Senior Psychologist – Brief Interventions to Reduce Self Harm - Lead

Job overview

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Emergency Department Psychiatric Liaison Service (EDPS) in Oxfordshire, delivering vital mental health support within a dynamic and highly rewarding clinical environment.

The EDPS works at the frontline of acute care in the OUH Emergency Departments. The post holder will lead the Brief Interventions for Repeat Self-Harm (BIRSH) service within EDPS, which offers psychological assessment and brief, evidence-based interventions for young people and adults presenting following self-harm or suicide attempts.

In this role, you will play a central part in supporting people at a point of acute distress. You will deliver short-term psychological interventions aimed at reducing distress, supporting recovery and stabilisation. Alongside your clinical work, this post offers a significant opportunity to shape and develop the service:

• Take a lead role in the ongoing development of the BIRSH service, shaping innovative approaches to post-crisis psychological care
• Champion and embed psychologically informed practice across EDPS and the wider Emergency Department
• Contribute to a culture of reflective, trauma-informed care within a high-pressure acute setting

The post sits within a research-active team with strong links to the Oxford Centre for Suicide Research. There is a supportive network of urgent care psychologists who engage in regular peer supervision and development sessions.

Main duties of the job

Main duties of the role include:

• Supporting and supervising EDPS frontline staff, qualified psychologists, and trainee psychologists in delivering BIRSH follow-up outpatient work
• Holding a clinical caseload of follow-up cases
• Delivering quarterly teaching to Emergency Department colleagues on mental health presentations
• Providing reflective practice and clinical supervision for EDPS staff and other urgent care services
• Contributing as part of the EDPS leadership team to ongoing service development, including expanding reflective practice opportunities within the Emergency Department

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the “supporting statement” element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.

The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview, and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.

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.