Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust; Radlett; On-site; GBP 57,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading mental health trust in the UK is seeking Clinical/Counselling Psychologists to provide specialist psychological services in Radlett. The role involves assessing service users, formulating treatment plans, and supporting trauma-informed care initiatives. Candidates should possess a doctorate in clinical psychology and extensive experience in mental health settings. The position offers competitive salary and unique opportunities for professional development, making it ideal for passionate professionals dedicated to mental health recovery.

Benefits

27 days holiday rising to 33 days

5% high cost allowance supplement

NHS Car Lease Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Leadership and management training opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience working with severe mental illness within a mental health setting.
• Current full registration with HCPC.
• Post-qualification training in assessment and intervention models.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments of service users.
• Formulate and implement treatment plans based on client’s problems.
• Support the embedding of Trauma Informed Approaches.

Skills

Psychological assessment

Trauma informed approaches

Team collaboration

Clinical supervision

Education

Post-graduate doctorate in clinical psychology

Job description

Go back Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Clinical/Counselling Psychologist

The closing date is 04 January 2026

Here at HPFT we have a long history of delivering outstanding care, and we are taking our inpatient psychological therapies service to the next level. Through an extensive expansion of our psychology provision, we are embedding trauma informed approaches across all wards. This is an exciting time of change.

We are looking for caring and committed 8a Clinical/Counselling Psychologists to work alongside the multi-disciplinary team in supporting change. If you have the relevant skills, are energetic, imaginative and, above all, care passionately about working with individuals and their families towards recovery, then we want to hear from you!

The roles are based in the innovative and purpose-built Kingfisher Court, Radlett and/or Aston Ward, Lister Hospital, Stevenage. We will consider preference for base at application / interview stages. We will also consider preferences or part-time or full-time hours.

You will form part of a vibrant, passionate, and supportive inpatient psychology service that is well established and highly valued across our inpatient services.

For the right candidates we would consider a developmental period from Band 7 to Band 8a.

We don't want you to miss out so we'd like you to know that if we have a high level of interest in this role, the vacancy may close prior to the advertised closing date - Apply now!

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will:

• Provide a specialist psychology service to service users on the adult mental health wards.
• Provide specialist psychological assessment, formulation and interventions.
• Provide clinical supervision, advice and consultation to colleagues, and to other non-professional carers, on psychological aspects of assessment, formulation, care and treatment.
• Provide compassionate care that is based on empathy, kindness, respect and dignity, and underpinned by principles of recovery and knowledge of trauma informed approaches.
• Support the development and roll out of Trauma Informed Approaches across HPFT inpatient services as we change the question people ask from “What's wrong with you?” to “What's happened to you?”

In return, we can offer you:

• leadership and management training opportunities
• 5% on top of basic salary high cost allowance supplement (subject to a minimum and a maximum payment pro rata)
• 27 days holiday rising to 33 days (depending on NHS Trust service) plus bank holidays (pro rata where applicable)
• One of the UK's best pension schemes
• Comprehensive health and wellbeing services
• Special leave for family and personal reasons
• NHS Car Lease Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission.

Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

Job responsibilities

To provide specialist psychological assessments of service users referred to Acute Services based upon the appropriate use, interpretation and integration of complex psychological data from a variety of sources including psychological and neuropsychological tests, self-report measures, rating scales, direct and indirect structured observations and semi-structured interviews with clients, family members and others involved in the clients care.

To formulate and implement plans for the formal psychological treatment and/or management of a clients mental health problems, based upon an appropriate conceptual framework of the clients problems, and employing methods of proven efficacy, across the full range of care settings.

To work within the MDT, forming part of the leadership team for the ward and ensuring psychologically informed ways of working are embedding across all systems along with skilling up the wider workforce to make psychologically informed interventions everybody's business.

To support with and lead the embedding of Trauma Informed Approaches across all systems.

Person Specification

KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

• Post-graduate doctorate in clinical psychology (or its equivalent for those trained prior to 1996) as accredited by the BPS, or fully completed training as a Counselling Psychologist.
• Experience working as a qualified practitioner with clients with severe mental illness within a mental health setting.
• Experience of working within acute or crisis services.
• Current full registration with HCPC
• Training in risk assessment and management.
• Post-qualification training in assessment and intervention models in one or more of the following: CBT, Systemic Therapy, Family Interventions.
• Experience of supervising qualified clinical staff from a range of professional backgrounds including HCPC registered Practitioner Psychologists.

AREAS OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE

• Experience of psychological assessment and treatment of clients across the full range of care settings including outpatient, community, primary care and inpatient settings.
• Experience of working with wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity including maintaining a high degree of professionalism in the face off highly emotive and distressing problems, verbal abuse and the threat of physical abuse
• Knowledge of whole life span development and the impact on emotional, psychological and mental well-being.
• Knowledge of the theory and practice of at least two evidence based psychological interventions including CBT, Systemic Therapy or Family Interventions.
• Experience of exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care and treatment within the context of multidisciplinary care.
• Doctoral level knowledge of research methodology, research design and complex, multivariate data analysis as practiced within the fields of Clinical / Counselling Psychology.
• Experience of multi-disciplinary team working and inter-agency collaboration.Ability to provide consultation to other professional and non-professional groups.
• Ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi-media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings.
• Ability to take the appropriate action to address any issues or risks.
• Awareness of Child and Adult Safeguarding Procedures.
• Awareness of current NHS initiatives and developments.
• Knowledge of legislation and the national agenda in relation to adult mental health and psychological working in long term conditions, such as personality disorder.
• Knowledge and awareness of specific clinical practices and issues relating to clients in mental health crisis
• Ability to work autonomously as well as part of a team.
• Experience of service quality monitoring e.g. clinical audit, evaluative research, etc.
• Experience of teaching, training and/or offering supervision
• Experience of service development/project management.

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.

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

£57,888 to £64,880 a year Per annum, Pro rata (5% HCAS Included)