Clinical Psychologist

NHS Scotland; Carstairs; On-site; CAD 97,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider is seeking a Clinical Psychologist for a secondment opportunity in a high secure forensic environment. This role requires delivering psychological assessments and interventions, contributing to training, and working collaboratively within a clinical team. Candidates must have prior experience as a Clinical Psychologist in health boards. This unique opportunity involves a fixed-term contract supporting maternity cover, offering a competitive salary and allowances.

Qualifications

• Must be an experienced Clinical Psychologist working in other health boards.
• Demonstrate competency in delivering psychological assessments and interventions.
• Ability to work collaboratively with interdisciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Deliver psychological assessments and risk assessments.
• Provide individual and group psychological interventions.
• Contribute to training, supervision, and reflective practice sessions.
• Offer consultancy to colleagues and share research expertise.

Skills

Experienced Clinical Psychologist

Psychological assessments

Risk assessments

Group psychological interventions

Job description

Clinical Psychologist – Secondment Opportunity

AfC Band 8a plus a High Secure Environmental Allowance of £1,750.47 per annum and a High Secure Clinical Responsibility Allowance of £4,201.29 per annum.

Hours: 37

Contract Duration: 1 Year Secondment or Fixed Term to support Maternity Cover

The State Hospital Psychology Department is pleased to advertise a fixed-term Clinical Psychologist post to join its highly motivated team. This is an exciting opportunity to work within a unique high secure forensic environment.

We are particularly keen to hear from experienced Clinical Psychologists currently working in other health boards who wish to broaden their expertise and gain valuable experience in high secure forensic services. The State Hospital provides high secure care for patients from Scotland and Northern Ireland. Our vision is to excel in the provision of high secure forensic mental health services, to develop and support the work of the Forensic Network and to strive to be an exemplar employer.

The Psychology Department delivers high quality psychological assessments, comprehensive risk assessments and a range of individual and group psychological interventions across four service areas. This post will provide input to patients with a range of mental disorders.

The team works closely with colleagues from other disciplines; the postholder will work as part of a clinical team and will also have opportunities to engage across the hospital site. Activities include:

• Delivering psychological assessments and risk assessments
• Providing individual and group psychological interventions
• Contributing to training, supervision and reflective practice sessions
• Offering consultancy to colleagues and sharing research expertise

There are close links with stakeholder services including the East of Scotland Clinical Psychology Training course, Medium and Low secure forensic services and other UK High Secure Hospitals. The service is committed to supporting and developing its staff team.

The role requires travel to all clinical locations within the State Hospital. As this post is supported by temporary funding, applications from permanent NHS Scotland employees will be considered on a secondment basis only. Applicants must have prior agreement from their line manager to be released on secondment before submitting an application.

Contact

For an informal discussion please contact Dr Joe Judge, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Telephone [phone] ext. 2052.

Application Details

Closing Date: 11.59pm on Sunday 14 December 2025.

Interview Date: TBC.

If you have any queries or require assistance regarding the application form or recruitment process, please contact the HR Team.

To ensure a timely application we urge you to submit your online application early, as the vacancy may close before the stated closing date.

Equality & Diversity

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among its workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The workforce should be truly representative and every employee should feel respected. The State Hospital is a high secure hospital; applicants for clinical roles must be 18 years and older.

Right to Work

To work in the United Kingdom, individuals must demonstrate right to work as per UK Visa and Immigration Service. NHS Scotland Boards will verify this pre‑employment. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK without requiring sponsorship; the State Hospital is not licensed to issue sponsorship certificates.

Working Week

From 1 April 2026, the NHS Agenda for Change staff in Scotland will reduce the working week from 37 to 36 hours for full‑time employees. Part‑time staff will receive a pro‑rated reduction. The State Hospital will implement this change as soon as it is safe, but some departments may need to maintain 37–37.5 hours until adjustments can be made.