Job overview
An exciting opportunity for a Principal Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join the North View Psychology team on a permanent, part‑time basis (30 hours per week, 9:00‑17:00, 4 days per week). You will work alongside the Consultant Clinical Psychologist to lead a dynamic team of six qualified psychologists and two assistant psychologists, supporting adults with mental health problems across six in‑patient acute wards.
Main duties of the job
We seek a highly skilled clinician with experience of working across the full range of mental health problems, adept at assessment, co‑development of formulations, and engaging with service users and multidisciplinary teams to improve care delivery.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical Responsibilities:
- Provide psychological services in the North View acute inpatient unit.
- Carry a caseload and undertake highly specialist psychological assessments using complex data from multiple sources.
- Develop psychological formulations of complex mental health problems to inform team treatment and management.
- Deliver structured psychological interventions and therapies for people with severe and/or complex mental health problems, including families or carers when appropriate.
- Harness and support the psychosocial skills of other team members through clinical supervision, consultation, liaison work, and co‑working opportunities.
- Develop and maintain appropriate psychosocial supervision frameworks.
- Contribute to risk assessment and risk management, providing training and consultation on psychological aspects of risk.
- Participate in the stepped‑care provision of psychology services.
- Promote team working and constructive relationships with multidisciplinary colleagues.
- Collaborate with ward managers on developing best practice for psychological care within the ward environment.
- Support staff in implementing the managing difficult emotions pathway for people with complex emotional and relational needs.
Person specification
- A 2.1 degree in psychology and eligibility for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS). Post‑graduate doctorate in clinical/counselling psychology (or equivalent for pre‑1996 training), accredited by the BPS, with current registration as a clinical/counselling psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council; alternatively, a core health profession qualification (nursing, social work or occupational therapy) with post‑graduate training in cognitive behavioural therapy (minimum of a postgraduate diploma in cognitive therapy).
- Completion of further post‑qualification training within psychological therapies (e.g. CAT, DBT, CFT, MBT, TWV, etc.).
Experience
- Demonstrable post‑qualification experience of specialist assessment and treatment of adult clients in an inpatient setting.
- Experience of audit and service evaluation within psychological therapy services.
- Experience working within a multi‑cultural framework.
- Demonstrated experience of working with complex health problems, including distressing psychosis, severe depression, anxiety, trauma, and suicidal crises.
- Experience of working within inpatient adult multidisciplinary teams.
- Research experience relevant to adult services.
- Experience leading or heading a service and representing it at a senior level.
- Clinical leadership experience in a previous role.
- Experience providing clinical supervision to psychologists, therapy staff or core health professionals.
- Experience teaching or training on clinical interventions.
- Experience managing demand for psychological services within a stepped‑care framework.
- Application of psychological therapy in diverse cultural and ethnic contexts.
- Awareness and application of power issues, the medical model, the mental health act and other social factors (gender, class, disability, etc.) in inpatient work.
Knowledge
- Understanding of national and regional legislation, guidance and policy directives related to psychological therapies in inpatient services.
- Evidence of post‑qualification CPD, accredited by the BPS or another professional body.
- Excellent communication skills, oral and written, enabling the conveyance of complex clinical information to clients, families, carers, and professional colleagues.
- Skills in providing consultation to professional and non‑professional groups.
- Up‑to‑date knowledge of the needs of people with severe and enduring mental health problems, and of psychological approaches to recovery.
- Completion of specialist therapy courses.
Important Information about working for GMMH
All positions within the Trust are subject to satisfactory pre‑employment checks. For further information on the checks required, please visit the NHS Employers website at www.nhsemployers.org.
The Trust mandates all post holders who require a DBS for their role to subscribe to the DBS Update Service. You will be required to enrol for this service for a fee of £16 per year and maintain registration throughout your employment with GMMH.
Equality, Diversity and Safeguarding
We are aspiring to ensure our workforce is representative of the diverse communities that we serve, and we are strongly committed to removing barriers to employment for candidates from under‑represented groups, for example BAME, Disabled and LGBT+ communities.
The Trust is also committed to safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults; all staff and volunteers must share this commitment.
Employers’ Legal Requirements
- You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
- The post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) and the 2020 Amendment Order; a submission to the Disclosure and Barring Service will be required.
Please note, this vacancy may be closed at any time if sufficient applications have been received.
