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Featured job: Clinical Psychologists, HelloSelf.com

…Looking to recruit new therapists.

03 October 2019

Charlie Wells, founder of HelloSelf, tells me ‘Our aim is to help people who may find it hard to access services, to become their best selves. We do this by creating a team of the best clinical psychologists and the best technologists to overcome obstacles of time, place and cost.’

How does this work? ‘Users have to wait a long time to get a clinical psychology session via their GP or insurance provider. Typically they find the correct match with the third clinician they see. So, we’ve set ourselves three goals to improve things for users through online delivery. First, we aim to get an appointment with the right clinician, within 48 hours.  Initial assessment is key here. Second, we aim to help users get better faster. Third we offer a service that checks in with users to ensure they’ve stayed well once they are well. The last two services are difficult in private practice since so much of the work falls on one person: the main therapist. All our psychologists are supported by assistant psychologists.‘ Is this simply taking cost and time out by delivering online? ‘If the therapist and user need to meet, we have five touch down centres, with two more opening before Christmas. They’re largely London-centric but we’ll extend our coverage greatly next year. But online delivery of psychology services doesn’t mean lower standards. Our three very experienced, full time clinical directors are psychologists  with backgrounds in the Maudsley Hospital. They have worked together for some years and are committed to maintaining clinical excellence.‘

Why would these jobs appeal to experienced clinical psychologists? ‘Careers are changing. Many highly trained clinical psychologists fall out of the work force because of life events, such as pregnancy: we want to bring them back. Many need to create portfolio careers but they didn’t train to run small businesses. So our associates spend their private clinician time with us: they get paid per session and can concentrate on what they love doing – working with clients – rather than tax returns!’

It could be lonely working online. ‘Associates work separately on the case load but we’ve established lots of ways of networking – physically and virtually – ranging from peer-to-peer and specialist supervision to physical meetings to share ideas. We are committed to ensuring that all our associates feel part of HelloSelf as we pioneer a new, improved way of delivering clinical psychology for service users.

- Find more about the job at Jobs in Psychology.