220993 - Senior Psychological Therapist

NHS National Services Scotland; Hamilton; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Part time

Job summary

A public health service in Hamilton is seeking a qualified clinical psychologist to provide specialized psychological care for its health and social care workforce. The role involves psychological assessment and treatment, alongside consultation with support teams. Applicants must hold relevant qualifications, such as a doctorate in psychology, with knowledge of evidence-based therapies preferred. This part-time position is fixed-term for 12 months and includes opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

27 days annual leave

8 public holidays

NHS Pension Scheme

Paid sick leave

Qualifications

• Must have completed training in one evidence-based psychological therapy.
• Relevant experience in specialized psychological assessment and treatment.

Responsibilities

• Conduct psychological assessments and treatments for H&SC workforce.
• Consult and train colleagues from support services.

Education

HCPC registered psychologist (doctorate degree)

NMC (honours degree)

Allied Health Professional (AHP) (honours degree)

Graduate basis for chartership (GBC) with BPS

Tools

Evidence based psychological therapy

Job description

The Role

The Psychological Services Staff Support Team (PSSST) provide expert psychological care for Lanarkshire’s health and social care (H&SC) workforce, consulting with managers and Occupational Health to identify reasonable adaptations to support mental health and wellbeing at work, prevent sickness absence or facilitate early return to work.

PSSST’s One-to-One Service provides a clinical service for staff with mental health difficulties where high intensity psychological therapy is indicated AND where the presenting mental health difficulty has been directly caused or precipitated by their experience in work, such as work related psychological trauma OR the primary focus of intervention relates to work. PSSST also provides assessment and intervention to staff members who cannot be seen in local services due to confidentiality concerns, even if their difficulties are not work related.

PSSST’s Consultation and Teams Service works in collaboration with managers, teams, services and other organisational supports to promote workforce wellbeing through bespoke psychologically informed systemic interventions.

The core focus of this role will be the psychological assessment and treatment of members of the H&SC workforce working in Lanarkshire, within PSSST’s one-to-one service.

This post may also involve consultation and training with colleagues from the other support services, including Occupational Health, Health Improvement and Staff Care & Wellbeing. There may also be the opportunity to co-facilitate the ‘Compassion Starts with You’ 5 session compassionate mind group delivered by the service.

Ideally the post-holder will be able to draw upon additional training achieved post-qualification relevant to the service, to a level of a working knowledge as a minimum. This may well be one or more of the following: TF-CBT, EMDR, CFT, Schema etc.

NHS Lanarkshire

Have you always wanted to work with NHS Lanarkshire? Then this might be the opportunity for you to join Team Lanarkshire!

Here at NHS Lanarkshire, we put the patient at the heart of everything we do. Each colleague within the organisation plays a key role in how we deliver our healthcare services.

We proudly serve a population of 655,000 across rural and urban communities in both North and South Lanarkshire. NHS Lanarkshire is comprised of Acute Services (which currently provide hospital based services over 3 main sites), Corporate & Property & Support Services, North and South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnerships which provide integrated primary healthcare and social care services to local communities and surrounding areas.

What we'll need you to bring

Hold one of the following:

HCPC registered psychologist (doctorate degree) or NMC (honours degree) or Allied Health Professional (AHP) (honours degree) or accredited membership of BABCP / BACP / UKCP

or

Graduate basis for chartership (GBC) with BPS and have completed a clinical skills training programme at Masters level (accredited by the BPS).

As well as having completed training in at least one evidence based psychological therapy the postholder must have additional relevant experience of providing a highly specialised psychological assessment and treatment service.

Have knowledge of NHSL Health Board's Policies and Procedures, and national and professional guidelines for optimal standards of clinical care e.g. child protection guidelines.

Ensure supervision skills are maintained in line with professional guidelines and programme supervision requirements.

Have knowledge of MDT working in order to understand complex clinical presentations.

Work in a sensitive manner with respect to diversity and gender, ethnic, culture and philosophical issues with a wide range of individuals and organisations.

Be aware of the limits of own competence and expertise.

Maintain and update knowledge of legislation and local policies and issues in relation to Adult Mental Health generally.

Attend in-house and external mandatory training courses (e.g. computer training, Moving and Handling, Management of Aggression and Violence).

Be aware of the need to deploy valuable Health Service resources in an effective and rational manner according to contemporary evidence-based practice.

Please note for all vacancies where a driving licence is required this must be a full UK/EU/EEA licence.

It would be great if you also have

Completed the Generic Supervision Course (GSC) or equivalent, or be eligible to attend at the time of applying for this role

Additional training or qualification in specific therapies

Evidence of an interest in and experience of working with clients with complex psychological difficulties

Experience of providing training to other health and non-health colleagues

Evidence of experience in supporting staff within a MDT.

Experience of supervising qualified and/or trainee psychological therapists

Have specialist knowledge related to specific area of work, e.g. Eating disorders, Trauma

Some additional training in psychological therapies

Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management.

Knowledge of a range of theoretical approaches and applied techniques in working with individuals, groups and wider systems and the ability to apply these in practice.

Excellent skills in communicating with patients, referrers, and staff from external agencies.

High level skills of consultation to individuals and organisations

Skills in supporting others to meet the demands of their job roles and overall delivery of the service

Car Driver with a full, valid UK/EU/EEA drivers licence

Contract type

Fixed Term or Secondment for 12 months

Part Time

14.8 hours

Please note this is a part time post and the salary for this position will be pro-rata.

Please note this is a fixed term post for 12 months. Where a post only has temporary funding and an existing member of NHS Lanarkshire staff wishes to apply, this will be treated as a secondment. The employee MUST already have written agreement from their line manager to be released on a secondment before applying for the post.

Location and Working Pattern

This role will be based in Douglas Street Clinic, Hamilton

The working pattern for this role Mon-Fri; 9:00-5:00 - pro rata

Whilst this advertisement may be for a specific post(s) in a particular location, applicants who are shortlisted for interview may be considered for similar vacancies in alternative locations.

Looking to find out more?

If you’re looking to find out more, then we would love to hear from you!

Please contact Claire Stewart, Consultant Clinical Psychologist on [e-mail]

For enquiries regarding the application form or recruitment process, please contact David Murray, Recruitment Administrator on [e-mail]

(Please remember to include the job title and reference number in your email)

Why NHS Lanarkshire?

Join us and you will discover a supportive environment where you will have the chance to add to your skills and further your career.

Some of NHS Lanarkshire’s benefits include:

• A minimum of 27 days annual leave increasing with length of service

• A minimum of 8 days of public holidays

• Membership of NHS Pension Scheme, with life insurance benefits (for more information on the NHS Pension Scheme visit the Scottish Public Pension)

• Paid sick leave increasing with length of service

• Occupational health services

• Employee counselling services

• Work-life Balance policies and procedures

NHS Lanarkshire have a range of support services on topics that can impact both on your working and personal life including occupational health, spiritual care and independent counselling. This support can be accessed using the links on this page.

Further Information

For more information on the role, please refer to the Job Description. If you’re looking for more information on the recruitment process, organisation or the services we provide, please refer to our information pack, or our recruitment webpage.

Additional Information for Applicants

• Posts close at midnight on the indicated date. However, if there are a high level of interest in this position, we may close the advert once sufficient applications are received. Please complete and submit your application early.
• For help to complete an application on Jobtrain please follow this link: https://www.careers.nhs.scot/how-to-apply/application-process/
• Please check your e-mail regularly (including junk & spam folders) as well as your Jobtrain account for updates.
• We recommend using the Internet Browser "Google Chrome" or "Microsoft Edge" when using Jobtrain
• Once you have submitted your application form you will be unable to make any amendments

NHS Lanarkshire is dedicated to building a diverse workforce where everyone can thrive, develop, and succeed based on their skills, knowledge, and talent—regardless of race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, or care experience* or any other dimension that can be used to differentiate people from one another.

*Care experienced applicants include those who have lived with foster parents, kinship carers, or in residential/secure children’s settings.

Candidates should provide original and authentic responses to all questions within the application form. The use of artificial intelligence (AI), automated tools, or other third-party assistance to generate, draft, or significantly modify responses is strongly discouraged. By submitting your application, you confirm that all answers are your own work, reflect your personal knowledge, skills and experience, and have not been solely produced or altered by AI or similar technologies. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in your application being withdrawn from the application process.

Right to Work within the UK

NHS Lanarkshire has a legal obligation to ensure that it does not employ any worker who has not been granted the relevant permission to work in the UK.

We are required to check the entitlement to work in the UK of all prospective employees, regardless of nationality or job category. UK Visas & Immigration rules are available at www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to check eligibility in advance of applying for vacancies in NHS Lanarkshire.

Please note that all Band 1 and Band 2 posts are not eligible for sponsorship through the Skilled Worker route.