Job Overview
Are you a passionate clinician ready for a fresh challenge and the chance to shape the future of psychological care in Milton Keynes CAMHS?
We're excited to offer a fixed‑term maternity cover opportunity for an enthusiastic and skilled Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join our warm, supportive, multi‑disciplinary, clinician‑led team. If you are committed to delivering compassionate, high‑quality care for children, young people and their families—and you're looking for a role where you can truly make a difference—this could be the perfect next step.
Main duties of the job
We're seeking a qualified and motivated Clinical/Counselling Psychologist with a genuine interest and some experience in CAMHS. You'll value collaborative working, take a person‑centred approach, and bring energy, curiosity, and reflective practice to your role. We do welcome applications from those who are newly qualified and we can provide a supportive environment for you to establish your skills. This post offers the chance to establish your skills in CBT, DBT, EMDR and Psychological Formulation within a children and adolescent population. Whether you're consolidating existing training or expanding your therapeutic repertoire, you'll have opportunities for supervision and joint working.
Working for our organisation
At CNWL, we're passionate about delivering first‑class, compassionate, safe, and effective care—whether in community clinics, schools, or people's homes. Our patients are at the heart of everything we do.
We believe great care starts with great people. We support our staff with tailored development opportunities and provide the environment for you to learn, grow, and progress. With a diverse range of services across mental health, community care, addictions, eating disorders, learning disabilities and more—there's always a place for you at CNWL.
We also strongly encourage vaccination, as it protects you, your loved ones, colleagues, and the people we care for.
Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities
Providing specialist psychological assessments and interventions to children and young people meeting CAMHS Tier 3 criteria.
Delivering evidence‑based individual and group therapies.
Offering consultation and advice to colleagues across the multi‑disciplinary team.
Contributing to service development through audit, evaluation, research, and reflective practice.
Supporting the team's leadership structure through involvement in clinical risk management and service planning.
ce functioning by undertaking audit, research and development activities relevant to the service area.
For further detailed information about this post please see attached job description.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
Current registration with HCPC as a Practitioner Psychologist.
Doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, as accredited by the BPS.
Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice (e.g. CBT, Behaviour Therapy, DBT), and family based interventions such as parenting work.)
Desirable criteria
Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology.
Post-qualification of DBT Intensive Training and/or trauma training
Experience
Essential criteria
Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
Demonstrate additional specialist training/experience including having practiced as a specialist clinical/counselling psychologist, and having received regular supervision from an appropriately qualified Clinical Psychologist; or met alternative criteria agreed by the Consultant Lead Clinical Psychologist.
Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision.
Desirable criteria
Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
Doctorate level knowledge of psychological research methodology, research design and complex, mutivariate data analysis as practiced within the clinical fields of psychology.
Knowledge of child/ young people legislation, safeguarding children & its implications for both clinical practice & professional management in relation to the client group & mental health
Desirable criteria
Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnoses, people with additional disabilities etc). Able to conduct ADHD assessments.
High level knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two specialised psychological therapies.
Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health.