Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Job summary

Join a dynamic, forward-thinking team where your expertise can change lives.

Are you a passionate Clinical or Counselling Psychologist looking to make a meaningful impact with children and young people (CYP)? We are seeking a motivated and compassionate professional to join our supportive and innovative service.

This is an exciting time to join an established team as we evolve and develop our service model, offering real opportunities to contribute to its future direction.

You will deliver specialist psychological care to CYP with a wide range of complex needs, including those experiencing distress related to health conditions and neurodivergence. The role includes undertaking comprehensive psychological assessments and delivering creative, evidence-based interventions to individuals, families, and groups.

Alongside clinical work, there are opportunities to contribute to service development, provide supervision, support research activity, and work closely with multi-agency partners including education, social care, and CAMHS.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and ‘At Risk’ status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Main duties of the job

You will provide specialist clinical/counselling psychology services to CYP with complex needs, including those experiencing psychological distress related to health difficulties/neurodivergence. Your role involves conducting comprehensive assessments using a variety of tools and techniques, formulating and delivering highly specialised interventions to individuals, families, and groups, and evaluating treatment plans based on theoretical models and individual developmental history.

This position offers an excellent opportunity to develop and refine skills in short-term interventions and caseload management. You will work in a fast-paced clinical setting, managing around 15 clinical contacts per week. This role is ideal for someone seeking rich, diverse clinical experience within a structured and supportive framework.

You will also play a key role in supporting the multidisciplinary team through consultation, supervision, and joint working, liaising with professionals across health, education, and social care. Your responsibilities will include contributing to service development, engaging in teaching, supervision, research activities, and participating in statutory processes such as EHAT and EHCP.

A strong focus is placed on multi-agency collaboration, clinical leadership, and maintaining high professional standards grounded in evidence-based practice. You will participate in clinical supervision, keep accurate records, and pursue CPD.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • Doctoral level training in clinical psychology, including specifically models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuropsychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology, as accredited by the BPS
  • HCPC Registered (includes awaiting registration)

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

  • Demonstrable experience of complex, specialist psychological assessment and treatment of children and young people across different care settings e.g. outpatient, community and inpatient.
  • Demonstrable experience of multi-disciplinary team working
  • Awareness: up to date with the NHS Agenda for children and young people, national directives and all Governance aspects

Desirable

  • Proven ability to use test equipment to carry out psychometric assessment (e.g. WISC,WPPSI, developmental assessment, Schedule of Growing Skills II)
  • Demonstrable clinical experience in range of children’s mental health work in a community setting
  • Demonstrable clinical experience in a Paediatric setting either acute or community paediatrics.
  • Computer literate e.g. proven knowledge of excel and use of video in therapy
  • Demonstrable experience of providing teaching/ training and/or providing supervision

Aptitude and Abilities

Essential

  • Excellent time management and organisational skills
  • Proven ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
  • Competence in research and audit/evaluation
  • Proven ability to represent psychology within amulti-disciplinary team

Disposition and Attitude

Essential

  • Proven ability to successfully manage in a stressful environment
  • Able to work both as part of a team and independently
  • Skills to interact and communicate with a wide range of people
  • Capacity to reflect and contain intense feelings evoked by exposure to distressing situations

Desirable

  • Keen to be involved with service development

Other

Essential

  • Proven ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for a variety of audiences
  • Proven ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance to support and maintain clinical practice
  • Proven ability to travel between sites

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Closing Date: 16 August 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.