Consultant Psychologist or Psychological Therapist

Job summary

This is an exciting Consultant Psychologist/Psychotherapist role, combining leadership, strategy and direct complex clinical work for the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway in South London. The post requires high-level clinical expertise, the ability to forge and maintain strong multi-agency relationships, and service development and evaluation skills. The right post-holder will have a passion for working with violent offender populations who struggle to progress smoothly through the criminal justice system due to their complex trauma histories and attachment styles. Extensive experience and high-level skill in working directly and supervising others in working with this client group are essential.

Main duties of the job

To plan, organise and ensure the delivery of effective and accessible psychological services in the OPD in-patient and outpatient teams

To provide highly specialist psychological therapy assessments, formulations and interventions for clients in the OPD pathway according to discipline, including working with personality disorders, violent offending behaviour and trauma.

To ensure the effective working of the team or service and a psychologically informed framework for the service.

To plan, initiate, implement and ensure appropriate service developments to improve the quality and delivery of services in the service and in partner services, including not only the OPD pathway but also the South London Partnership (SLP) and the wider SLaM inpatient forensic service.

To ensure the consultation and engagement of service users in planning and delivering services which meet the needs of local communities.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• oEntry-level qualification in applied psychological therapy and demonstrable practice in this field (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level/supervised practice/additional training) that has been accepted for the purposes of professional registration. (A/I)
• oAdditional training beyond entry-level qualification in a relevant specialised area of psychological practice through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of relevant specialist short courses and/an evidenced portfolio of relevant supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by a registered body and/or an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma or higher. (A/I/R)
• oTo have undertaken a recognised qualification in one of the core mental health professions, e.g. psychiatric nursing, clinical psychology, medicine, social work and occupational therapy OR to have equivalent relevant experience and demonstrable competence to work in the mental health field in the NHS.
• oCompleted training course in clinical supervision and/or accredited to supervise qualified psychological practitioners in relevant discipline. (A/I/R)
• oRegistered with / accredited by professional body as appropriate to discipline HCPC/APC/BPC/UKCP/BACP/BABCP/ADMP-UK/BPS. (A/I)

Desirable

• oAccreditation in at least one relevant therapy model (e.g. DBT, MBT, Schema Therapy, EMDR)

Experience

Essential

• oEvidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in forensic settings (A/I)
• oExperience of undertaking leadership roles (A/I)
• oExperience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in offender mental health. (A/I)
• oExperience of supervising qualified staff, assistants and trainees having completed the relevant training. (A/I)
• oPost-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities. (A/I)

Desirable

• oRecord of publications in either peer reviewed, academic or professional journals/books) (A/I/R)
• oExperience of working across inpatient, outpatient and prison/probation settings

Knowledge

Essential

• oKnowledge of the theory and practice of management and leadership. (A/I/R)
• oAdvanced theoretical knowledge of psychopathology and the evidence base for the treatment of personality disorder in offending populations (A/I/R)
• oAdvanced knowledge of the theory of psychological practice/processes in the management and treatment of personality disorder in offending populations.
• oAwareness of assessment and clinical psychometrics. (A/I/R)
• oAdvanced knowledge and experience in the administration of risk assessment and personality disorder assessment tools. (A/I/R)

Skills

Essential

• oTo deliver specialist therapy across cultural and other differences. (A/I/R)
• oTo select and administer specialist assessments, interpreting and integrating complex data that require analysis, interpretation and comparison, drawn from several sources, on which expert opinion may differ. (A/I/R)
• oTo communicate skilfully and sensitively complex and sensitive information with clients, carers and colleagues overcoming barriers to communication including sensory, and emotional difficulties, cultural differences and hostility to or rejection of information. (A/I/R)
• oTo plan and schedule assessment and interventions for individual clients and groups and carers (and for meetings such as CPA and case reviews where appropriate). (A/I/R)
• oTo plan allocation of tasks to more junior qualified staff, assistants/trainees as appropriates. (A/I/R)

Desirable

• oExperience of neuropsychological testing and interpretation

Abilities

Essential

• oAbility to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles. (A/I/R)
• oAbility to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate. (A/I/R)
• oAbility to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic meetings (A/I/R)
• oAbility to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during observations, assessments and psychological interventions, and to deal with unexpected interruptions or changes during these. (A/I)
• oAbility to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour. (A/I)

Closing Date: 24 August 2026