Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Job overview

Harrow Adult Mental Health is looking for a highly motivated and passionate Psychologist to join our expanding therapies team. This popular post is offered within our innovative Adult Community Mental Health Hub (CMHH, Bentley House) which provides intervention to adults presenting with a range of secondary care mental health difficulties, including psychosis, Complex Emotional Needs and PTSD.

The successful candidate will play a key role in the provision of highly specialist psychological assessment, collaborative formulation with service users, and consultation to the team, to support the development of creative, personalised and multi-disciplinary care plans that support individuals under the care of the CMHH to move forward. They will also provide specialist psychological intervention that draws on a range of evidence-based modalities.

The post-holder will be expected to take a leading role in the ongoing development of Harrow’s Trauma-Informed Approaches (TIA) model for the adult mental health services. Over the last two years, our CMHH has rolled-out TIA, and trained the full MDT in Power Threat Meaning Framework formulation and Psychological Stabilisation interventions. This project builds on Harrow’s award winning TIA work in its acute services over the last six years, which has been published (Nikopaschos et al. 2023; 2025) and is now also influencing National Policy (see NHSE Guidelines for Acute Inpatient Mental Health Care for Adults and Older Adults, 2023).

Main duties of the job

Bentley House CMHH works closely with the rest of the Harrow mental health system (including the Home Treatment and Inpatient teams) to provide holistic intervention to adults with severe and enduring mental health difficulties. The post holder will join an expanding therapies team, committed to providing highly specialist and trauma-informed psychological care. They will work closely with the full range of MDT professionals, including psychiatry, nursing, occupational therapy and peer support. They will play a key role in assessment and formulation, the development of creative multi-disciplinary care plans, and the provision of psychological intervention that follows service users across the Harrow system.

The post-holder will be expected to work as a senior member of the MDT, including the provision of consultation, co-working, teaching, training, supervision and research as well as developing specific training to enhance the systematic provision of psychological interventions offered to service users by all members of the team within a ‘stepped-care’ framework. They will make a leading contribution to the learning culture of the team and wider service, and play an integral role in the further development and embedding of TIA.

Specialist supervision is offered in EMDR, DBT, NET, CBT, Open Dialogue, CAT, systemic and psychodynamic models.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job Purpose:

• To provide a specialist psychology service to service users, including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.
• To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.
• To provide clinical supervision and consultation.
• To undertake service evaluation, audit and research.
• To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by the policies and procedures of the service, taking responsibility for own work including treatment and discharge decisions with support of clinical supervisor.

Key Responsibilities:

• To provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations and interventions for clients under the care of the Bentley House CMHH.
• To provide culturally appropriate psychological interventions.
• To assess and monitor risk and draw up appropriate risk management plans.
• Where appropriate, to act as named worker and take responsibility for initiating planning and reviewing of care plans and co-ordination of multi-professional meetings.
• To contribute to the effective working of the service and to a psychologically informed framework for the service.
• To contribute to service development through undertaking and participating in appropriate projects.
• To be responsible for the allocation and/or clinical supervision of the work of an assistant psychologist if required, under supervision from a more senior psychologist.
• To provide occasional specialist training in psychological approaches to care to other professions as appropriate.
• To ensure that all information generated by own work is recorded as required by Trust policies and local procedures.
• To undertake regular complex service evaluation, audits or research relevant to service needs.
• To receive regular clinical and professional supervision from a more senior psychologist according to HCPC and Trust guidelines.
• To ensure own Continuing Professional Development in line with BPS and Trust Personal Development Plan requirements and the HCPC ‘Standards for Continuing Professional Development’.
• To comply with the HCPC ‘Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics’ and ‘Standards of Proficiency’, and ensure professional development in line with these.
• To travel within the Harrow area for home visits as appropriate and across the Trust when required.
• To respond appropriately and professionally to emotionally distressing situations and to support others involved in such situations.

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.