Job requirements
Essential
16 listedRequirements the employer expects applicants to meet.
- Knowledge
Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the BPS.
- Knowledge
Knowledge of the practice implications of National guidance and policy, e.g. Nice Guidance, MHA, etc.
- Experience
Experience of specialist psychology assessment and treatment across the full range of care settings, including outpatient, community, primary care and in patient settings.
- Experience
Experience of working with a 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 of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
- Experience
MDT working
- Skills and Abilities
Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
- Skills and Abilities
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 and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
- Skills and Abilities
Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non professional groups.
- Skills and Abilities
Ability to teach and train others using a variety of complex and multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
- Skills and Abilities
Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.
- Education / Qualifications
Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology and registration with the Health Professions Council OR UKCP registered therapist with core professional qualification e.g. RMN; OT; MHSW and Masters or Doctoral level qualification in psychotherapy. OR BABCP/BACP accredited CBT/therapist with additional training in for example EMDR/DBT
- Education / Qualifications
Accreditation (or working towards accreditation) in at least one of the psychological therapy models in the PT-SMHP paper i.e. CBT (for psychosis and bipolar difficulties and/ or personality difficulties), MBT, DBT, CAT or EMDR.
- Education / Qualifications
Training in the supervision of psychological therapists and/or other professionals within the MDT
- Work Related Circumstances
Use of a car or access to a means of mobility to travel across the Trust footprint in line with service needs.
- Work Related Circumstances
Willing to carry out all duties and responsibilities of the post in accordance with the Trust’s Equal Opportunities and Equality and Diversity policies
- Work Related Circumstances
Appointments to regulated and controlled activities require an enhanced DBS disclosure.
Desirable
9 listedAdditional qualities the employer would prefer.
- Knowledge
Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnosis, people with additional disabilities etc.).
- Knowledge
Specialist training in therapeutic approaches relevant to adults who have experienced trauma
- Knowledge
Knowledge of legislation in relation to working age adults and mental health.
- Knowledge
Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis as practiced within the field of clinical psychology
- Experience
Experience of teaching training and / or supervision
- Experience
Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts.
- Skills and Abilities
Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
- Skills and Abilities
Strong interest and experience of working with service users with severe / complex needs.
- Education / Qualifications
Post-qualification training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
Job overview
Are you an experienced psychological professional who wants to make a meaningful difference for people with complex mental health needs? We are recruiting to three Band 8a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist/Highly Specialist Psychological Therapist posts within our Specialist Mental Health Teams. These are exciting opportunities to bring your specialist expertise to multidisciplinary teams and contribute to accessible and evidence-based psychological interventions and therapy with specific reference to those specified within the Psychological Therapies for Severe Mental Health Problems paper. The posts are based in HMR, Oldham and Stockport..
Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale (HMR) — 0.6 WTE ( with potential to increase in wte)
We are looking for a colleague with expertise in therapeutic approaches that support people with complex emotional and relational needs.
Oldham — 0.5 WTE
Experience of working with complex trauma is essential, and applicants trained in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) would be particularly welcome.
Stockport — 0.8 WTE
We are looking for a colleague with specialist training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), or a willingness to undertake DBT training.
We will also consider applications from candidates seeking a Band 7-to-8a preceptorship. Where there is a competitive field, preference may be given to applicants who already have the relevant specialist training and experience.
Main duties of the job
As a Highly Specialist Practitioner Psychologist or Psychological Therapist, you will provide specialist psychological assessment and therapy for people referred to your Specialist Mental Health Team, in line with local and national guidance, the Psychological Therapies for Severe Mental Health Problems framework and the Trust’s clinical strategy.
As a senior practitioner, you will provide clinical leadership within the multidisciplinary team, support the development of psychological practice and contribute to the effective management of therapy pathways and waiting lists. You may also support Band 7 therapists, Band 6 trainees and Band 5 Mental Health Wellbeing Practitioners.
You will be part of the wider psychological therapies’ pathway in your borough, with access to regular clinical supervision, consultation on complex cases, peer support and continuing professional development. You will work collaboratively with clinical and operational colleagues to promote equitable and timely access to specialist interventions.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- To provide a qualified specialist psychological therapies service for people referred to the Specialist Mental Health Team (SMHT) in keeping with the recommendations of the local and national guidelines (e.g., Psychological Therapies for Severe Mental Health Problems and Clinical Strategy).
- To be an integral member of the MDT, providing integrated care for service-users and their carers/families. As part of the MDT, support colleagues understanding of mental health difficulties using a trauma-informed lens, to ensure the provision of trauma-informed care and formulation driven care-planning. To work jointly with MDT colleagues to ensure evidence-based outstanding care provision. To provide consultation and formulation to staff within the SMHT, working as an MDT member, integrated within the SMHT.
- To work alongside the SMHT leadership team to provide clinical leadership to the B7 psychological therapists, B6 trainees and B5 MHWPs.
- To work collaboratively with the SMHT leadership to manage waiting lists for psychological therapies and interventions – including triage, monitoring and allocation - and on waiting list initiatives as the experts in psychological therapies.
- To collaborate with leadership of the SMHT to ensure that there is collective team approach to risk and safeguarding for those who are on psychological therapies caseloads and waiting lists.
- To ensure that evidence-based therapies offered in in SMHTs are in-keeping with the recommendations of the PTSMHP paper. To progress towards becoming accredited practitioners for therapeutic modalities where this is possible.
- To support reflective practice within the CMHT.
- To co-design local therapy pathways aligned with CMHT colleagues and experts by experience.
- To provide leadership to the borough-wide psychological therapies network. To be an active member of this network, ensuring limited unwarranted variation and individual service-users can get their needs met.
- To provide specialist assessment, formulation and interventions for a clinical caseload. The post holder will propose and implement evidence-based practice, utilising research skills for audit, QI and service developments.
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.
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Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Highly Specialist Practitioner Psychologist/ /Psychological Therapist with Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in Stockport, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Psychologist role. The advertised salary is £57,528 - £64,750 pa, pro rata. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 14 Oct 2026.
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