Specialist Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced Psychologist to join a supportive, progressive and inclusive team with psychologists centrally positioned and key to providing clinical leadership and oversight.

You will be an enthusiastic and highly motivated, full-time member of the Newbury Community Mental Health Psychological Therapies Team (CMHPT) and deliver psychological services to users presenting with severe/complex mental health difficulties.

The successful candidate will join an NHS Trust that is dedicated towards creating a progressive, warm and friendly environment for service users.

Main duties of the job

• A key element of the role is providing clinical and leadership skills, supervision, consultation and expertise to junior psychological and other professionals, practitioners, and trainees within the service.
• You will provide direct and indirect psychological assessments and interventions, as well as specialist consultation, supervision and training within the clinical team and across all sectors of related care.
• You will have capacity to work autonomously within professional and local guidelines and policies, as well as competence in collaborative, inclusive, and multi-agency working and service user engagement.
• You will be proficient in conducting comprehensive risk assessments, formulating and facilitating the utilisation of effective risk management plans, and working alongside other agencies where wider case management is indicated.
• You will utilise audit and research skills, suggest and implement improvements in the service, and participate in the development and delivery of service improvement initiatives to improve clinical care and value for money.
• You will be committed to championing diversity, fostering inclusiveness, ensuring ease of access to psychological treatments, as well as being committed to providing neuro-affirmative, trauma-informed and culturally sensitive care.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications/Training

Essential

• Post graduate doctorate in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent for those who trained prior to 1996 or for those who completed their training overseas)
• Registered as a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
• Eligibility for) Chartered Membership of British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Clinical supervision training for doctorate psychology trainees (BPS Registered course) and other qualified clinicians

Desirable

• Additional training and accreditations (or working towards these) in relevant therapeutic approaches or psychological models to reflect post qualification interests/ specialism (e.g., specific therapy models, Health Psychology, Neuropsychology etc.)

Continuous Professional Development

Essential

• Evidence of post-qualification training and expert knowledge in multiple psychological models and therapeutic approaches relevant to the post and service area.
• Comprehensive and up to date knowledge of the current evidence-base and developments within the area of specialism
• Training, and where relevant, accreditation in clinical supervision

Previous Experience

Essential

• Demonstrable post qualification experience working as a qualified specialist practitioner in the area of specialism
• Experience of working in evidence-based ways with services users (and their carers/families) presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the range of settings, maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
• Experience of dealing with highly distressing or emotional circumstances, such as serious mental illness, child and sexual abuse, exploitation, and complex family dynamics
• Experience of delivering interventions across different modalities (e.g. individual, group and systemic-based approaches)
• Experience of working effectively in multi-disciplinary team and multi-agency environments
• Experience of providing specialist advice and consultation to multi-disciplinary and multi-agency colleagues to support the psychological care of service users
• Experience of providing effective clinical supervision, mentoring and leadership to junior staff
• Experience of developing and delivering teaching to a range of staff groups
• Experience of carrying out clinical audit, evaluative research and applying the findings
• Experience of service evaluation, quality improvement work and of implementing change from this and from a national and local health or social care change agenda that impacts across services and professions
• Experience of working with and addressing issues of diversity, including experience of working with diversity, multiculturalism, and equality of access to service

Desirable

• Experience of line managing staff (including junior psychological roles)

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Essential

• Demonstrable knowledge, skills and abilities in the practice of highly specialised assessment, formulation and intervention, relevant to the specialist modality and service area
• Up to date knowledge of evidence, theory, research, policy and legislation in relation to the service area
• 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
• Well-developed verbal and written communication skills enabling the sensitive communication of complex, technical and/or sensitive information to multiple stakeholders both within and outside the NHS
• Well-developed interpersonal skills with the ability to support, influence and engage with clinicians, stakeholders and service users to create change and improvement
• The ability and skills to act as an advocate for the service, to engage and foster positive relationships with all health professionals in promoting the good integration of the service within the wider health care system
• Advanced IT skills and the ability to navigate various systems and software packages (such as RiO, Outlook, databases, MS Office/Teams, One Consultation and the Internet)

Additional Requirements

Essential

• Able to work flexibly around working patterns as required
• Ability to travel independently between locations in Berkshire to fulfil the requirements and duties of the position

Closing Date: 28 July 2026