Clinical Psychologist/Forensic Psychologist/Counselling Psychologist

Job overview

We are seeking an experienced and motivated Band 8a Clinical, Counselling, or Forensic Psychologist to join our multidisciplinary Community Rehabilitation Team on a 12-month fixed-term basis. The post will suit an enthusiastic Psychologist with an interest in developing skills across a wide range of therapeutic approaches, risk assessments, formulation and consultation skills.

Our Community Rehabilitation Team supports individuals with complex and enduring mental health needs to achieve recovery and independence within the community across the Pennine Care footprint. We are committed to delivering high-quality, evidence-based psychological care and fostering a culture of innovation, compassion, and collaboration.

This is an exciting opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of people with severe and enduring mental health difficulties.

The team is a trust wide service covering all five boroughs of Pennine Care and it is essential that you drive and have access to transport to travel across the whole footprint of the trust. We are currently based at Trust HQ in Ashton Under Lyne.  Our core hours are Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.

The post is offered at 8a, however a band 7 to 8a preceptorship will be considered for candidates with suitable experience.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist psychological assessment and formulation for service users with complex needs.
• Support and develop collaborative risk assessments.
• Deliver evidence-based interventions tailored to individual recovery goals.
• Offer consultation and psychological input to the wider MDT, including nurses, occupational therapists, and support workers.
• Provide clinical supervision and support assistant psychologists.

The post holder will be part of a respected psychology team within RHS that includes Clinical and Forensic Psychologists, and Assistant Psychologists. Regular supervision will be provided, as well as team meetings and peer support.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Essential Criteria

• Good honours degree in psychology. Eligibility for graduate membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• Doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology, Counselling Psychology; or Forensic Psychology qualification
• HCPC registered as a Practitioner Psychologist
• Experience of working in a community setting.
• Demonstrable experience of delivering highly specialist psychological assessments and interventions (individual and group) within an NHS mental health environment.
• Experience of working within multidisciplinary services in mental health providing therapy to service users with high levels of complexity
• Experience of providing clinical supervision to other psychological therapists
• Experience in teaching / training of other qualified mental health staff / non psychology staff
• Knowledge of the application of clinical governance and risk management policies
• Skills in models of service delivery and an ability to articulate the value added by clinical psychology services within the context of multi-disciplinary mental health community rehabilitation services.
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment and intervention.
• Ability to contain and work with organisational stress and ability to ‘hold’ the stress of others.
• Well-developed skills in the ability 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
• Ability to play an active role in service development via evaluation, audit and research.
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non professional groups
• Ability to prioritise work, manage waiting lists, meet deadlines and revise work plans accordingly

Desirable Criteria

• Further qualifications and / or training in a range of therapy models / interventions
• Further training and / or qualifications in the delivery of clinical supervision
• Experience of providing line management to other psychological therapists
• Expertise in administration and interpretation of specialist psychological assessment tools
• Knowledge of procedures that maintain and contribute to the improvement of psychological services
• Knowledge of systems theory and organisational change

Please refer to the Job Description and Person Specification to give you the best chance of being shortlisted.