Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical or Counselling) – MHSOP

Job summary

We are seeking an enthusiastic Practitioner Psychologist to join the Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) Inpatient Service. The successful candidate will be joining a well-established and highly motivated Older Adult Psychology Specialty, working alongside a supportive group of Practitioner Psychologists.

The specialty sits within a large and progressive Directorate of Psychology and Psychological Therapies, offering excellent access to supervision, consultation and continuing professional development. We welcome staff from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, holding principles of equity, diversity and inclusion central in our approach.

This inpatient settings offers a context for a curious and creative psychologist to develop and extend their psychological therapy skills, including CBT, CAT and third wave approaches. There is a desire for the candidate to offer specialist cognitive assessments and to be able to work with complexity including trauma, risk and neurodiversity. This service supports individuals with dementia presenting with complex behaviours and psychologists keen to develop indirect approaches such as positive behaviour support are welcomed. We value MDT practice, compassionate cultures and teamworking.

Applications for this position are invited from psychologists with experience who meet the essential criteria for the Band 8a role, or from psychologists who meet the Band 7 criteria as a development opportunity.

Main duties of the job

We can offer a 7/8a developmental post, or an 8a post. The 8a is an excellent opportunity for those looking to progress their career, and we can support you with making the move from band 7. It is also a great opportunity for established 8as who want to gain experience in working in a new speciality. We are also keen to hear from applicants who are completing training this year: we have a well-established pathway for our 7/8a developmental posts within the UHB. We offer a professional development programme giving you the opportunity to consolidate your training, and to further develop skills and competencies to transition to 8a through successful completion of the programme.

• Provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for older adults with complex mental health needs (mental health and dementia)
• Undertake cognitive and neuropsychological assessments where appropriate
• Work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams to support psychologically informed care
• Provide consultation, advice and supervision to staff and teams in line with level of experience and banding
• Contribute to team formulation, care planning and risk management
• Support service development, innovation and systems improvement work
• Deliver training and skills development to staff as appropriate
• Participate in audit, research, service evaluation and quality improvement activities
• Maintain professional standards in line with HCPC, BPS and Health Board policies

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Good Honours degree in Psychology with eligibility for Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) with the BPS.
• Post-graduate Doctorate in Clinical/Counselling Psychology accredited by the HCPC (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996 as accredited by the BPS) OR (for trainees) doctorate to be completed by end of 2024
• HCPC registration as a practitioner psychologist OR (for trainees) eligible by October 2024

Desirable

• 8a Practitioner Psychologist: Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialist areas of psychological practice.

Experience

Essential

• Experience in applying clinical/counselling psychology in the NHS, including cognitive and structured assessment, formulation, intervention, research and service development.
• Experience of effective multi-disciplinary team working in NHS or equivalent.
• for band 8a: Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and treatment within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.

Desirable

• Experience of working with people with mental health/psychological problems in a medical setting; problems presenting with the full range of clinical severity across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care, in-patient and residential care settings and maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems.
• Experience of teaching/training and/or professional and clinical supervision.
• for band 7: Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients’ psychological care and treatment within the context of a multidisciplinary care plan.

Skills

Essential

• Ability to make clinical and service-related judgments involving complex facts requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of several options.
• Ability to contribute to the development of, and to implement, agreed policies and strategic long-term service developments.
• Ability to use the highest level of interpersonal and communication skills to convey and receive highly complex/sensitive information effectively, requiring empathy and reassurance, in a highly emotive atmosphere and the ability to overcome psychological resistance to potentially threatening information, whilst maintaining a high degree of professionalism at all times.

Desirable

• Experience of the development and implementation of policies and strategic long-term service developments.

Special knowledge

Essential

• Practitioner Psychologist: Doctoral level knowledge of clinical/counselling psychology theory and practice, assessment, psychological therapies and their application.
• Practitioner Psychologist: Participation with CPD as recommended by the BPS.

Desirable

• 8a Practitioner Psychologist: Post-doctoral training in relevant specialist areas of psychological practice (e.g. assessment of autism; working with psychosis; specific psychosocial approaches).

Closing Date: 20 August 2026