Band 6 Specialist Psychological Practitioner Women’s Service: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

Band 6 Specialist Psychological Practitioner – Ardenleigh Women’s Secure Blended Service – 1 X Full time, permanent position

An exciting job opportunity has arisen to recruit a Specialist Psychological Practitioner to join our psychology team at Ardenleigh. Applications welcome from Psychological Professionals, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists and Registered Nurses.

The Women’s Secure Blended Service (WSBS) at Ardenleigh has an incredible national reputation, having been a successful pilot site for the blended security model and a key influence in the National Women’s Secure Pathway Transformation (WSPT) program. This opportunity offers suitable candidates an interesting and varied role, working within our well respected and embedded psychology team, and comes at an exciting time within the women’s secure pathway, with the National WSPT program having just been launched.

Clinically the role will involve working with women presenting with complex trauma, personality disorder and mental illness, both directly through the provision of specialist psychological interventions and indirectly through supervision, reflective practice, consultation and training. The successful candidates will be linked directly to one of our wards, providing an opportunity to develop strong therapeutic relationships with service users and staff and contribute to the psychological safety and containment on the ward.

Main duties of the job

The directorate is committed to investing in staff and you will have opportunities for training, supervision and career development.

You will work within the WSBS at Ardenleigh, as a member of a multi-disciplinary team under the supervision of a registered clinical/forensic psychologist. In your role, you will support the assessment, formulation, and delivery of psychological interventions to address the full range of complex forensic mental health problems. This will involve both individual and group work, as well as potentially working with families. The successful candidate will contribute to the completion of risk assessments and behavioural management plans. Central to the role is working with the wider MDT and ward staff, to support psychological understanding of a person’s difficulties, which will involve providing training and supervision, as well as conducting evaluations of interventions.

We are looking for people from a range of diverse backgrounds with an interest in working with, supporting, and enhancing the lives of people who have experienced adverse life experiences, including trauma and neglect, and have a history of offending behaviour. This post is best suited to a professional with a background in teaching, counselling, social work, family work or nursing, who has some prior training and experience of delivering psychological interventions. Prior experience of providing support or supervision to a staff group would also be desirable.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree or equivalent level of training/education in Education (PGCE or equivalent), Social Work, Counselling, Psychology, Psychotherapy, RMN, Occupational Therapy, Art Therapy, with significant years professional practice.
• Completed relevant training course in accredited psychological therapy (i.e. CBT, CAT, DBT or Art Psychotherapy) or relevant to discipline and practice
• Registered with regulatory body i.e.HCPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP/NMC/BASW

Desirable

• applicants to have undertaken additional training in psychological therapies

Skills

Essential

• Ability to reflect on clinical practice/intervention.
• Understanding the needs and demands of working with clients with complex developmental and social backgrounds
• Receptivity to understanding of group dynamics and processes

Desirable

• Ability to work with people with ethnic minority and cultural diverse backgrounds

Personal

Essential

• Ability to manage own anxiety and the anxiety of others, and able to work under pressure using effective problem solving skills

Experience

Essential

• Experience in delivering individual psychological interventions
• Experience in delivering group psychological interventions

Desirable

• Experience of working with individuals with complex emotional and behavioural difficulties
• Recent experience in a mental health or equivalent setting

Closing Date: 17 November 2026