Consultant Clinical, Forensic or Counselling Psychologist

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to lead psychological therapies across Oxleas' forensic inpatient and community services, including medium and low secure wards, community forensic multidisciplinary teams, and a dedicated community forensic psychological therapies service.

We are looking for a senior psychologist to join the directorate’s management team and who is experienced in multi-disciplinary forensic healthcare services and passionate about delivering psychologically informed care at scale.

This post will suit highly visible leaders who seek a blend of leadership and direct clinical work. As Consultant Psychologist, you will maintain a strong clinical presence through providing psychological input to an inpatient ward and a small outpatient caseload. Alongside, working with the psychological therapies Head of Specialty and directorate’s management team, you will influence the service’s culture, practice, and service developments. You will embed psychological thinking at every level of care, strengthening relational security and delivering meaningful outcomes for patients.

Main duties of the job

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading and managing Psychological Therapies Services across inpatient and community forensic pathways, to deliver high-quality psychological assessments and interventions to address mental health needs and risks to others.
• Providing clinical and operational oversight of a specialist community psychological therapies service for people with complex emotional and interpersonal difficulties who harm others.
• Maintaining a clinical caseload.
• To be or to work towards qualification as an AC / RC approved under the Mental Health Act (2007)
• Ensuring the delivery of reflective practice to support compassionate, psychologically informed teams.
• Supporting and supervising principal psychologists and other psychological therapies staff, ensuring their professional development.
• Promoting trauma-informed approaches across multidisciplinary teams and services.
• Ensuring high standards of clinical governance and quality improvement.
• Contributing as a senior member of the directorate leadership team.
• Leading service evaluation, outcome monitoring, research activity and service development initiatives.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

This role involves providing strategic, clinical and operational leadership for psychological therapies across inpatient and community forensic services, ensuring the delivery of high-quality assessments and interventions that address both mental health needs and risks to others. The postholder oversees a specialist community psychological therapies service for individuals with complex emotional and interpersonal difficulties associated with harmful behaviour, while maintaining their own clinical caseload. They are expected to be, or work towards becoming, an Approved Clinician/Responsible Clinician under the Mental Health Act (2007). A key aspect of the role is fostering reflective practice and psychologically informed, compassionate teams through supervision, support and professional development of principal psychologists and other psychological therapies staff. The postholder promotes trauma-informed approaches across multidisciplinary services, maintains robust standards of clinical governance and quality improvement, contributes to directorate leadership, and leads service evaluation, outcome monitoring, research and service development activity to enhance the effectiveness and quality of care.

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.