Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

NHS; Milton Keynes; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in Milton Keynes is seeking a highly motivated Clinical/Counselling Psychologist for a 12-month maternity cover position. The role involves providing specialized psychological assessments and treatment in a community mental health setting. Ideal candidates should have a doctoral level training in psychology and HCPC registration. Opportunities for professional development and team collaboration are emphasized in this dynamic position.

Benefits

Commitment to staff personal development

Access to CPD opportunities

Work for a top NHS employer

Qualifications

• Must have HCPC registration.
• Experience of working psychologically with complex mental health problems.
• Experience in teaching and staff training.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments.
• Formulate and implement psychological treatment plans.
• Develop skills in postgraduate teaching and supervision.

Skills

Ability to teach and train others

Experience in working with complex trauma

Experience in multidisciplinary team settings

Sound time management skills

Education

Doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology

Registered qualification in health care

Job description

Overview

Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

The closing date is 23 September 2025

This is a fixed term maternity position for 12 months.

Must already have HCPC registration

We are looking for a highly motivated and innovative Clinical/Counselling Psychologist to join our friendly established multi-disciplinary team. At CNWL we encourage our psychological professions staff to pursue leadership opportunities in senior roles. Various prominent leadership roles within the Trust are currently held by Psychologists including: Director of Strategy and Integration, Chief Information Officer, and Clinical Directors. We facilitate the development of our psychological professions staff across all areas. The professional group is led by our Director of Therapies and our Chief Psychologist, both Consultant Clinical Psychologists.

We are looking for applications from highly motivated and enthusiastic psychologists who are committed to delivering patient-focused care and treatment. We are looking for well-rounded and experienced practitioners.

Alongside delivering therapy interventions this role will also include ample opportunity to develop leadership skills. This will involve supervision of either Assistant Psychologists and Clinical Associates in Psychology or junior colleagues. The Therapies pathway works closely with colleagues across the wider MDT and therefore, this role would involve consultation, training, and liaison across the Hub.

Main duties of the job

The Community Mental Health Hub in Milton Keynes is needs-led, offering medical, social and psychological interventions to all on a stepped care model. Therapists work with people with complex mood problems, trauma and PTSD presentations, psychosis, and complex emotional needs delivering a range of evidence-based interventions as recommended by NICE Guidance, predominately MBT, DBT, CBT, CBTp, CFT and EMDR within a Trauma Informed ethos. You will be required to work with clients individually and in groups, and with carers and families as required. Liaising and developing effective collaborative relationships with other key services and with lived experience practitioners is an important part of this role.

You will need a good understanding of the needs of people with complex mental health difficulties and comorbid health problems. Experience of working with complex trauma presentations would be valuable.

About us

CNWL is recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ in line with our values, our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries. With us, you will get:

• A Trust committed to staff personal development, with a trust wide culture change and leadership programme that has staff wellbeing at its core.
• An opportunity to work for one of the top 10 NHS employers
• Variety of work
• Access to a variety of CPD opportunities

We encourage staff input and ideas in relation to moving services forward, improving care pathways and meeting the client group's needs.

As a Trust we are committed to investing in our staff through a range of initiatives, both profession-specific and organisation wide. Psychological professions staff are able to access a range of trust-wide CPD initiatives. We have partnered with Bespoke and Contextual Consulting to provide some of the profession specific CPD, alongside additional CPD sessions we commission as part of CNWL CPD programme for Psychological Professions. CNWL also has seven established staff networks supporting a range of individual needs.

Job responsibilities

• To provide specialist psychological/therapeutic assessments of service-users referred to the Therapies pathway upon appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex data from a variety of sources. This will include the use of routine psychometric assessments and measures, observations and interviews where appropriate
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the formulation and implementation of plans for the formal psychological treatment and or management of a client’s problems based upon an appropriate conceptual understanding of the service-user’s problems in the context of the family and wider system
• To receive regular specialist supervision from the principal clinical psychologist and where appropriate other senior professional colleagues.
• To develop skills in the area of professional post-graduate teaching, training and supervision.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Experience

• Doctoral level training in clinical/counselling psychology, including models of psychopathology, clinical psychometrics and neuro-psychology, two or more distinct psychological therapies development psychology as accredited by the BPS.
• OR A registered qualification in health care at graduate level in nursing, social work or allied health profession PLUS post- graduate qualification (diploma equivalent) i.e., cognitive behaviour therapy
• To be registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC) or equivalent i.e., BACP
• Pre-qualification training and qualifications in research methodology, staff training and/or other fields of applied psychology

Experience

• Experience of specialist psychological assessment and formulation of complex mental health presentations including Trauma presentations.
• Experience of working psychologically with people who have complex mental health problems, including trauma and personality disorder
• Experience of teaching, training and supervision.
• Experience of skills in group work.
• Experience of work with care - givers/families
• To be able to conduct routine assessments of IQ and memory screening.
• Maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face of highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse.
• Experience of working in MDT settings in particular the demonstrated ability to work jointly in assessment interventions with multidisciplinary team members.
• Experience of the application of clinical psychology in different cultural contexts
• Experience of working within a multicultural framework
• Experience in the use of risk assessment and the management of risk and crisis
• Experience of working in an NHS community mental health settings in secondary and tertiary care.

Knowledge

• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological assessment and intervention for people with mental health presentations
• Well developed skills in the ability to work and communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and to other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS.
• Knowledge of current developments and policies relevant to mental health services.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Sound time management skills
• Sound IT skills to manage an electronic case record.
• Knowledge of legislation and NICE guidance in relation to this client group
• Knowledge of clinical caseload management within a team setting
• Skills in providing consultation and supervision to other professional and non - professional groups and assistants.

Key Skills/Abilities

• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi -media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Valid drivers licence and the ability to drive to different bases.
• Ability to identify and employ mechanisms of clinical governance as appropriate, to support and maintain clinical practice in the face of regular exposure to highly emotive material and challenging behaviour.

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

£47,810 to £54,710 a year (pro rata if P/T)