Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust
Job summary
Clinical / Counselling Psychologist: Children who are
Looked After (CLA) Psychology Service
Leaving Care Team (Development Role)
This is an exciting new role to lead on the psychological
care offered to young people (age 16-25) supported by the Leaving Care Team.
You will work closely with the young persons (YP) network to support a psychologically
informed understanding of their emotional and mental health needs by providing consultation
and trauma-informed formulation to professionals and carers and working
directly with YP where clinically indicated.
You will be part of the CLA Psychology Service, a service
provided to Herefordshires care experienced YP; supporting professionals,
carers and children. You will also be part of a team of psychologists in
Herefordshire CAMHS working with children with complex difficulties.
You would be expected to have a strong visible presence in
the Leaving Care Team, working closely with Personal Advisors and Social
Workers in supporting YP who are care experienced and provide a link role
between CAMHS, AMH and Social Care. This post has been created to increase the
therapeutic offer to YP leaving care. Experience of offering trauma informed
and attachment-based interventions with an understanding of the challenges this
client group faces is essential for this role.
Minimum hours required are 22.5. There may be opportunities
to increase to 37.5 in the wider service.
Predominately based at the Union Street office.
Main duties of the job
In the exciting new post,
you would be expected to offer:
–
Highly
specialist assessment for children in collaboration with social workers,
personal advisors, carers and the wider professional network.
–
Highly
specialist trauma-informed and attachment based psychological interventions,
1:1 and groups.
–
Trauma-informed
formulation and consultation to social care teams, including complex risk
management planning, to inform pathway planning.
–
Supervision
and advice to social care teams to support a trauma-informed and
psychologically informed understanding of CLA needs.
–
Close
collaboration with other services supporting CYP, e.g. Adult Mental Health,
Safe Connections, EPs.
–
Provide
specialist advice on recommendations from specialist assessments.
–
Provide
advice and liaison to professionals where a referral to CAMHS or Adult Mental
Health for specialist intervention is required.
–
Use
outcome/psychometric measures to monitor the effectiveness and experience of
CYP and professionals.
–
Keep
high quality documentation and contribute to reports evaluating the role,
identifying areas for improvement.
Person Specification
Skills & Abilities
Essential
- Ability to challenge poor behaviour
- Role modelling good behaviour
- A positive attitude and able to act on feedback
- Ability to praise and be supportive to others
- Highly developed and effective communication skills, both oral and written, including ability to communicate complex, highly personal and sensitive information
- Advanced ability to develop and maintain a therapeutic relationship, appropriately
- Advanced ability to develop and maintain a therapeutic relationship, appropriately
- Able to communicate effectively within the team and build good sound working relationships
- Good presentation and teaching skills; able to use multi-media materials for both formal large group situations and small informal settings
- Ability to use IT equipment including literature searches, data bases, patient information systems
- Able to prioritise own work and deal with competing demands to work effectively, within a highly stressed work environment
- Committed to promote patients right, independence and choice e.g., through informed consent for interventions
Qualifications
Essential
- BSc/BA Honours degree at 2:1 or above in Psychology
- Post graduate Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS
- Evidence of regular continuing professional development through further professional training and experience, as required by the
- HCPC and the BPS
- Eligible for registration as a Chartered Psychologist (Clinical or Counselling) by the BPS
- Registered with HCPC as a Clinical/Counselling Psychologist
- I understand that I will be asked to provide original certificates to verify my qualifications at point of offer.
Experience
Essential
- Experience required specific to the role and clinical area
- Experience of multi-agency and multi-disciplinary working
- Experience of conducting clinically relevant research
- Significant experience of supervised practice including working with families and care organisations
- Experience of assessing and providing a wide range of psychological interventions to a wide range of patients presenting with a full range of clinical severity
- Experience of exercising clinical responsibility for a patients psychological care and treatment
Additional Criteria
Essential
- Able to meet the travel requirements of the post
Knowledge
Essential
- Knowledge required specific to the role and clinical area
- Advanced theoretical and applied knowledge of psychological approaches for people with psychological problems including specialised psychological assessments and interventions for patients with complex psychological presentations and physical health conditions
- Well-developed psychometric assessment skills
- Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology, including complex multivariate data analysis, as practiced within the field of Clinical/Counselling Psychology
Closing Date: 19 August 2026
To apply for this job please visit www.jobs.nhs.uk.