Overview
To apply psychological skills and experiences to support a psychologically informed, team based, multi-disciplinary intervention to individuals with complex needs, who screen into the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway. Resettle is an Intensive Intervention & Risk Management Service (IIRMS), offering a holistic intervention to individuals with previously unmet need. This role provides clinical support and leadership to the team, in partnership with the Senior Probation Officer with supervision from the Consultant Clinical & Forensic Psychologist and in partnership with the Assistant Chief Probation Officer. The role includes deputising, chairing staff meetings, line management and supervision of staff, offering support, advice and consultation to the team. The role involves working autonomously in offering assessments and interventions to service users, with opportunities to utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research as appropriate and to propose and implement practice improvements within the service.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Main duties of the job
* To support and deputise for the Consultants Clinical Psychologist/Joint Service Director in aspects of psychological and organisational/operational matters.
* To formulate and implement plans for psychological interventions and risk management to address a service user's psychological problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework, and employing methods based upon evidence of efficacy, within the community or prison.
* To plan, implement and manage a range of psychological interventions for individuals and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining a number of provisional hypotheses.
* To ensure that members of the team have access to a psychologically based framework for understanding and care of service users, through supervision, advice and consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory to enhance the benefits of joint, inter-agency working.
* To undertake line management responsibility of assistant psychologists, trainee clinical psychologists and sociotherapists, within the framework of the Directorate's and team/service policies and procedures.
* To be involved as required in the development, monitoring and evaluation of the team's operational policies, through the deployment of professional skills in research, service evaluation and audit and ensuring incorporation of psychological frameworks for understanding and provision of high quality care.
About us
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Details
Date posted: 12 September 2025
Pay scheme: Agenda for change
Band: Band 8b
Salary: £64,455 to £74,896 a year per annum
Contract: Permanent
Working pattern: Full-time
Reference number: 350-SC7353541-A
Job locations: Resettle, Unit 1, 3 De Havilland Drive, Speke, L24 8RN
Job description
These are all indicated in the attached Job Description.
To participate as a senior clinician in the development and provision of a high quality, responsive and accessible service including advising both service and professional management on those aspects of the service where psychological and/or organisational issues need addressing.
To undertake risk assessment and risk management for service users and to provide both general and specialist advice to other professions on the psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management.
To evaluate, monitor progress and make highly skilled evaluations and decisions about intervention options, taking into account both the theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Doctoral level training in clinical/forensic/applied psychology accredited by the BPS or its approved equivalent OR
* Masters level training in forensic/applied psychology followed by full completion of Stage 2 leading to Qualified Forensic/applied Psychologist.
* Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychology.
* Formal training in research methodology, staff training, supervision and/or other fields of applied psychology
* Professionally registered as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Healthy Professions Council (HPC) practice
Knowledge
* Proven relevant experience for a significant period of time working as a qualified psychologist (a minimum of 4 years).
* Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment, both in individual work with service users and also within the context of a multi-disciplinary team.
* Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
* Experience of teaching, training and/or professional supervision
* Experience of representing psychology within the context of multi -disciplinary care.
Skills
* Expertise in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, formulation, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
* Well developed and effective communication skills, oral and written, to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
* Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non - professional groups.
* Ability to assess and manage risk and make complex judgments about risk issues.
* Knowledge of legislation in relation to client group and mental health
* Doctoral level or equivalent knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical psychology.
* Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the relevant professional body.
* Knowledge of IT systems including word processing, email and local electronic patient information systems.
* Ability to identify provide and promote appropriate means of support to carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and severely challenging behaviours
* Ability to identify, and employ, as appropriate, clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
* Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic settings.
Personal
* Ability to sit in a constrained position when working with clients.
* Ability to sustain intense levels of concentration responding and participating as required.
* Ability to self-reflect and use clinical supervision appropriately.
* Ability to cope and deal with highly distressing emotional circumstances.
* Ability to cope with unpleasant working conditions.
* Willing and able to work flexible hours in order to meet the needs of the service.
Other
* Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive situations/information.
* Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media presentations within public, professionals and academic settings.
Compliance
Disclosure and Barring Service Check: This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and a submission for Disclosure to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly CRB) will be required to check for any previous criminal convictions.
UK Registration: Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see the NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).
Employer details
Employer name: Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Address: Resettle, Unit 1, 3 De Havilland Drive, Speke, L24 8RN
Employer's website: https://www.merseycare.nhs.uk/
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