Job Summary
Are you interested in working with personality disorder and assisting teams to support women with complex needs? We are seeking a DBT therapist, psychologist or psychological therapist to join our 'Options' Offender Personality Disorder Team at HMP Downview (a female prison in Sutton, Surrey). Options is a treatment and support service running primarily modified forensic DBT programmes, offering treatment for service users who have been identified on the Personality Disorder Pathway. Additionally, we offer 1:1 EMDR therapy, staff training, consultation and formulation services to our probation and prison colleagues to support women’s safety through their sentence plan, in preparation for their move into the community. Service users report many improvements in how they manage emotions and relationships.
Main Duties of the Job
* Deliver Modified Forensic Dialectic Behavioural Therapy to women screened into the OPD pathway, including individual and group based treatment.
* Attend and take part in weekly DBT consultation meetings and adhere to DBT principles.
* Develop individual formulations and apply theoretical models of the psychology of mental health and personality disorder, focusing on observed behaviour, cognitive, emotional and interpersonal patterns for service users with complex clinical needs.
* Provide outreach support and stabilisation with prisoners at HMP Downview as directed.
* Provide clinical supervision to the team's psychological therapists, assistant psychologists and trainees.
* Work autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the service’s policies and procedures.
About Us
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust is a Top Employer Award Winner and works in partnership to provide responsive and dependable primary care, mental health, intellectual disability and substance misuse services to diverse and culturally rich communities. Through the Health & Justice Directorate we offer a range of mental health and OPD services across prisons, the youth estate, secure hospitals and the community. Staff receive regular supervision and CPD opportunities, and our sites in Surrey provide free leisure facilities and parking.
Details
Posted: 29 October 2025
Band: 7
Salary: £53,751 to £60,651 a year (inc. HCAS)
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Location: HMP Downview, Sutton Lane, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5PD
Reference number: 333-D-HJ-1918
Person Specification
Essential
* Postgraduate qualification in DBT
* Relevant clinical qualification within health or social care professions with registration with the relevant clinical body (e.g., HCPC) and eligibility for membership of the SfDBT or equivalent
* Postgraduate qualification in CBT
* Accredited membership of the BABCP (or equivalent) with a recognised core mental health profession
* Doctoral level training in clinical, forensic or counselling psychology or equivalent, accredited by the BPS
* HCPC registered practitioner psychologist
* Ability to work in a secure environment and maintain enhanced security clearance
* Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment across a broad range of settings
* Experience working with a wide variety of client groups, including those presenting with complex clinical severity and experiencing emotional, verbal or physical abuse
* Experience working effectively in multidisciplinary settings and representing psychology within a multi‑disciplinary care context
* Experience working with clients from a range of cultural and ethnic groups within a multicultural framework
Desirable
* Pre‑ or post‑qualification training in research methodology, staff training or applied psychology
* Training or qualification in risk assessment
* Completion of accredited DBT training
* Experience working within the personality disorder pathways
* Experience working within a prison or forensic environment
* Experience of trauma‑informed care
* Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies for difficult‑to‑treat groups
* Ability to write reports for varied audiences, including courts and purchasers of services
* Creative application of psychological knowledge to develop new initiatives
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