Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist

Job overview

The Integrated Recovery Hubs provide specialist assessment, treatment, and recovery work for adults with a wide variety of severe and enduring mental health needs creating a stimulating and rewarding role for clinical psychology. The Trust has a strong commitment to the development of psychological work, and you will be part of a larger group of psychologists working in the service and will receive regular supervision from the borough psychology professional lead. We are particularly interested in hearing from candidates with experience in CBT for psychosis, trauma and DBT therapies

The role focuses on providing evidence-based psychological therapies for severe and enduring mental health conditions, including psychosis & bipolar affective disorder, personality disorder, and complex mood, anxiety disorders & PTSD.

This post is an established at 8a level, but we welcome applications from final year Clinical / Counselling Psychologists Trainee Clinical Psychologists, and from Psychologists with less than 18 months post qualification experience, who could progress from a Band 7 preceptorship to a Band 8a in this post.. As a band 7 preceptorship you will be able to access dedicated CPD and encouraged to work for part of the week in a different service to widen your skills and experience.

Main duties of the job

The role focuses on providing evidence-based psychological therapies and assessments for severe and enduring mental health conditions, including psychosis & bipolar affective disorder, personality disorder, complex mood, anxiety disorders & PTSD.

To provide a qualified clinical psychology service to clients of the service team, across all sectors of care; providing highly specialist psychological assessment and therapy at the same time as offering advice and consultation on clients’ psychological care to non-psychologist colleagues and to other, non-professional carers, working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the team’s policies and procedures; and to utilise research skills for audit, policy and service development and research within the area served by the team/service.

The post holder will be expected to work in health and other community settings (including outpatient clinics), clients’ and their relatives’ homes, inpatient and other hospital settings, and any other settings in which the client is most appropriately managed.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To provide specialist psychological assessments of clients referred to the team based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex 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 based upon evidence of efficacy, across the full range of care settings.
• To be responsible for implementing a range of psychological interventions for individuals, carers, families and groups, within and across teams employed individually and in synthesis, adjusting and refining psychological formulations drawing upon different explanatory models and maintaining several provisional hypotheses.
• To evaluate and make decisions about treatment options considering both theoretical and therapeutic models and highly complex factors concerning historical and developmental processes that have shaped the individual, family or group.
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based care plans.
• To provide specialist psychological advice, guidance and consultation to other professionals contributing directly to clients’ formulation, diagnosis and treatment plan.
• To contribute directly and indirectly to a psychologically based framework of understanding and care to the benefit of all clients of the service, across all settings and agencies serving this client group of people with severe and enduring mental health problems.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in job applications

If you have used AI to support the preparation of your application, please briefly indicate how it was used within your supporting statement or application form.

Please remember, your application is your opportunity to tell us about your skills, experience and motivation for the role. We encourage applicants to complete their application and supporting statement in their own words wherever possible. We recognise that AI tools can be helpful in supporting accessibility, and for improving spelling, grammar and structure.

Applications that rely heavily on AI-generated content can become generic and fail to accurately reflect an applicant's individual experience. Applications that clearly demonstrate your own voice, reflections and experiences are often the most effective and help us better understand your suitability for the role.

Please be aware that information provided in your application and supporting statement may be explored further during the selection process. It is important that all applications accurately represent your own knowledge, skills and experience.

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.