About Meadows Psychology Service (MPS)
Meadows Psychology Service is a clinical psychology-led organisation and national leader in trauma-informed practice for children and young people. We specialise in working to support systems around children and adolescents who have experienced developmental trauma, providing tailored, psychologically informed packages of care to a range of settings including residential homes, education, foster care, supported accommodation, and family contexts. We also deliver commissioned services on behalf of local authorities and partnerships.
At MPS, we are committed to quality, authenticity, and compassion. Our values sit at the heart of everything we do — from the relationships we build to the services we deliver. This is an exciting time to join our growing organisation, as we move towards becoming a national centre of excellence in trauma-informed care. We invest heavily in professional development and are proud of our inclusive, reflective culture.
JOB PURPOSE
To provide consultation, psychological support, training and development to people who look after and support children and young people who have experience of developmental and relational trauma. This might include supporting residential children’s homes, foster carers, education settings and a variety of organisations that we provide support to.
The primary focus of this work is supporting systems around children and young people, although direct work with children forms part of the role, this will be a small caseload. This will include the provision of psychological assessments, formulation and intervention to support children, young people and families.
To offer psychological consultation to support the system around children and young people to help them understand their presentation, their early experiences and their formulation, and to guide the system in supporting the therapeutic needs of the child.
To assist in the development of the Meadows Psychology Service in accordance with the needs of company. To contribute to Meadows Psychology Service as Centre’s of Excellence in the field of developmental trauma and attachment.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. To provide psychological assessment and therapeutic interventions to Children and Young People.
2. To provide psychological consultation, reflective practice and network meetings to systems and professionals that support children and young people.
3. To be able to utilise developmental / relational trauma and attachment theories to formulate the needs of children and young people
4. To attend such meetings/proceedings including statutory reviews, as is appropriate, to present assessments and provide a review of therapy to inform care.
5. To provide therapeutic support to external organisations that Meadows Psychology Service provide input to. This will include consultation, reflective practice, training, staff support
6. To provide regular written reports regarding psychological assessments and interventions and general progress, for your caseload
7. To regularly liaise with relevant professionals regarding therapeutic and systemic interventions, subject to professional boundaries of confidentiality
8. To provide input into routine assessment and care planning for young people.
9. To work with the other members of the Therapy Service to develop a service that will appropriately meet the therapeutic and psychological needs of all the systems we work with
10. To provide a mental health and psychological opinion and therapy proposals for potential referrals to Meadows Psychology Service
11. To provide relevant training to Meadows Psychology Service - whether to the service as a whole or to specific teams.
12. To be involved in recruitment and induction of new staff, as appropriate.
13. To undertake any Continued Professional Development activities as are required to maintain and enhance clinical skills necessarily for the delivery of high-quality psychological care.
14. To attend and contribute to peer supervision within the Therapy Service.
15. To receive Clinical Supervision from an appropriate professional in accordance with regulatory body requirements.
16. To be knowledgeable of and to work within the parameters of Meadows Psychology Service policies and procedures.
17. To be aware of the nature of working within the independent sector, working for a non-statutory organisation and the different challenges and dilemma’s that this can entail.
18. To work autonomously in Meadows Psychology Service across potentially multiple contracts, managing your time and workload
19. Conducting work with regular auditing monitoring of caseload to enable service compliance and contract development. In addition, to review children, young people and their families records to support and lead where necessary on quality assurance processes and the provision of management information.
20. Confidence in managing appropriate professional boundaries.
21. Ability to work autonomously and flexibly across multiple complex systems.
22. Responsive to competing and shifting priorities with the ability to remain grounded in high-pressure situations.
23. Capacity to hold a reflective and containing presence for others.
24. Strong relational awareness and ability to build therapeutic and professional connections in challenging contexts.
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential Criteria
We are looking for someone who:
~ Holds accreditation in therapeutic approach or is working towards accreditation
~ Has experience of working with young people with complex presentations (e.g. CLA, LAC, CAMHS, YOT)
~ Experience of further training in therapeutic models relevant for young people (ie. DDP, CFT, Mentalisation, DBT or similar)
~ Has experience of coordinating therapeutic care for children and young people
~ Has the ability to apply knowledge of psychological theories to health and social care
~ To disseminate assessment findings and formulation to a range of audiences
~ You are able to demonstrate good organisational skills and work autonomously
~ You have a range of skills in assessment, formulation and intervention in addition to evaluating their own practice and measuring outcome.
~ You are able to contribute to CLA/LAC reviews and a range of other professional meetings, including at times providing evidence that may be used within family law proceedings.
~ You can lead collaborative care planning, formal and informal training and providing reflective practice sessions.
~ You are able to work in a flexible, responsive way with the services we support, including during periods of change or crisis. This includes the ability to:
- remain grounded and not become drawn into the anxiety of systems;
- manage trauma presentations within the wider system;
- task-switch effectively and respond confidently to what's in front of you;
- adapt plans and approaches on the spot as needed;
- and support systems to think clearly about the needs of children and young people, even in times of pressure or uncertainty
Probation Expectations
This role is subject to a 6-month probationary period. This will include structured feedback from supported services and commissioners, focused review of both clinical competence and relational skills, and clear expectations around responsiveness and autonomy.
This is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the post holder may be required to undertake other duties following appropriate discussion with the senior leadership team.
Pay: £30,000.00-£45,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company pension
- Employee discount
- Health & wellbeing programme
- Work from home
Application question(s):
- Do you hold accreditation or are you working towards accreditation? (BACP/UKCP/HCPC/NCPS/BABCP/AFT or equivalent)
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Ilford
