Principal Practitioner Psychologist - Adult Inpatients

Job overview

Are you interested in shaping a new Women’s Mental Health Pathway including an Enhanced Care Unit (ECU)?

If you are an experienced psychologist ready to offer leadership to adult inpatient mental health services, we have an exciting opportunity for a Principal Practitioner Psychologist working into the treatment wards and ECU due to open in Spring 2027. We are looking for a person with significant post-qualification experience in adult mental health settings, ideally for women, developing trauma informed pathways and service delivery .

The successful applicant will join the adult inpatient psychology hub, comprising friendly and engaged psychologists, trainees and assistant psychologists and be part of the broader divisional psychology team with community-based colleagues.

You will be responsible for co-ordinating the systematic provision of psychological care to the treatment pathway and the ECU, working closely with your peer Principal Psychologist for Crisis & Assessment Pathway and a counselling psychology trained AC within the ECU.

The USPs of this role are working with experienced senior peer support, the opportunity to shape a new women’s pathway and service, steering the model for hub-working across the teams and developing patient focussed pathways between inpatient and community Neighbourhood Teams as they come into fruition .

Please see the additional document for more about the vision for the ECU and the inpatient psychology provision going forward.

Main duties of the job

Providing senior clinical leadership within inpatient treatment services with the inpatient psychology team including co-ordinating and supporting the delivery and governance of high-quality psychological services across the treatment wards and the ECU.

Promoting the role of psychology within the service and offering professional guidance, training, consultation, supervision and support to the inpatient MDT to aid development and support staff wellbeing.

Provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and bespoke short-term therapy for individuals with complex mental health needs utilising evidence-based practice. The provision for continuing providing longer-term therapy when people have been discharged back into the community is currently under review. This will require support from the Principal Psychologist in reviewing the need for this.

Contributing to service development and service delivery at a senior level, promoting a trauma informed approach within the service and working with senior colleagues to develop and establish the Women’s MH pathway across the treatment units but specifically the 18 bedded female treatment ward and the 6 bedded ECU.

The role will also involve supporting workforce development in line with service need and contributing to a positive culture. This will be based upon service evaluation and national guidance.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information with regards to this vacancy please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification as well as the additional information document. We would be happy to answer any questions and speak to you about the role.

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.