal of importance on new starters being properly welcomed and inducted into the Trust. All new starters will join the Trust on the first Monday of each month and will undertake a comprehensive induction of up to two weeks which will include mandatory training, systems training and the allocation of equipment. As part of the process new starters will have the opportunity to also meet the executive team, senior managers and attend a number of drop in sessions focussing in engagement, health and wellbeing and key processes. The induction will be held at our head office in Rainham, Essex.
High Cost Area Supplement - Outer London
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £4,313 to a maximum of £5,436 p.a. pro rata for part time).
High Cost Area Supplement - Fringe
This post also attracts payment for High Cost Area Supplement of 5% of the basic salary (with a minimum of £1,192 to a maximum of £2,011 p.a. pro rata for part time)., The post holder will carry out professionally based duties and responsibilities in the following areas:
+ To provide a psychological wellbeing outreach service to all asylum seekers and refugees who live in Havering.
+ To address emotional distress that asylum seekers and refugees experience in a non-stigmatising context.
+ To raise awareness about the benefits of therapeutic interventions among the asylum seeker and refugee population, reduce stigma, and improve access to support for those who do not conceptualise their difficulties as psychological.
+ To provide a holistic assessment and therapy service to adult asylum seeker and refugees who present with complex needs that require specialist intervention.
+ To offer a flexible care model that may include offering assessments and/or therapy within the hotels, family homes (if clinically appropriate for the presenting difficulties and intervention), offices and buildings of organisations working with asylum seekers and refugees in Havering, as well as in primary and secondary schools, and community settings as required.
+ To offer culturally appropriate and gender sensitive interventions that mobilise individual and collective strengths and are based on genuine partnership and collaboration, actively involving the service users in decision making in order to contribute to long-term empowerment.
+ To encourage positive coping strategies and contribute to building resilience in order to enable the person to manage emotional challenges and difficulties safely, and lay down the foundations for good mental health.
+ To reduce the need for crisis-led/statutory services in the short, medium and long term.
+ To liaise with other professional within Mental health and Wellness Teams, Talking Therapies, GPs education, social care and safeguarding services as appropriate to ensure the safety and wellbeing of asylum seekers and refugees.
+ To deliver psycho-educational and psychosocial group activities to support asylum seekers, refugees and their families to support understanding of normal responses to loss, trauma and stress, and enhancing self- confidence and the wellbeing of Service users in order to promote their ability to integrate into communities.
+ To deliver psycho-educational groups and reflective practice for those working closely with asylum seekers and refugees to support understanding of normal responses to loss, trauma and stress, and enhancing self- confidence and the wellbeing of Service users in order to promote their ability to integrate into communities.
+ Liaise closely with refugee community groups and partnership agencies, working within an outreach model and community psychology principles in order to upskill the system in understanding trauma and creating enablement for this population group.
Please refer to the Job Description & Person Specification attachment.
Benefits
We believe in bringing your authentic and best self to work, in order to deliver the best care to our patients. We are committed to supporting our employees holistically. Here is a snapshot of what is on offer at NELFT:
+ A long-standing and award-winning approach to equality and diversity with supportive networks for ethnic minority staff, staff with disabilities or long term/chronic conditions and LGBT staff.
+ A commitment to supporting colleagues to achieve a work life balance, through flexible working opportunities and our efforts to support our working parents and carers. This has resulted in us being recognised as a 'Top 10 Family Friendly Employer' from the Working Families Charity.
+ Proactive health and wellbeing support, including access to our employee assistance programme, staff psychological support, individual wellbeing conversations and a network of health and wellbeing ambassadors.
+ Detailed information about our wellbeing and benefits offer can be found in this link.
As a flexible working friendly organisation, we want to be sure that you can work in a way that is best for us and for our patients, and for you. Speak to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's a job share, part time hours or another flexible pattern.
Supporting our Armed Forces
We recognise the valuable contribution that the Armed Forces community make to our organisation. We have signed the Armed Forces Covenant and achieved Gold Award under the Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme. We have supportive policies, guaranteed interview schemes for veterans. reservists and military spouses and give additional leave to our Reservists so that they can attend their annual camp.

We are keen to recruit an enthusiastic and committed Clinical or Counselling Psychologist who shares a passion for human rights and social justice. The post will suit someone wanting who is passionate about addressing the needs of particularly vulnerable groups to lead and develop newly commissioned Havering Refugee and Asylum Seekers services. We offer excellent development opportunities including high quality and regular supervision, opportunities for research, and close working with other specialist refugee and trauma services across the London region. You should have highly developed skills in the treatment of trauma and in supervision. If you would like to make a positive difference to the lives of survivors, we would love to hear from you.

Joining #TeamNELFT means you'll become part of a welcoming and supportive working environment. We're CQC rated Good, and we want you to join us on the journey towards an Outstanding rating. NELFT has sites across North East London, Essex, Kent and Medway. We provide community and mental healthcare services to adults and children within these areas.
The Trust has award winning equality and diversity initiatives and staff health and wellbeing activities. We invest heavily in your development, because when you are valued and supported, we provide the best care to our patients. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have been featured in the Working Families Top 10 Employers benchmark for three consecutive years, and we have achieved a Carers UK Level 1 Accreditation. Along with our staff networks and training opportunities, we work hard to embed a just and compassionate culture here at NELFT.
Find out more about NELFT careers and what makes our Trust a great place to work, in this video