Clinical/Forensic/Counselling Psychologist/Psychological Therapist | Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; England; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS healthcare provider is seeking a dedicated Psychologist to join their dedicated team in England. This position involves providing psychological care, conducting assessments, and supervising assistant psychologists. The ideal candidate is newly qualified in psychology or nearing qualification. This is an opportunity to develop within a supportive environment, with funding for further training in specialist therapies.

Benefits

Funding for specialist training

Supportive team environment

Qualifications

• Newly qualified in Clinical, Counselling or Forensic Psychology.
• Skills in psychological assessments and interventions.
• Ability to work within a trauma-informed care service.

Responsibilities

• Provide direct psychological care and support delivery of psychologically informed care.
• Conduct psychological therapy assessments, formulations and interventions.
• Supervise pre-qualified psychological therapists.

Skills

Trauma-informed care

Psychological assessment

Clinical supervision

EMDR therapy

Education

Qualified in Clinical, Counselling or Forensic Psychology

Job description

Overview

This is an excellent opportunity for a Psychologist or Specialist Psychological Therapist to join our team of diverse, talented healthcare professionals to deliver care that is efficient and deeply centred on the patient. Our healthcare teams have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison, and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patient’s future resettlement back into the community. The Psychological Therapies department is a large, long-established and nationally well regarded specialty. Psychologists are valued within the trust and occupy service-wide leadership roles. The team is warm and friendly, while being dynamic and innovative.

Join us in a stimulating role where we are seeking a dynamic and passionate psychologist who has the skills to work within a trauma-informed care service. Applications are welcomed from newly qualified professionals in Clinical, Counselling or Forensic Psychology, CBT Therapy, Systemic, Arts or Psychoanalytical Psychotherapies or those close to obtaining qualified status.

Important Sponsorship Information for this post: We are currently unable to offer a certificate of sponsorship for this post.

Opportunity and progression

An exciting and unique opportunity has arisen in our Dorset Prisons cluster for a Band 7 preceptorship to 8a. The post holder will be funded to complete formal training in EMDR, DBT or MBT within their first two years in post and will have access to specialist supervision in the approach. The successful candidate will hold their own clinical caseload and be responsible for supervising pre-qualified psychological therapists. Supervision skills training will be provided if required. Your progression is key, and you will be offered development sessions to support your career planning and professional development into the 8a role.

Key responsibilities

• To provide direct psychological care (assessment and intervention) and support the delivery of psychologically informed care by all disciplines within the service.
• To provide highly specialist psychological therapy assessments, formulations and interventions.
• To exercise autonomous professional responsibility for the assessment, treatment and discharge of community clients whose problems are managed by psychologically based standard care plans, including taking responsibility for initiating planning and review of care plans with input from clients, their carers, referring agents and others involved in the network of care.
• To provide line management to designated assistant psychologists.

Organisation and services

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environments. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 staff work in various settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children’s centres, schools and people’s homes. We have over 125 sites in the South of England, including London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich, and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary’s Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, a medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services, providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London.

Values and leadership

Our purpose is to improve lives by providing the best possible care to our patients and their families. Our values are: We’re Kind, We’re Fair, We Listen, We Care.

Management and leadership responsibilities

• To provide line management to designated assistant psychologists.
• Provide supervision to students and trainees and to multi-disciplinary colleagues delivering psychological interventions.
• To support recruitment of assistant psychologists to the service.
• To provide highly specialist advice, consultation and training of staff working with the client group across a range of agencies and settings, where appropriate. This may include work with the Criminal Justice System and Children’s Services.

Clinical and teaching responsibilities

• To provide direct psychological care (assessment and intervention) and support the delivery of psychologically informed care by all disciplines within the service.
• To provide highly specialist psychological therapy assessments, formulations and interventions.
• To provide and support specialist clinical placements for students and trainees in applied psychological practice.
• To contribute to the delivery of teaching and training to junior psychological practitioners and specialist training to other professions.

Important information for applicants

All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting. This will be completed as part of the pre-employment checks through Oxleas and the prison vetting team.

You will need to provide: Proof of right to work documentation; Proof of ID (must include 1 photographic ID); Proof of address documentation. Non-UK passport holders will need correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home Office Share code. Address history of 5 years will be needed. Applicants not UK passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a police certificate in English from where they resided previously. Applicants who are UK passport holders who have lived abroad for more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.

Guidance for Police Certificates can be sought at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants. If the country you have resided in is not listed, contact the relevant Embassy or High Commission or consult the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website for information.

This advert closes on Wednesday 8 Oct 2025