Practitioner Psychologist, Crisis Support Team Children’s Services: Sponsorship Available

Job summary

This post is fixed term/secondment until 31st March 2028 due to funding.

If you are interested in applying for the secondment position, you must obtain permission from your current line manager prior to applying for this post.

This exciting new post will provide specialist psychological care in a multi-disciplinary Crisis Support Team in Bridgend Local Authority Children’s Services.

The team work intensively to prevent the breakdown of family and foster care for children with complex, acute and challenging emotional, behavioural and relational needs. You will provide assessment, formulation and direct interventions to children and families as well as enabling and supporting colleagues to develop psychologically informed understandings and care approaches.

You will be passionate, experienced, skilled in supporting colleagues to provide psychologically informed care, keen to work collaboratively with multidisciplinary colleagues, and will enjoy developing services. You will be embedded within the Local Authority Crisis Support Team, whilst being supported and professionally led by the Consultant Clinical Psychologist for Children and Young People’s Community Mental Health Services in the Health Board.

Main duties of the job

To provide clinical and strategic leadership in the development and delivery of trauma informed psychological care to young people presenting in crisis and experiencing significant and acute emotional distress and behaviours of concern. This includes care experienced young people as well as those at the edge of care, at risk of family or foster care placement breakdown.

To be embedded and present face to face within Bridgend Children’s Services’ multi-disciplinary Adolescent Crisis Team (ACT) which delivers intensive, short-term interventions to young people at risk of entering care or requiring tier four services.

The post holder will provide clinical leadership through undertaking psychological assessments and developing individualised formulations to inform psychological intervention planning and support.

Delivering a range of evidence-informed interventions to young people and their families/carers, tailored to complex presentations.

Providing clinical supervision to ACT team members, supporting them to deliver care which is psychologically and relationally informed.

Offering consultation and advice to professionals across health, education, and social care to build shared understanding and co-ordinated responses for young people in crisis.

Supporting the development and delivery of training, coaching and reflective practice across the wider system to embed psychological and trauma-informed approaches.

Person Specification

Qualifications and/or Knowledge

Essential

• Honours Degree in Psychology.
• Eligibility for Graduate Membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS).
• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, accredited by the BPS, or equivalent accredited by the BPS.
• HCPC Registered.
• Evidence of relevant CPD.
• Has a thorough knowledge of the professional Issues effecting Practitioner Psychology in the NHS and is familiar with key Strategies documents relevant to child and family psychological services and can articulate and hold a position of these.

Desirable

• Other related academic qualifications
• IT skills training.
• Completion of a post-qualification advanced training in a formal psychological therapy relevant to developmental trauma. Completed or undergoing training in the development and management of practitioner psychology.
• Publication of relevant research.

Experience

Essential

• Doctorate training across a range of client groups but must include Children, Adults, people with Learning Disabilities, and Older Age Adults. Has completed extensive CPD relevant to the provision of Child and Family Psychological Services.
• Has kept up to date on current clinical practice in Child and Family Psychological Services and Practitioner Psychology more generally.
• To have developed an advanced level of clinical expertise in at least one area of clinical practice within Child Psychology.
• To have developed an advanced level of clinical expertise in Attachment/Looked after Children, Developmental Trauma.
• Experience of giving complex psychological consultation to psychology and multidisciplinary staff.
• To have taken a Clinical and/or Strategic Lead in the development of service provision.

Desirable

• Evidence of innovative practice. Research experience and statistical expertise.
• Academic teaching experience.

Aptitude and Abilities

Essential

• Innovative. Can work independently and take responsibility for own actions, and cope effectively with the additional stress that this level of responsibility generates. Able to develop proposals for service developments. Must be able to tolerate the stress and anxiety of being responsible for patient’s psychological treatment, particularly when self-harm is likely. Must be able to manage personal stress levels.
• Ability to provide direction through supervision, teaching and training to other psychologists, disciplines and agencies. Able to take on responsibility for the development of Practitioner Psychology services in a Specialist Service. Can provide leadership and direction to other Psychologists and to colleagues in multi-agency forums. A team player who relates well to people. Ability to travel between sites in a timely manner.
• Can articulate values-based position to their work. Ability to communicate and relate to people warmly and with empathy. Ability to understand the highly complex and conflicting messages from service users and organise this in a way that allows them to guide the service users through a complex process of change. To be able to do this even when the service user is highly distressed, there is a highly charged atmosphere, and/or when the service user is expressing high levels of anger.
• Ability to communicate sensitive material in verbally and in writing. Ability to assess, interpret, formulate and intervene in situations where the material is highly complex, and where there are a range of possible options, where different courses of action could be taken and where expert opinions may differ. Ability to plan and organise complex activities or programmes, which may be service, or client focussed, and may have long-term implications requiring ongoing monitoring and adjustment. Able to provide leadership and direction within the specified locality, by instigating developments, suggesting solutions to team issues, providing teaching, training, and supervision to other staff in the team, and taking a strategic lead. Is familiar with current legislation on Child Protection and is aware of developments in it.

Desirable

• Has had own work published in peer reviewed or academic professional journals and/or books.

Other

Essential

• Enhanced DBS Check. Ability to travel within geographical area in a timely manner to attend different sites/locations. Able to work hours flexibly. Able to be present face to face embedded in the team.

Desirable

• Welsh Language Speaking & Listening Skills (Level 3 and above/B2)

Closing Date: 31 August 2026