Clinical or Counselling Psychologist

NHS; Nottingham; On-site; GBP 47,000 - 63,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare provider in Nottingham is seeking a full-time Clinical or Counselling Psychologist to join two services. This position offers opportunities for professional development, supporting mental health patients and contributing to a multi-disciplinary team. The ideal candidate will have a Doctoral level qualification and experience in psychological interventions. The role comes with a salary range of £47,810 to £62,682, depending on experience.

Benefits

Employee-led staff networks

Health and wellbeing services

Work-life balance emphasis

Qualifications

• Post qualification experience with adults with mental health difficulties.
• Experience in a multi-disciplinary setting.
• Skills in supervising other clinicians.

Responsibilities

• Deliver psychological interventions.
• Support non-direct work with staff.
• Engage in quality improvement programs.

Skills

Effective communication skills

Planning skills

Relationship building skills

Education

Doctoral level qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology

Registration with the HCPC

Job description

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Clinical or Counselling Psychologist

The closing date is 11 December 2025

We are delighted to offer a full‑time opportunity for a Clinical or Counselling Psychologist at Band 8a to work across two services, the City Central Local Mental Health Team (LMHT) at Highbury Hospital and Step 4 Psychological Health service. We would welcome applications from those due to qualify in 2026. For Band 7 applicants we are able to offer the opportunity to progress to an 8a after one year’s full‑time employment and completion of a portfolio to demonstrate competence to work at that level.

This is an exciting opportunity to work across services. You will be joining the group of psychological therapists working into the City Central LMHT. As a psychological therapy team, you will meet regularly to look at improving the referrals process, as well as for support and supervision.

The post also includes working within the Step 4 assessment and therapy service, where you’ll be working alongside a team of Clinical and Counselling Psychologists offering therapy for people with complex mental health and therapy needs.

Both teams offer support to people who experience a variety of mental health difficulties, including complex trauma, psychosis, depression, anxiety, and dissociation. Due to the variety and range of patient demographics and presenting difficulties, working within these services provides excellent opportunities for developing the application of therapeutic knowledge and skills.

Main duties of the job

We see the role of the LMHT psychologist as:

To enhance the psychological mindedness of the Multi‑Disciplinary Team and Adult Mental Health Service as well as improve the psychological competence and confidence of non‑psychologists within the MDT to deliver psychological interventions.

As such we believe the role is ideally suited to someone who wants to work within an MDT setting and apply and develop their skills and interests across a broad and varied range of activities.

We see the role of the Step 4 psychologist as:

To deliver high quality, evidence‑based, psychological interventions to improve the psychological wellbeing and quality of life of those referred to the service and support staff and trainees within the service through supervision and provide case consultation more widely across the Trust.

As a group we prioritise the individual psychologist’s well‑being. We want psychologists to thrive and get the most from their employment as well as being able to balance this with their home life. We also believe that psychology support is much more than providing therapy and psychologists are therefore encouraged and given the freedom to develop their interests not only within direct clinical work, but also around the broader application of psychology to the mental health difficulties of the population we serve.

About us

#TeamNottsHC comprises over 11,000 dedicated colleagues who #MakeADifference every day. We deliver intellectual disability, mental health, community health, forensic, and offender healthcare services across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, and South Yorkshire. Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.

We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire’s biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.

We offer a variety of employee‑led staff networks, including Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) groups, the Green Champions network, the Freedom to Speak Up network, the Health and Wellbeing Champions network, and the Menopause Champions network. These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.

The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in‑house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.

The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net‑zero commitment.

Job responsibilities

The postholder will be an integral part of the City Central LMHT and Step 4 and will be based with the teams. For Band 7 postholders, there will also be support and supervision from a more experienced psychologist, and the responsibilities will be adjusted accordingly.

Together with individual work with service users, we encourage and support non‑direct work with staff within the LMHT (supervision, training) together with initiatives which enhance the psychological mindedness of the wider directorate (e.g. articles, wider training). Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is currently developing a quality improvement programme, in which all colleagues are stakeholders. Psychologists have a position within this and are encouraged to take a leadership role during this challenging time. We are therefore looking for someone who is motivated to look at things from a systemic perspective and who can synthesise and critique from wide sources of information and work with others to develop testable hypotheses.

As well as being part of a LMHT and Step 4, the successful candidates will be part of a friendly group of psychologists who work across the Greater Nottingham area. We will provide you with opportunities to develop professionally (which may include developing specialism) within committed and supportive adult mental health services and play an important role in supporting and increasing access to psychological therapies within community settings.

Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £26.40 (standard) or £54.40 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first 2 months of employment.

You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. An annual fee of £16 per year applies.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Doctoral level qualification in Clinical or Counselling Psychology (or equivalent)
• Registered with the HCPC
• Professional knowledge acquired through degree, postgraduate studies, clinical supervision

Training

• Post‑qualification training including specialist training in specific therapeutic approaches or clinical specialties

Experience

• Relevant post qualification experience of working psychologically with adults who have a range of mental health difficulties.
• Experience of working in a multi‑disciplinary setting
• Supervising other clinicians
• Evaluating/auditing professional work
• Teaching mental health professionals about psychological issues.
• Experience of leading on clinically relevant research
• Publication of research
• Involvement in the planning and development of psychological services
• Supervising trainee or other psychologists

Knowledge

• Risk assessment and risk management
• Knowledge of a range of therapeutic approaches
• Doctoral level knowledge of research design and methodology
• Ability to undertake specialist assessments, develop formulations and provide psychological interventions
• Critical awareness of current themes in Adult Mental Health policy and research
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
• Extensive and up‑to‑date knowledge of relevant theory and research through reading and CPD.
• Extended knowledge in additional interventions/assessments/models

Skills

• Effective verbal and written communication skills and relationship building skills
• Planning skills to organise workload and delivery of client care
• Skills in providing consultation and training to other professional and non‑professional groups

Values & Behaviours

• All colleagues are expected to demonstrate that they act in line with Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust Values – Trust, Honesty, Respect, Compassion, Teamwork.
• All colleagues are expected to demonstrate an understanding of and commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) and how it applies to their role.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to perform the full range of duties

Contractual Requirements

• Travel across Trust sites may be required on occasion.

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.

Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

£47,810 to £62,682 a yearper annum (pro rota for part time)