Principal Psychologist

Job overview

This post is based within the Stroke and Neuro Rehabilitation Service, working with individuals with long term neurological conditions, acquired brain injury, stroke, and chronic fatigue syndrome. The successful candidate will play a key role in ensuring psychological thinking and formulation are embedded across the multidisciplinary service. You will provide highly specialised psychological assessment, intervention, and consultation for individuals referred to the service, while working collaboratively with multidisciplinary colleagues.

As a Principal Psychologist, you will provide professional leadership, clinical supervision, and support to applied psychologists within the Clinical Health Psychology Service. The role includes leadership of a small team of Senior Clinical Psychologists and contributing to the continued development of high-quality psychological provision across the pathway.

We are seeking a motivated, dynamic, and compassionate clinician with strong communication and collaborative working skills, alongside the creativity and flexibility to apply psychological approaches within complex physical health settings.

Applicants should have substantial experience of working in physical health services and demonstrate a strong understanding of the psychological needs associated with neurological conditions and rehabilitation, alongside knowledge of relevant models of psychological care.

Main duties of the job

Provides highly specialist psychological assessment of clients with highly complex and contentious conditions based on the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of data from a variety of sources, which may include neuropsychological testing.

1.2.     Responsible for recognising the potential for or signs of client harm, abuse or neglect, including poor clinical practice, reporting all such concerns and taking all reasonable steps to protect the client. Responsible for identifying and reporting concerns regarding the safeguarding of children who may be at risk.

1.3.     Undertakes risk assessment and risk management for individual clients and provides highly specialist advice to other professionals on psychological aspects of risk assessment and risk management and the high physical risks inherent in the client group.

1.4.     Formulates plans for highly specialist psychological therapy and/or management of clients’ mental health conditions based upon an appropriate conceptual framework and evidence-based practice. Negotiates the implementation of such plans with clients and/or their carers.

1.5.     Implements a range of highly specialist psychological therapies for individual clients, carers, families and groups, adjusting and refining psychological formulations as required.

1.6.     Undertakes highly skilled evaluations and makes decisions about treatment options.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical supervision of Trainee Applied Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists

2.2.     Supervises Band 7 and 8a Applied Psychologists

2.3.     Specialist psychological supervision and scaffolding in a care pathway/cluster

2.4.     Line manage Assistant Psychologists

2.5.     Will hold responsibility and accountability for their own actions, ensuring appropriate support and supervision is sought when required.

2.6.     To keep abreast of current developments in this field through reading, attendance at appropriate training courses, and a range of other CPD activities, and to ensure that a log is kept of this in line with HCPC requirements.

2.7.     To contribute, as appropriate, to the teaching offered on the local Applied Psychology training courses.