Band 8b Principal Clinical Psychologist: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to a new Intensive and Assertive Team designed to help our service users who present with psychosis and who also are likely to have complex needs and complex engagement patterns with services.

The cohort of patients under the service will be complex and vulnerable. This post would suit a person who is comfortable working with people presenting with high and complex risks, and is passionate about health equity. Understanding of how the wider systems and agencies work will be an advantage for this role.

Main duties of the job

In this 8b role, the main functions will be to provide:

Specialist assessment and formulation of the most complex cases (including neuropsychological assessment).

Multidisciplinary and multiagency consultation.

Support for other member of the multidisciplinary team including the provision of supervision, consultation, reflective practice and post event reflections.

Contribution to the development of the team’s working model and system pathways in line with national guidance and strategy (NICE guidance, National Guidance on Assertive and Intensive Community Mental Health Treatment).

Leading service improvement, QI and service evaluation projects.

To engage with family, carers and our other stakeholders (e.g. VCSE, police) in order to promote the wellbeing and safety of our service users

It would be desirable within this role to have had previous experience working in community services for adults with serious mental illness and to be trained to in CBT for Psychosis or some other relevant therapy model.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Post-graduate doctoral level training in clinical psychology, or its equivalent, including eligibility for chartered status with the BPS
• Further post-qualification, post-graduate training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Registered as a practitioner psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC)

Desirable

• Evidence of CPD in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice

Experience

Essential

• Specialist complex psychological assessment and treatment of people with a wide range of mental health problems, of varying severity and complexity.
• Extensive experience of working as a qualified clinical psychologist and evidence of specialist knowledge gained through practice and ongoing training.
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups and presenting problems including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.

Desirable

• Representing psychology within MDT setting (clinical and organisational contexts).
• Experience of clinical work with clients that can be difficult to engage with severe mental illness

Skills

Essential

• Use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.
• Assessment, evaluation and management of risk associated with mental ill health and related psychopathology.
• Well-developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively complex, highly technical and clinically highly sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS

Desirable

• Production of reports suitable for public presentations and presentation in medico-legal setting.
• High level knowledge in the assessment and evaluation of psychological therapies.

Knowledge

Essential

• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in difficult to treat groups (e.g. personality disorder, dual diagnosis, people with additional disabilities etc.)
• Practitioner level knowledge of at least two models of psychological therapy.
• Legislation and its implication for clinical practice and the appropriate management of people presenting with mental health problems

Other

Essential

• Commitment to continuing professional development, to partnership working and to reflective clinical practice.
• Able to identify, and employ appropriate clinical governance mechanisms for the support and maintenance of clinical practice.
• Ability to travel Independently
• Undertake physical intervention training and remain trained in techniques, as required by role

Desirable

• Experience of working within a multicultural framework.
• Experience of providing specific support intervention and strategy for staff.

Closing Date: 2 November 2026