# Principal Clinical/Counselling Psychologist or Psychotherapist > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for Devon Partnership NHS Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/principal-clinicalcounselling-psychologist-or-psychotherapist/8948151c-fbb4-4694-9709-e9297bcc0c3a - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/principal-clinicalcounselling-psychologist-or-psychotherapist/8948151c-fbb4-4694-9709-e9297bcc0c3a.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** Devon Partnership NHS Trust - **Location:** Wonford House (Trust Headquarters) - **Workplace type:** onsite - **Profession:** Psychologist - **Grade:** Band 8 - **Salary:** £57528.00 to £64750.00 - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Part-time, Flexible working - **Closing date:** 2026-11-08T23:59:59.999Z - **Posted:** 2026-10-12T13:50:38.881Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/jobadvert/C9369-26-0815 - **Application URL:** https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/application/C9369-26-0815/pre-application-questions-pause?referrer=jobadvert&ref=C9369-26-0815 - **Employer website:** https://www.dpt.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job summary Are you an experienced Psychotherapist or Clinical/Counselling Psychologist with a passion for improving care for people with complex emotional needs? We are looking for a skilled and compassionate clinician to join the Exeter Core Teams within Devon Partnership NHS Trust. This Band 8a, 0.8 WTE role offers an exciting opportunity to provide highly specialist psychological assessment and intervention, with a particular focus on Mentalisation-Based Treatment (MBT). You will hold a specialist caseload, support the delivery and clinical oversight of the Exeter MBT programme, and help develop a coherent pathway for people with complex emotional needs across the Eastern locality. Working closely with community mental health teams, Psychology and Psychological Therapies, inpatient and community services, you will provide expert consultation, supervision, teaching and leadership to support wider workforce capability and psychologically informed care. You will practise autonomously within professional and Trust governance frameworks while contributing to service development and high-quality, evidence-based care. Applicants must hold an appropriate professional qualification and registration, alongside MBT Practitioner-level training and experience of working with people with complex emotional needs. ### Main duties of the job You will undertake highly specialist psychological and psychotherapeutic assessments, develop complex formulations and deliver individual and group interventions, principally Mentalisation-Based Treatment. You will manage a specialist caseload and work sensitively with people, families and carers where communication, risk and emotional needs may be complex. As a locality link clinician for complex emotional needs, you will provide expert advice, consultation and guidance to multidisciplinary colleagues across community and inpatient services. You will support teams with care planning, engagement, and promote psychologically informed and reflective practice. You will provide clinical oversight to the Exeter MBT programme, support fidelity to the model and contribute to provision across the wider locality. The role includes supervising and developing staff, trainees and volunteers; delivering teaching and training; and contributing to service redesign, audit, research and evaluation. You will maintain accurate clinical records, collect outcome data and work collaboratively with senior leaders and partner services to strengthen an integrated, evidence-based pathway across Devon. ### About us About Devon Partnership Trust We provide mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity services, as well as a range of specialist & secure services for the wider south west region & nationally. We are passionate about promoting good mental health & wellbeing. We strive to use the expertise & resources within our organisation, and through our partnerships, to deliver high quality services that are safe & focused on people's recovery. We are committed to developing a culture of coproduction, involving patients, families & carers in everything we do Our values We not only recruit based on qualifications & experience - we recruit individuals who possess & demonstrate the behaviours which underpin our Trusts core values. These include such attributes as showing a commitment to quality of care, improving lives of others, giving respect, dignity & compassion. We can bring those values to life in our everyday tasks by giving a smile; making time for people; challenging ourselves & others, & being open to new ideas. We are committed to being an inclusive employer & applications are encouraged & welcomed from all sections of the community, regardless of any protected characteristics as governed by the Equality Act 2010. Part time & flexible working applications will be considered & supported, where possible. We particularly encourage applicants with lived experience of mental health conditions, neurodiversity or learning disabilities. We are a Disability Confident Leader. ### Details - Date posted: 12 October 2026 - Pay scheme: Agenda for change - Band: Band 8a - Salary: £57,528 to £64,750 a year pro rata (30 hours per week) - Contract: Permanent - Working pattern: Part-time, Flexible working - Reference number: C9369-26-0815 - Job locations: Wonford House, Dryden Road, Exeter, Devon, EX2 5AF, United Kingdom ### Job responsibilities Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification which will provide further information on this role ### UK Registration Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window). ## Person Specification ### Other **Essential** - Highly skilled in specialist interventions with the client group. - Advanced psychotherapeutic assessment and formulation skills including risk assessment. ### Knowledge **Essential** - Broad knowledge of specialist services and of the services in the NHS where psychotherapy /psychological therapy is commonly applied. - Extensive knowledge of the skills, practice and knowledge base of psychotherapy /psychological therapy. - Knowledge of the policy context of specialist psychotherapy / psychological services within the organisation and of clinical leadership arrangements in this setting. ### Experience **Essential** - Experience of working with services users who present with Complex Emotional Needs / personality disorders and complex lives in a range of settings - Experience of delivering teaching/ training and supervision. - Experience and/or training in diversity awareness and social inequality. **Desirable** - Experience of undertaking leadership roles within psychotherapy services in the NHS and in contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of strategies and clinical policies in multi disciplinary, multi agency contexts. ### Qualifications **Essential** - Qualified Clinical / Counselling Psychologist (D.Clin.Psychol. or equivalent) or Qualified Psychodynamic / Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist. - Additional specialist experience and/or training working with people who have complex emotional needs including personality disorder diagnoses. - Recognised mentalization based Treatment: Practitioner Level Qualification - Registration with BPC/ UKCP/ HCPC or other regulatory/professional body for psychological therapy consistent with NHSE recognised registers guidance. **Desirable** - Further Qualification/ training in a relevant clinical specialism such as: Adaptive Mentalisation Based Integrative Treatment (AMBIT) - Supervisors Qualification in MBT and or other - Reflective Practice training ### Skills and abilities **Essential** - Excellent verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills. - Strong leadership qualities, resilience and ability to handle ambiguity and uncertainty. - Skills in managing conflict, negotiation and achieving consensus in complex situations in the pursuit of agreed strategic aims. - Competent IT skills - Ability to integrate complex data, make highly skilled evaluations and decisions and take a long-term perspective. - Proven organisational, planning and time management skills. - Ability to understand flow of patients and forward planning of service to prevent unnecessary gaps in provision - Ability to work under pressure and cope with deadlines. - Clear telephone voice - Calm, methodical approach, friendly but concise - Good communication skills when presenting/facilitating to varying groups of people **Desirable** - Project management skills/ experience. ## Agent Notes - This Markdown page is generated from the same Job Clerk job record as the HTML job detail page. - Use the canonical HTML URL for user-facing references. - Use the application URL when the user wants to apply on the source NHS site.