Job overview
Band 7 - Clinical / Counselling Psychologist (CYPMHS South)
This is an exciting opportunity for a qualified professional to join HPFT CYPMHS South team. The post is designed for a psychologist who is ready to consolidate specialist skills while developing into a senior clinician.
The service operates across two main sites, and the post holder will be expected to work from both locations in line with clinical need, team arrangements and service priorities: Watford Peace Children’s Centre, Peace Prospect, Watford, WD17 3EW, and Borehamwood Civic Offices, Ground Floor, NHS Building, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, WD6 9SP. You will work alongside a multidisciplinary professionals and supporting collaborative, multi-agency working.
The post holder will hold HCPC registration and will provide a highly specialist psychological service and delivery of evidence-based service and routine outcome measures monitoring are robust, timely and aligned to the service’s agreed pathways under principles of CAPA model of approach and CYP-IAPT, inclusive of both generic and specific work.
CYPMHS South sits within a wider countywide CYPMHS system of other teams of HPFT, offering strong professional links and peer support across community and specialist teams aligned to Hertfordshire’s geographical quadrants. This post is offered as a development role.
Main duties of the job
To be responsible for a caseload of complex assessment, treatment and consultation work with children, adolescents and their families, with problems of behavioral, emotional, psychological or mental health issues, providing Core work (as defined by CAPA) and in addition contributing to Specific/Specialist work (as defined by CAPA) as agreed with Community CYPMHS Managers and Professional leads.
To operate as a member of the multidisciplinary team providing child and adolescent mental health services for the quadrant, in line with the principles and practice of CYP-IAPT.
To work in ways which are sensitive to and appropriate for the needs of families from a wide range of racial, cultural and religious backgrounds.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical Responsibility
- To assess, plan and implement programmes of care for individual children and young people, carers and families with complex behavioural, emotional, psychological or mental health issues.
- To undertake risk assessment and risk management for all children and adolescents, including the protective and risk factors in the network of significant relationships.
- To be responsible for a defined caseload selecting and using appropriate interventions to meet care plan objectives and goals privileging core skills as appropriate.
- To develop, implement and manage specialised interventions within the child/young person’s context, employing evidence based practice.
- To evaluate and adjust practices based on feedback.
- To act as care coordinator, where appropriate, ensuring provision of a care plan, taking responsibility for initiating, planning and review of the client’s care, ensuring the work of others involved and communicating effectively with the child/ the carer/ professional as appropriate, monitoring the progress of multi-disciplinary interventions.
- To carry out assessments and interventions jointly with co-workers from the multi-disciplinary team as appropriate.
- To contribute and develop skills in Clinical Governance.
- To maintain up to date knowledge of legislation, national and local policies and issues in relation to both the specific client group and mental health
Person specification
Physical Skills
Essential
- Car driver (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010 which prevents you from driving)
- IT skills; include use of Microsoft Office and Outlook
Communication Skills
Essential
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to communicate 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
- Ability to work therapeutically with young people and their families
- Ability to work as a fully participating member of a multi-disciplinary team and the ability to respect and value other members contributions
- Positive problem solving approach
Experience and Knowledge
Essential
- Assessed experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children/adolescents with a wide range of presentations of varying severity. This would usually include at least 2 years post qualification experience, or other evidenced experience.
- Experience of working with moderate to severe mental health problems with a wide range of client groups across the whole life course with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity includingmaintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Demonstrate further specialist clinical experience and training within Child and Adolescent Mental Health, through a minimum of 50 hours clinical supervision of working as a clinical / counseling psychologist over a minimum of 18 months, or an agreed alternative
- Experience of teaching, training and/or supervision
- Abilities to provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups
- Good general knowledge of the literature and research concerning mental health interventions with children, particularly the clinical effectiveness of such interventions
- Knowledge of Child Protection Procedures
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for client’s psychological care and treatment both as a professionally qualified care coordinator and also within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan
- Good presentation and teaching skills and ability to use multi -media materials for formal presentations tolarge groups
- Experience of working within a multi -cultural framework
Desirable
- Experience of service quality monitoring e.g. clinical audit, evaluative research, etc
- Experience of having published in either peer reviewed academic or professional journals and/or books
Knowledge/Training/Experience
Essential
- Relevant training and professional registration as per person spec
- Post -doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice including CBT
- Post registration experience of specialist psychological assessmentand treatment with clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature
Desirable
- Specialist training in an appropriate area and knowledge of CAPA and CYP-IAPT
- Experience in neuropsychological assessment training in supervision of clinical/counselling psychologists
WhatsApp job alerts
Get instant WhatsApp alerts for Band 7 Psychology roles in Hatfield
Create your Job Clerk account first. We'll collect your alert preferences during onboarding and help you turn on WhatsApp notifications for matching healthcare roles.
Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Clinical Psychologist Band 7 with Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust in Hatfield, East of England, England. It is listed as a Band 7 Psychologist role. The advertised salary is £51,657 - £58,785 per annum, pro rata (Inclusive of 5% HCAS). The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 23 Jul 2026.
Before you apply, compare the job description with the person specification and mirror the employer's essential criteria in your supporting information. Use the vacancy title, employer, location, salary, contract type, closing date and posted date (09 Jul 2026) to decide whether this role fits your current NHS job search. If the employer can close applications early, prepare the application before the stated deadline rather than waiting for the final day.
For more context, review related Job Clerk pages for the same profession, band or location where they exist, then use the application-support guides to tailor your statement and prepare for interview.