Psychologist For Infant, Child, Adolescent, and Family Service

Location: Hutt Hospital

Contract:  Permanent, Full Time (1FTE)

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is dedicated to serving all New Zealanders. Through integration and collaboration, we’re building a health system underpinned by partnership, equity, sustainability, whānau-centred care, and excellence.

About the role

An exciting and unique opportunity to create lasting difference in the lives and outcomes of vulnerable young people has become available. Working within a collaborative, inter-agency environment, you will provide culturally appropriate Mental Health services to a local care and protection facility. The Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Service (ICAFS) will be your clinical colleagues and home base.  

 As an integral part of an innovative health initiative, you’ll have the chance to apply your expertise in trauma-informed therapy to support young people who need it most, assess and treat mental health challenges, as well as provide tools for brighter futures. An integral part of this role will be coaching and mentoring staff, empowering them to deliver effective relational care. This is a unique career opportunity to be part of a newly developed service integration and is a pivotal step forward, aiming to provide equitable care for these young people and participating in creating positive outcomes.  

The salary range for this role is $83708 - $115719 depending on experience.

About the Team/Service Location

ICAFS is a community-based team that provide specialist assessment and treatment for 0 – 18-year-olds and their families/ whanau. We have a large team of passionate clinicians, including social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, registered nurses, occupational therapists and psychotherapists that you would be working closely alongside. We have clinicians with a range of experience and are known to provide excellent support to trainees, interns and new graduates who are frequently working within our service. We offer a range of therapeutic approaches as well as having two specialist treatment teams, family therapy (with a screening team) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). We support clinicians in furthering their professional development and encourage clinicians to attend training and workshops. We place a strong emphasis at ICAFS on clinicians having an effective work/life balance.

About you

The successful applicant will be expected to work collaboratively and supportively with other team members to ensure provision of appropriate, evidence-based care. The person suitable for this role will also have excellent clinical and case management skills and be comfortable managing risk.  The ability to establish and maintain excellent working relationships within the team, service, the district, the wider mental health services, and community agencies is integral to this role.

Skills

• Be a registered psychologist with 5 years+ experience.
• Experience in completing complex assessments.
• Strong mental health assessment and treatment skills.
• Previous experience in child/adolescent mental health.
• Experience and/or interest around developmental trauma and complex assessment.
• Knowledge and understanding of the intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and working to address the inequitable.
• Health outcomes for Māori, as Tangata whenua and other high needs groups.

Duties

• Provide mental health assessment and treatment for youth in a care and protection residence.
• Completing psychological assessments.
• Liaise with Oranga Tamariki Staff and other community agencies.
• Contribute to and work within the MDT.
• Documentation and assessment writing.
• Provide coaching and support to residence staff
• Work in partnership with the wider ICAFS team to develop and implement treatment and support plans.
• Work with mental health and addiction services across New Zealand to ensure smooth transitions are in place for children who leave the residence and require ongoing mental health, addiction or disability support.
• Ongoing quality improvement, research, collaboration & governance.

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is ‘the weaving of wellness’. We're dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Health New Zealand are committed to being good employers and honouring our equal employment opportunity obligations. We embrace diversity and welcome application from all people, including all gender identities, ages, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and disability. A workforce that is diverse and inclusive means that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We are pro-equity health organisation, with a particular focus on Māori, Pacific Peoples, and the Disability Community.

How to Apply

If applying from abroad, please check your eligibility for NZPB registration and state the outcome on your cover letter in your application. 

To apply please click “apply now.” All applications must be submitted through our online careers’ portal by 1st December. If you have any questions about the role, please contact Marianne.Lovgren@tewhatuora.govt.nz

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advertisement.