Job overview
The Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHFT) is delighted to be advertising a full-time (although part-time applications will be considered) Principal Applied Psychologist 8b role in Wolverhampton North Adult Secondary Care Community Mental Health Team (CMHT).
Psychology is a vital and influential field, represented at every level in our Trust, including the roles of our Chief Therapies Officer, and also our Chief Clinical Information Officer who are both Consultant Clinical Psychologists.
Main duties of the job
In the CMHTS, we are a combination of Practitioner Psychologists, CBT Therapists and DBT Therapists offering a range of group and individual therapies in line with recovery models of care and trauma-informed practice. We welcome applications from Doctoral level qualified practitioner psychologists. Applications from those with interest, further training or specialism in Psychosis and/or Personality Disorder are particularly welcomed.
There are opportunities to apply and develop your time limited psychological skills in CBT, DBT, EMDR, ACT, CFT and CAT. We treat clients with a range of complex mental health problems including CPTSD, personality disorders, psychosis, bipolar disorder, and moderate to severe presentations of depression and anxiety including OCD, health anxiety, social anxiety with comorbidities. There are ample opportunities to apply leadership skills, supervision skills and further clinical competencies.
The CMHT has a strong multi-disciplinary ethos, with good links with staff from Tier 1 (Primary Care and Talking Therapies), our Recovery College and VCSE partners. Specialist services which include psychological therapists also support the CMHTs: Complex Emotional Needs; Eating Disorders; Perinatal; 18-25s Transitions Team; Early Intervention in Psychosis; Clinical Health Psychology.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Accountable for own professional practice in the delivery of highly specialist psychological care to clients with highly complex and contentious mental health conditions or learning disabilities which include challenging behaviours and possible risk of physical aggression.
To be compassionate in meeting the needs of clients, their carers and families.
To promote at all times a positive image of people with mental ill health or learning disabilities.
To promote at all times a positive image of the service and the wider Trust.
Person specification
Knowledge
Essential
- Evidence-based practice relevant to the role
- Risk assessment and risk management
- Clinical governance
- Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health and its implications for clinical practice
- Audit and research methodology
- Social inclusion agenda
- The Trust’s Quality Improvement System
Desirable
- Highly developed knowledge and skills in the care of difficult to treat groups e.g. dual diagnoses, additional disabilities or severely challenging behaviour
Experience
Essential
- Working as a qualified applied psychologist within the designated service including a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and a range of clinical severity across a range of care settings.
- Exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care as a care coordinator within the context of a multidisciplinary team.
- Liaison and joint working with statutory, voluntary and private sector agencies
- Teaching, training, consultancy and clinical supervision and field supervisor for doctoral theses
- Research and development
- Active participation in quality and service improvement initiatives
Desirable
- Project management
Education/Qualifications
Essential
- Post-graduate doctoral level training in applied Psychology as accredited by the BPS including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology.
- Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
- HCPC registration as an Applied Psychologist with Chartered Status
- Trained in clinical supervision and the supervision of doctoral trainees
- Evidence of continuing professional development
Desirable
- Registration with BPS
Skills/Personal Qualities
Essential
- Communicate highly complex, highly sensitive and contentious information effectively, to a wide range of people
- Adapt creatively the evidence base for the interventions relevant to the client group (define)
- Articulate the value added by applied psychology services within the context of multidisciplinary mental health and learning disability healthcare provision
- Undertake complex multiagency working and liaise with multiple systems
- Utilise psychometric tests competently
- Provide effective teaching, training, consultancy and clinical supervision for the multidisciplinary team
- Identify, provide and promote appropriate interventions / means of support for carers and staff exposed to highly distressing situations and challenging behaviours
- Utilise appropriate clinical governance mechanisms within own work
- Demonstrate effective keyboard skills
- Utilise multimedia materials for presentations in professional, academic and public settings
- Able to work in accordance with the Trust Values and Behaviours
- Able to engage with vulnerable people and work effectively in highly distressing and challenging circumstances
- Respects and has awareness of the advantages of joint working with other experienced professionals in a multidisciplinary setting
- Able to work flexibly and co-operatively as part of a team
- Able to use own initiative and make decisions independently
- Committed to continual quality and service improvement
- Self-aware and committed to professional and personal development. Able to accept and respond positively to feedback from supervision
- Enthusiasm for a broad range of psychological phenomena, theories and application
Desirable
- Project manage
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for 8b Applied Principal Psychologist with Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Dudley, Midlands, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Psychologist role. The advertised salary is £66,582 - £77,368 Per annum. The contract type is Permanent: Full time - 1.0 WTE post (full-time preferred but part-time considered). The application deadline is 30 Jun 2026.
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