Clinical/Counselling Psychologist Maternal MH Service

The Methodist Church in Britain; West Midlands; On-site; GBP 43,000 - 62,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NHS Pension

Generous leave

Flexible working

Career development

Health and wellbeing support

Free parking

Job summary

Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to lead specialist assessments and formulations for families affected by birth trauma, pregnancy or neonatal loss. You will work with midwives and consultants, supervise junior psychologists and contribute to service development.

The role requires doctoral training and ongoing professional development, with a focus on maternal mental health and collaborative team-based care within the NHS.

Qualifications

• Doctoral-level training and current registration with the relevant body.
• Experience across client groups including trauma and maternal mental health.
• Ability to work within multidisciplinary teams and healthcare settings.

Responsibilities

• Provide specialist psychological assessments and formulations for families with complex needs.
• Inform service provision with psychological interpretation and judgments.
• Work autonomously within guidelines and Trust policies; take clinical responsibility.
• Collaborate with midwives, consultants and other services for holistic care.
• Develop expertise to advise on service development and research.
• Lead or contribute to training, supervision and governance of service delivery.
• Supervise junior psychologists and provide peer supervision.
• Offer training placements for psychologists in training.
• Utilise research skills for audits, policy and service development.

Skills

Complex assessment

Clinical interpretation

Consultation

Clinical governance

Research skills

Multidisciplinary collaboration

Supervision

Education

Doctoral training in clinical/counselling psychology

CPD evidence

Job description

This Psychologist post sits within the Lighthouse Maternal Mental Health Service, run by Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin. The work centres on specialist psychological assessment, formulation and therapy for families affected by birth trauma, pregnancy or neonatal loss, or severe fear of childbirth. The team is psychology-led and family-focused, and the postholder works alongside midwives and consultants while supervising junior psychologists. Applicants need doctoral-level clinical or counselling psychology training and current professional registration.

What the job involves

• Provide specialist psychological assessments, formulations of distress and psychological interventions for families with complex mental health needs
• Give psychological interpretation, opinion and judgements to inform service provision
• Work autonomously within professional guidelines and Trust policies, accountable for professional and clinical actions
• Work closely with specialist midwives, consultants and other mental health services to offer holistic family care
• Develop a field of expertise to advise the service and contribute to service and project development across the Trust
• Lead or contribute to training, supervision and governance of the service delivery models
• Supervise and support junior psychologists' assessment and therapy, and provide peer supervision
• Provide training placements for Psychologists in Training as required
• Use research skills for audit, policy and service development, and research

What’s required

Qualifications

• Post-graduate doctoral training in clinical or counselling psychology (or equivalent) covering two or more psychological therapies and lifespan developmental psychology
• Evidence of continuing professional development as recommended by the relevant professional body

Registration & licences

• Current registration or accreditation with the appropriate professional body

Experience

• Assessed experience as a qualified applied psychologist across a wide range of client groups, including psychological trauma across the life course, at all severity levels and in outpatient, community, primary care…
• Exercising full clinical responsibility for clients' psychological care within a multidisciplinary care plan
• Experience working in maternal mental health
• Maintaining professionalism with highly emotive, distressing problems, verbal abuse and threat of physical abuse

Skills & knowledge

• Complex psychological assessment and intervention requiring sustained, intense concentration
• Communicating technical, clinically sensitive information clearly, orally and in writing, to clients, families and professionals inside and outside the NHS
• Providing consultation to professional and non-professional groups
• Using clinical governance mechanisms to support practice in the face of emotive material and challenging behaviour

Other

• Passion and enthusiasm for working with people with complex mental health problems and their families and carers
• Positive, non-judgemental attitude towards service users, families and carers
• Working constructively in a multidisciplinary environment, managing complex demands and conflict
• Developing productive therapeutic relationships with a range of service users
• Managing organisational stress and own time and resources

Nice to have

• Post-doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice
• Considerable experience of working with people with complex psychological trauma and systemic working
• Experience working with couples and families
• Well-developed knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies

What’s offered

• NHS Pension scheme
• Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• Up to 27 days annual leave, rising to 33 with service, and option to buy additional leave
• Options for flexible working
• Career development and progression support
• Extensive health and wellbeing support and resources
• Free car parking at all Trust sites and free annual flu vaccinations
• Lease car (over 500 business miles a year) or salary sacrifice car and bike schemes, with travel time paid for community staff