Job overview
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Practitioner Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join our supportive and dynamic Adult Acute Inpatient Psychology Service. The post is part-time at 0.8wte. Newly qualified psychologist could be appointed at band 7 under a development/preceptorship process to work towards requirements for band 8a, subject to satisfactory completion of this formal process.
Based in the Luton area, dedicated to one or two of our 4 acute psychiatric wards, you will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team including other psychological professionals. You will be joining the Principal Psychologists, other psychologists and Assistant Psychologists who work within these services. You will be part of a team providing care, treatment, and support for people (and their families) who experience serious mental health difficulties, such as psychosis and complex emotional needs. You will be joining an NHS Trust which has a large psychology network with a culture of supporting professional development, quality improvement and co-production, and a commitment to prioritising trauma-informed care.
We have a thriving therapies workforce in the Trust with opportunities for learning and supporting each other, and we have a good track record of providing access to training to support development in clinical and leadership roles.
Main duties of the job
As an Inpatient Psychologist you will work embedded within one or two ward MDTs to support the delivery of high-quality, trauma-informed care to service users in acute distress. The role involves direct clinical work, such as assessment, formulation of complex cases, and adding to care plans to support people’s smooth transition back to community care. You will also complete indirect psychological work such as facilitating complex case formulation groups for ward staff, providing consultation and training to the teams, and facilitating reflective practice groups to support staff with the impact of the work. You will supervise the clinical work of pre-qualified professionals, including Trainee Practitioner Psychologists, and Assistant Psychologists – who provide psychological skills groups and positive behavioural support plans across the wards. You will work autonomously, with support and regular supervision from the Principal Inpatient Psychologist.
The psychologists and services in our area place high value on trauma-informed care and on co-production, quality improvement (QI) and innovation, and on equitable access for people in our diverse and rural communities. We welcome applications from candidates who match these values, and especially those with insight and understanding of the diverse backgrounds and cultures of our local population across Luton and Bedfordshire.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please kindly refer to the job description and person specification attached to this vacancy for further information on this role.
Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Person specification
Personal
Essential
- Enthusiasm for a broad range of psychological phenomena, an interest 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 services.
- Able to contain and work with organisational stress and able to hold the stress of others.
- Able to sit in constrained positions for a substantial proportion of working time.
- Able to concentrate intensely for a substantial proportion of working time, during client contact, teaching/supervision sessions, team meetings, preparing written work etc.
- Able to manage effectively frequent exposure to highly distressing/highly emotional circumstances and exposure to traumatic circumstances.
- Able to manage effectively verbal aggression from service users, families, etc and the risk of physical aggression.
- Respectful approach to service users, families, carers, colleagues and other professionals. Willing to negotiate and can handle confrontation effectively and professionally.
Experience
Essential
- Post-qualification experience as a practitioner psychologist or equivalent.
- Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of care settings, including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the treat of physical abuse.
- Experience of providing teaching, training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
- Experience in working in multidisciplinary settings and representing a psychological perspective in teams and services.
Desirable
- Experience of working as a psychologist in an inpatient setting.
- Experience of professional management of qualified and pre-qualified clinical psychologists.
- Experience of the application of psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Experience in the recruitment of psychology staff.
- Experience in contributing to service development, redesign and improvements in secondary mental health services
Knowledge & Skills
Essential
- Doctoral level knowledge of clinical psychology including highly developed knowledge of lifespan developmental psychology, models of psychopathology, psychometrics and neuropsychology.
- Able to draw upon a broad theoretical knowledge base in the analysis of highly complex facts and situations, requiring sustained and intense concentration, to arrive at appropriate formulation and compare and select from a range of treatment options. Skills in two or more distinct psychological therapies.
- An in depth knowledge and skills in applying clinical risk assessment and management in own and others’ clinical caseload.
- Able to use highly specialist skills of empathy to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance.
- Able to communicate at a high level verbally and in writing highly complex, technical and sensitive information to clients, families, carers, and a range of professionals and lay people within and outside the NHS.
- Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
Desirable
- Highly developed knowledge of the theory and delivery of specialised psychological practice relevant to a secondary mental health setting (e.g. psychosis, personality disorder, complex trauma).
Education/ Qualification
Essential
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology or equivalence and able to demonstrate eligibility for BPS CPsychol (Chartered Psychologist) .
- HCPC registration as a Practitioner Psychologist.
Desirable
- Further training or qualifications in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice.
- Quality Improvement Training.
- Clinical supervision training for doctoral psychology trainees.
Knowledge & Skills (cont’d)
Essential
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis. Able to use skills and knowledge to design and implement service evaluations.
- Up to date knowledge of psychological research and national guidance relevant to the delivery of secondary mental health services.
- Knowledge of relevant legislation and its implications for both clinical practice and professional management in secondary mental health services.
- Aware of the potential impact of discrimination & disadvantage on mental health.
- Able to be flexible and adapt approach according to need.
- Competence in use of IT equipment and software packages for the purposes of clinical record keeping, electronic communication, creating organisational documentation, data entry and analysis, research, and multimedia presenting and teaching.
Desirable
- Record of having published in either peer reviewed or academic or professional journals and/or books.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Clinical/Counselling Psychologist – Adult Inpatient Wards with East London NHS Foundation Trust in LUT Inpatient Psychology. It is listed as a Band 8 Psychologist role. The advertised salary is £57,528 - £64,750 per annum, pro-rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 09 Sep 2026.
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