# Principal Practitioner Psychologist > NHS job listing from Job Clerk for Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust. ## Canonical URLs - **HTML:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/principal-practitioner-psychologist/68706d20-5d8c-4f3d-ab8a-2bf155fb2067 - **Markdown:** https://www.jobclerk.com/job/principal-practitioner-psychologist/68706d20-5d8c-4f3d-ab8a-2bf155fb2067.md ## Summary - **Status:** Live - **Employer:** Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust - **Town:** Ashton Under Lyne - **Region:** North West - **Country:** England - **Profession:** Nurse practitioner - **Grade:** Band 8 - **Salary:** £66,582 - £77,368 per annum - **Contract type:** Permanent - **Employment type:** Full time - 37.5 hours per week - **Closing date:** 2026-06-18T23:59:00.000Z - **Posted:** 2026-06-04T09:30:45.587Z - **Source information URL:** https://www.healthjobsuk.com/job/UK/Manchester/Rochdale/Pennine_Care_NHS_Foundation_Trust/Adult_Acute_Care_Pathway/Adult_Acute_Care_Pathway-v8057945 - **Application URL:** https://apps.trac.jobs/job-advert/8057945?ShowJobAdvert=&feedid=9002 - **Employer website:** https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk ## Job Content ### Job overview We are excited to advertise a permanent 1.00 WTE  Principal Practitioner Psychologist post (Clinical, Counselling, Forensic, grade 8b) to work in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale's adult acute inpatient service. The two 18-bedded adult acute wards, Hollingworth and Moorside, are based at Birch Hill Hospital and provide specialist assessment,  care and treatment for men and women aged 18 to 65 years old with a variety of mental health needs. People will often be admitted via A&E, Liaison, Home Treatment Team, a Mental Health Act Assessment within the community or from an outpatient clinic and are often experiencing distress, a mental health deterioration and/or may be in crisis. Hollingworth and Moorside are friendly, dynamic ward teams who are keen for a full MDT to help them provide the best possible care they can.  We are looking for skilled and compassionate Practitioner Psychologist to join us and provide high-quality psychology input within our acute inpatient services. The post holder will be part of an acute pathway psychology team with a network of colleagues around them and will supported and supervised by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist. ### Main duties of the job As outlined in the job description, the main duties include: - To provide clinical leadership and direction in the continual development and provision of a high quality specialist psychology service within the adult acute inpatient service, embedding trauma informed care - To support with the transformation of acute inpatient care, in line with national direction - To  hold a clinical caseload undertaking evidence-based psychological assessment, formulation, and intervention (individual and/or group). This may include a range of mental health difficulties at the point of crisis including experiences of psychosis, depression and/or Complex Emotional and Relational Needs (CERN) - To provide specialist psychological support, consultation and guidance to other professionals contributing directly to the assessment, formulation and intervention plan - To ensure the team have access to a psychologically-based framework for understanding and caring for the service user, through the provision of advice, consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory - To undertake risk assessment and risk management and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management - To support inpatient colleagues through the provision of supervision, reflective practice and post-incident reflective spaces - To contribute to audit, policy/service development and research. To propose and implement policy changes within the areas served ### Detailed job description and main responsibilities For a more detailed overview of the roles job description and main responsibilities, please see the attached job description and personal specification. ## Job Details We are excited to advertise a permanent 1.00 WTE Principal Practitioner Psychologist post (Clinical, Counselling, Forensic, grade 8b) to work in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale's adult acute inpatient service. The two 18-bedded adult acute wards, Hollingworth and Moorside, are based at Birch Hill Hospital and provide specialist assessment, care and treatment for men and women aged 18 to 65 years old with a variety of mental health needs. People will often be admitted via A&E, Liaison, Home Treatment Team, a Mental Health Act Assessment within the community or from an outpatient clinic and are often experiencing distress, a mental health deterioration and/or may be in crisis. Hollingworth and Moorside are friendly, dynamic ward teams who are keen for a full MDT to help them provide the best possible care they can. We are looking for skilled and compassionate Practitioner Psychologist to join us and provide high-quality psychology input within our acute inpatient services. The post holder will be part of an acute pathway psychology team with a network of colleagues around them and will supported and supervised by a Consultant Clinical Psychologist. ## Job Description As outlined in the job description, the main duties include: To provide clinical leadership and direction in the continual development and provision of a high quality specialist psychology service within the adult acute inpatient service, embedding trauma informed care To support with the transformation of acute inpatient care, in line with national direction To hold a clinical caseload undertaking evidence-based psychological assessment, formulation, and intervention (individual and/or group). This may include a range of mental health difficulties at the point of crisis including experiences of psychosis, depression and/or Complex Emotional and Relational Needs (CERN) To provide specialist psychological support, consultation and guidance to other professionals contributing directly to the assessment, formulation and intervention plan To ensure the team have access to a psychologically-based framework for understanding and caring for the service user, through the provision of advice, consultation and the dissemination of psychological research and theory To undertake risk assessment and risk management and to provide general advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and management To support inpatient colleagues through the provision of supervision, reflective practice and post-incident reflective spaces To contribute to audit, policy/service development and research. To propose and implement policy changes within the areas served ## Responsibilities For a more detailed overview of the roles job description and main responsibilities, please see the attached job description and personal specification. ## Person Specification ### Knowledge **Essential** - Understanding of the national and regional legislation, guidance and policy directives in relation to the development and delivery of psychological therapies within inpatient services. - Evidence of post-qualification CPD as recommended and/or accredited by the BPS, or other professional body. - Up to date knowledge of the needs of people with complex mental health problems, and of psychological approaches to recovery - Awareness of the principles of a trauma informed care approach. - Familiarity with computing technology, including keyboard skills, and use of word-processing, e-mail, and internet software. **Desirable** - Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies and approaches for adults with complex mental health problems. - Publication of training, service evaluation, clinical audit and research material. ### Experience **Essential** - Demonstrable post-qualification experience of specialist assessment, formulation and treatment of adult clients and those with psychological difficulties - Demonstrable post-qualification experience of working with complex mental health problems, including distressing psychosis, problems associated with complex relational and emotional needs, and severe depression, anxiety and trauma - Demonstrable experience of working with people experiencing a suicidal crisis - Demonstrable experience of working within multidisciplinary teams - Experience of clinical leadership within a previous role. - Demonstrable experience of providing clinical supervision to psychologists, psychological practitioners or other core health professions. - Demonstrable experience of providing teaching/ training upon clinical interventions. - Demonstrable experience of managing demand for psychological services within a form of stepped-care framework (i.e. an approach based upon the provision of direct care, and supporting other professionals in their provision of direct psychosocial work. **Desirable** - Experience in clinical leadership - Experience of working within an inpatient setting. - Ability to demonstrate further specialist clinical experience and training. - Experience of audit and service evaluation within psychological therapy services. - Research experience within an area relevant to work within an adult service. - Demonstrable experience of the application of psychological therapy in diverse cultural and ethnic contexts. ### Skills and abilities **Essential** - Ability to work with service users, carers and families to engage with their needs and provide them with appropriate psychological support and intervention. - Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non-professional groups. - Skills in working within an MDT to bring and share a psychological understanding of distress. - Well developed, effective communication skills, both oral and in writing, enabling complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to be shared with service users, their families, carers and other professional colleagues within the NHS and other agencies. - Ability to prioritise work, operate a waiting list, meet short deadlines and an unpredictable work pattern that requires regular revision of plans. - Ability to sit in constrained position for service user assessment, formulation, individual and group therapy sessions and for computer work. - Ability to work at a high level of professional autonomy and responsibility, in a collaborative multidisciplinary environment and also as a lone worker in circumstances where there may be exposure to verbal and sometimes physical aggression. - Able to sustain the intense concentration necessary for service user assessment and formulation, individual and group therapy sessions - Ability to work and communicate highly sensitive, contentious information effectively in a highly emotive or hostile atmosphere, and to overcome barriers to acceptance/psychological resistance to potentially threatening information. - Ability to identify, provide and promote appropriate means of support to staff and carers exposed to highly distressing situations. - 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 **Desirable** - Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multimedia materials, suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings. - Ability to demonstrate an area of special interest/skill in therapeutic intervention ### Education/ Qualification **Essential** - Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical/counselling/forensic psychology, (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, or post-graduate training in Forensic Psychology or Counselling Psychology - Current registration as a Clinical, Forensic or Counselling psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council **Desirable** - Completion of further post qualification training within psychological therapies (e.g. DBT, CBT, CAT, CFT, MBT etc.) - Completion of further post qualification training in supervision ## Documents - [job description (pdf, 186.0kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10347997) - [person specification (pdf, 134.7kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?vdoc=10347998) - [policy statement on recruitment of ex-offenders (pdf, 117.0kb)](https://www.healthjobsuk.com/documents?edoc=440) ## 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.