Band 8a Practitioner Psychologist | Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare provider in Greater London is seeking a Band 8a Practitioner Psychologist in Pain Management. This role involves delivering psychological assessments and interventions, both individually and in groups, while supervising other team members and managing service delivery. Candidates must have experience in pain management and long-term health conditions, with additional training in EMDR or PTSD being advantageous. This position offers the chance to work in a supportive environment focused on improving patient care in pain services.

Qualifications

• Previous experience in pain and/or long-term health conditions is essential.
• Additional training in EMDR and PTSD is advantageous.
• Experience in managing and supervising teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessment.
• Lead and supervise clinical staff.
• Facilitate group pain management programmes.
• Provide clinical consultation and advice.

Skills

Specialist psychological assessment

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)

Compassion-focused therapy (CFT)

EMDR

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Clinical supervision

Job description

Band 8a Practitioner Psychologist in Pain Management

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Enfield Pain Service (EPS), which serves patients with long‑term pain conditions such as chronic lower back pain, chronic widespread pain and fibromyalgia. The EPS is staffed by a supportive team of medical, physiotherapy and psychology professionals, acknowledging that pain impacts a person’s life in many different ways.

You will work under the supervision of a Consultant Clinical Psychologist to deliver psychological assessment and intervention, both 1:1 and group pain‑management programmes based on CBT/ACT/CFT. You will also support the wider multidisciplinary team and liaise with relevant external community services such as Talking Therapies, MSK services and community mental health teams.

As one of the senior clinicians in the service, you will manage and supervise other EPS members, lead aspects of service delivery, evaluation and innovation, and take on managerial duties to ensure the service runs effectively. Previous experience working in pain and/or long‑term health conditions is essential, while additional training and experience in EMDR and PTSD would be advantageous.

Working in pain services can be incredibly rewarding, where psychology is highly valued, and you will develop your skills and experience as a senior clinician and manager in a supportive team.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessment
• Provide specialist 1:1 psychological interventions based on cognitive‑behavioural therapy, acceptance & commitment therapy and/or compassion‑focused therapy
• Provide clinical supervision and line management to staff
• Co‑facilitate group pain‑management programmes (PMPs) and contribute to the development of PMPs
• Contribute to the collection and analysis of outcome data for both individual and group interventions
• Contribute to the management, delivery and performance of the service
• Offer advice and consultation on patients’ psychological care to non‑psychologist colleagues and to other, non‑professional carers, working autonomously within professional guidelines and the overall framework of the services’ policies and procedures
• Utilise research skills for audit and research purposes as required
• Demonstrate the Trust values, the responsibilities of the job description and person specification

Qualifications

Previous experience of working in Pain and/or Long‑term Health Conditions is essential. Having additional training and experience in EMDR and PTSD would be advantageous.

Our Trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 community services. This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity to continue pioneering work, particularly in improving ways to deliver better care to our patients.

Our mission is to deliver world‑class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world‑class teaching and research, and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation.

Diversity and Inclusion

Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We’re proud of our diversity and continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

Please view the attached job description and person specification to obtain further information about the main responsibilities of this post. You are also more than welcome to contact us directly to obtain further information.

This advert closes on Monday 29 Dec 2025.