Overview
Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen to work in an 8a development role as a Clinical Psychologist within our Children and Young People\'s Mental Health Services (CYPMS, formerly known as CAMHS) multidisciplinary team. The successful post holder will work within our Enhanced Specialist Pathway which includes Forest House General Adolescent Unit (FHAU), Home Treatment Team, DBT and the Eating Disorders Service. The role involves delivering a high-quality service provision that promotes and improves the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people and their families within our Enhanced Specialist Pathway (previously Tier 4 services). You will have HCPC registration and provide a highly specialist child and adolescent service within the Enhanced Specialist pathway, providing both core work and specific/specialist work. HPFT has been at the forefront on national developments in CYPMHS, Service developments. The Enhanced Specialist services are a dynamic caring, supportive and hard-working team which prides itself in working in collaboratively with young people and stakeholders in service delivery. There are opportunities to take a lead in areas of service delivery and specialist areas of interest.
Details Date posted: 03 September 2025 | Band 8b | Salary £66,653 to £77,094 a year per annum, pro rata (Inclusive of 5% HCAS) | Contract: Permanent | Working pattern: Full-time, Compressed hours | Reference: 367-CYP-9524-A
Main duties of the job
* To ensure the systematic provision of a highly specialist clinical psychology services to young people within FHAU and across the Enhanced Specialist Pathway, working collegially within a multidisciplinary Therapies Team and the wider MDT.
* To manage a team of therapists, ensuring adequate skill mix and cover for the services.
* Providing support and supervision to your team in line with need and Trust policy.
* To provide highly specialist psychological assessment, formulation and treatment, and offer advice and consultation on young people\'s psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues, professionals from other agencies and to other non-professional carers and parents.
* To provide case management around a subset of young people within FHAU, ensuring safe, secure and joined up care and treatment within hospital, and between hospital, home and involved services/agencies, and to direct and guide Therapy Team members to do the same.
About us
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of \"Outstanding\" from the Care Quality Commission. Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Our values are: Welcoming, Kind, Positive, Respectful, Professional.
Job responsibilities
The post holder will work autonomously as a member of the FHAU multi-disciplinary team, and the Enhanced Specialist Pathway, providing a high standard of service to young people and their families. They will work with other professionals within the FHAU team, enhanced specialist pathway and beyond. They will participate in pre-admission work, onboarding, assessment and treatment of young people and their families, in relation to a range of highly complex emotional, psychological or behavioral problems, and work to enable safe transitions back into the community and prevent admission to tier 4 services. They will be responsible for the provision of an appropriate range of highly specialist psychology services within the pathway. They will provide clinical/professional supervision to less experienced practitioner psychologists, psychological practitioners and trainees, and provide specialist advice to other professionals and carers.
Clinical Responsibility
* To provide highly developed specialist psychological assessments of young people admitted to FHAU and the Enhanced Specialist Pathway, drawing on a range of data sources including tests, self-report measures, rating scales, observations and interviews.
* To formulate and implement plans for formal psychological treatment and/or management of a young person\'s mental health problems.
* To implement a range of evidence-based psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, collaborating with team members and refining formulations as needed.
* To make skilled evaluations and decisions about treatment options, ensuring appropriate assessment, formulation, diagnosis and treatment plans.
* To exercise professional responsibility for assessment, treatment and discharge of young people managed by psychologically based care plans.
* To provide expertise and specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals, contributing to young people\'s formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
* To contribute to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care for all young people in the service, including dissemination of psychological research and theory.
* To undertake risk assessment and risk management for individual young people and advise other professionals on psychological aspects of risk management.
* To act as case manager where appropriate, coordinating care and initiating, planning and reviewing the young person\'s care, including family/carers and referring agents.
* To communicate information concerning assessment, formulation and treatment plans clearly, monitor progress, and evaluate outcomes within unit- and multidisciplinary care.
* To provide expertise, advice and support to facilitate effective psychological care by all core team members.
* All staff should comply with the Trust\'s Anti-Discriminatory Statement, Employee Charter, Trust Policies and Procedures, Code of Conduct and Equality and Diversity.
Leadership and staff management responsibility
* Professional, clinical and safeguarding supervision of practitioner psychologists, assistant psychologists, clinical psychology trainees and psychological practitioners within the FHAU Therapies Team and Enhanced Specialist Pathway.
* Recruitment, appraisal and performance management of Band 6, 7 and 8A, Assistant Psychologists and psychological practitioners, in collaboration with the Consultant Clinical Psychologist.
* Line management within the Therapies Team, with potential cross-team sharing to ensure smooth operation.
* Support staff by directing access to services for managing health and wellbeing; be open and approachable and help monitor employee health.
Person Specification
Knowledge/Training/Experience
* Essential: Relevant training and professional registration as per person spec.
* Post-doctoral training in one or more specialist areas of psychological practice including CBT.
* Post-registration experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment with clients with complex needs.
Desirable: Specialist training in CAPA/CYP-IAPT; experience in neuropsychological assessment training in supervision of clinical/counselling psychologists.
* Experience and knowledge essential: assessed experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children/adolescents with a range of presentations; usually at least 2 years post-qualification; experience with moderate to severe MH problems; 50 hours of clinical supervision over 18 months or equivalent; teaching/training/supervision experience; consultation ability; knowledge of literature and Child Protection procedures; experience in active clinical responsibility within multidisciplinary care.
* Desirable: experience in service quality monitoring (clinical audit, evaluative research), and publication in peer-reviewed journals or books.
* Communication skills required: excellent interpersonal and communication skills; ability to convey complex information to clients, families, carers and colleagues; ability to work therapeutically with young people and families; be a constructive multidisciplinary team member; positive problem-solving approach.
* Physical skills: valid driving license (car driver) and IT skills (Microsoft Office/Outlook).
* Leadership: experience of leading a team and alignment with trust values; CPD related to management and leadership is desirable.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and requires a Disclosure to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration.
Employer details
Employer name: Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Forest House - Kingsley Green, Harper Lane, Radlett, WD7 9HQ
Employer\'s website: hpft.nhs.uk/careers
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