Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust; City Of London; On-site; GBP 61,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS Trust in London is seeking an innovative Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to improve the quality of life for adults with learning disabilities. The role involves assessments, therapeutic interventions, and supervision within a supportive multidisciplinary team. Candidates must have relevant qualifications and be registered with the HCPC. The salary ranges from £61,631 to £68,623 per annum pro rata.

Qualifications

• Professional Doctorate or equivalent in Clinical or Counselling Psychology.
• Evidence of continuing professional development as required by HCPC.
• Experience in Learning Disability and multi-disciplinary team environments.

Responsibilities

• Provide a highly specialist psychology service to individuals with learning disabilities.
• Conduct assessments and implement treatment plans.
• Supervise and support junior staff and trainees.

Skills

Psychological assessment skills

Therapeutic intervention skills

IT skills

Education

Entry-level qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology

Registered with HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist

Further training in Positive Behaviour Support

Further training in systemic or family therapy

Job description

Overview

Go back Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

The closing date is 09 October 2025

Brent Community Learning Disability Team is located in the diverse and vibrant London borough of Brent. We are looking for an innovative and enthusiastic Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join our friendly and supportive team. This role aims to provide clinical excellence in order to improve the quality of life for adults with a learning disability in Brent.

The successful applicant may have contact with service users. As an NHS Trust, we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course, patients and service users when working in our healthcare settings.

Main duties of the job

The psychological provision in the Brent Community Learning Disability Team works within a multidisciplinary team of psychiatrists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, physiotherapists and nurses.

This post will involve the assessment of learning disabilities including the interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests. It will further involve therapeutic work with individuals and their carers, families and groups. You will receive regular clinical supervision and will have the opportunity for teaching, training, consultation within the multidisciplinary team and contribute to service development.

About us

We\'re passionate about delivering safe and effective care in a community setting or in the individual\'s own home. Our service users are at the heart of everything we do. Providing excellent clinical care depends on our ability to employ the best people. We are always looking to recruit outstanding people who will go the extra mile to support our service users, colleagues, teams and the Trust. With every new employee, we are hoping to find our future leaders and will support our staff by providing opportunities to develop your career. With a diverse culture and equally diverse range of opportunities across mental health, community services, emotional disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, enhancement treatment, learning disabilities and more - whatever stage of your career you\'re at - there\'s always a place for you at CNWL.

You will work from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm providing a service for adults experiencing learning disabilities in the Brent area. The post will be based at Appletree House, The Kingswood Centre, Kingsbury, London NW9 9QY.

Job responsibilities

To provide a highly specialist psychology service to people with learning disabilities accessing the Brent Community Learning Disability Team including specialist assessment, treatment, planning, implementation and monitoring of outcomes.

To contribute to enabling other staff, service users and carers from diverse backgrounds to flourish by working to create a psychologically safe environment.

To provide clinical supervision and consultation as appropriate, functioning as a lead specialist in Learning Disability.

To undertake service evaluation, audit and research.

To work as an autonomous professional within BPS and HCPC guidelines and codes of conduct, and guided by principles and policies or procedures of the service, taking responsibility for interpreting policies within defined parameters.

To agree outcomes/results with clinical/professional lead and to decide how they are best achieved.

Person Specification

TRAINING & QUALIFICATIONS

• Entry-level qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (professional Doctorate, or combination of MSc plus PG Diploma level additional training) that has been accepted by the HCPC for purposes of professional registration.
• Additional training in a specialised area of psychological practice related to Learning Disability or Autism through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma.
• Additional training in a specialised area of psychological practice related to Learning Disability or Autism through formal post-qualification training (PG Diploma or equivalent), OR a combination of specialist short courses, or an evidenced portfolio of supervised practice-based learning in a specialist area of clinical practice, assessed by an experienced clinical supervisor to be of equal level to a Postgraduate Diploma.
• Registered with the HCPC as Practitioner Psychologist, and evidence of continuing professional development as required by the HCPC
• Further training in Positive Behaviour Support, Functional Analysis or Applied Behaviour Analysis
• Further training in systemic or family therapy

EXPERIENCE

• Evidence of having worked as a clinical specialist under supervision in Learning Disability
• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and treatment of clients with a range of psychological needs of a complex nature in Learning Disability
• Experience of supervising assistant and trainee psychologists having completed the relevant training
• Post-qualification experience that supports working with, and addressing issues of, diversity within local communities
• Experience of carrying out post-doctoral research, audit or service evaluation projects.
• Experience of working with a multi-disciplinary team in the context of highly emotive or distressed behaviours

KNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessments and interventions for people with Learning Disabilities/autistic people
• Advanced knowledge of psychological assessment and clinical psychometrics
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health issues, child and adult protection, and equalities
• Doctoral level knowledge of psychological research methodology and complex statistical analysis
• Knowledge of factors affecting acceptability and accessibility of mental health care
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of Positive Behaviour Support

Abilities

• Ability to work effectively within a multi-disciplinary team, contributing to effective team functioning and holding team roles
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate
• Ability to develop and use complex multi-media materials for presentations in public, professional and academic meetings
• Ability to maintain concentration and to remain in restricted positions for long periods during observations, assessments and psychological interventions, and to deal with unexpected interruptions or changes during these
• Ability to manage emotionally stressful situations such as working with victims of abuse or trauma, or with people who engage in severe self-harming or aggressive behaviour
• Ability to manage verbal aggression and hostility directed at self

Skills

• To be skilled in the administration of psychometric and neuropsychological tests, including those that require complex manipulation of test materials
• Well-developed IT skills including entry and analysis of research data
• Skills in providing teaching and training to other professional groups

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust

£61,631 to £68,623 a year, per annum pro rata inc HCAS