Job overview
Here at HPFT we have a long history of delivering outstanding care, and we are taking our inpatient psychological therapies service to the next level. Through an extensive expansion of our psychology provision, we are embedding trauma informed approaches across all wards. This is an exciting time of change.
We are looking for caring and committed 8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologists to work alongside the multi-disciplinary team in supporting change. If you have the relevant skills, are energetic, imaginative and, above all, care passionately about working with individuals and their families towards recovery, then we want to hear from you!
The role is based in the innovative and purpose-built Kingfisher Court, Radlett . You will form part of a vibrant, passionate, and supportive inpatient psychology service that is well established and highly valued across our inpatient services. The role is part time, 30 hours per week.
For the right candidates with acute inpatient experience we would consider a developmental period from Band 7 to Band 8a.
We don’t want you to miss out so we’d like you to know that if we have a high level of interest in this role, the vacancy may close prior to the advertised closing date - Apply now!
Main duties of the job
The successful candidate will:
- Provide a specialist psychology service to service users on the adult mental health wards.
- Provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and interventions.
- Provide clinical supervision, advice and consultation to colleagues, and to other non-professional carers, on psychological aspects of assessment, formulation, care and treatment.
- Provide compassionate care that is based on empathy, kindness, respect and dignity, and underpinned by principles of recovery and knowledge of trauma informed approaches.
- Support the development and roll out of Trauma Informed Approaches across HPFT inpatient services as we change the question people ask from "What’s wrong with you?" to "What’s happened to you?"
In return, we can offer you:
- Leadership and management training opportunities
- 5% on top of basic salary high cost allowance supplement (subject to a minimum and a maximum payment pro rata)
- 27 days holiday rising to 33 days (depending on NHS Trust service) plus bank holidays (pro rata where applicable)
- One of the UK's best pension schemes
- Comprehensive health and wellbeing services
- Special leave for family and personal reasons
- NHS Car Lease Scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
To provide specialist psychological assessments of service users referred to Acute Services based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the client’s care.
To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a client’s mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the client’s problems, and employing methods of proven efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
To work within the MDT, forming part of the leadership team for the ward and ensuring psychologically informed ways of working are embedding across all systems along with skilling up the wider workforce to make psychologically informed interventions everybody's business.
To support with and lead the embedding of Trauma Informed Approaches across all systems.
Person specification
AREAS OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE
Essential
- Experience of 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 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 off highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
- Knowledge of whole life span development and the impact on emotional, psychological and mental well-being.
- Knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two evidence based psychological interventions including CBT, Systemic Therapy or Family Interventions.
- Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and treatment within the context of multidisciplinary care.
- Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the fields of Clinical / Counselling Psychology.
- Experience of multi-disciplinary team working and inter-agency collaboration.
- Ability to provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
- Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Ability to take the appropriate action to address any issues or risks.
- Awareness of Child and Adult Safeguarding Procedures.
- Awareness of current NHS initiatives and developments.
- Knowledge of legislation and the national agenda in relation to adult mental health and psychological working in long term conditions, such as personality disorder.
- Knowledge and awareness of specific clinical practices and issues relating to clients in mental health crisis
- Ability to work autonomously as well as part of a team.
- Experience of service quality monitoring e.g. clinical audit, evaluative research, etc.
- Experience of teaching, training and/or offering supervision
Desirable
- Experience of service development/project management.
KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE
Essential
- Post-graduate doctorate in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, or fully completed training as a Counselling Psychologist.
- Experience working as a qualified practitioner with clients with severe mental illness within a mental health setting.
- Experience of working within acute or crisis services.
- Current full registration with HCPC
- Training in risk assessment and management.
Desirable
- Post-qualification training in assessment and intervention models in one or more of the following: CBT, Systemic Therapy, Family Interventions.
- Experience of supervising qualified clinical staff from a range of professional backgrounds including HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologists.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Clinical/Counselling Psychologist with Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust in Hatfield, East of England, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Psychologist role. The advertised salary is £59,798 - £67,020 Per annum, Pro rata (5% HCAS Included). The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 05 Aug 2026.
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