Clinical Psychologist (Band 8a) or Psychological Therapist (Band 7)

NHS; Daventry; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 57,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization is seeking a Clinical Psychologist or Psychological Therapist in Daventry. The successful candidate will work within a multidisciplinary team to provide psychological assessment and intervention for individuals over 65. Responsibilities include conducting training sessions for teams, supporting the development of clinical management pathways, and supervising Assistant Psychologists. Ideal applicants will have doctoral-level training, experience with varied client groups, and knowledge of mental health legislation. This role offers dynamic opportunities for professional growth and collaborative practice.

Benefits

Supervision from experienced psychologists

Opportunities for joint work with 3rd sector organizations

Training in various therapeutic approaches

Qualifications

• Experience with various client groups across clinical severity.
• Knowledge of mental health legislation relevant to client group.
• Post-doctoral training in specialized psychological practice areas.

Responsibilities

• Offer assessment and intervention for diverse presentations.
• Support development of neuropsychological assessment pathways.
• Collaborate for service user forums and audit projects.

Skills

Knowledge of specialized psychological therapies

Effective communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Teaching and training skills

Complex psychological assessment

Education

Doctoral level training or professional psychology therapy training

Job description

Clinical Psychologist (Band 8a) or Psychological Therapist (Band 7)

The closing date is 18 December 2025

We are looking to recruit a Clinical Psychologist or Psychological Therapist, line managed within the psychology service, based within our Older People's Community Mental Health Team (OPCMHT) in Daventry & Towcester, Northamptonshire. Each OPCMHT is supported by a part-time Assistant Psychologist, and has regular trainee placements.

Our OPCMHTs offer psychological assessment, formulation and intervention for people over the age of 65 years with dementia, as well as those experiencing distress from emotional disorders or psychosis. There are also opportunities to be involved in staff training, service development and case formulation with teams.

The 4 OPCMHTs in the county work alongside the 4 co‑located Memory Assessment Services (MAS), each of which has a full‑time Assistant Psychologist completing extended cognitive assessments and a comprehensive group programme supervised by a Clinical Neuropsychologist, who works within our Younger People with Dementia service. The 2 psychiatric in‑patient units & 2 general hospitals are based in Kettering and Northampton, and are each supported by a full‑time in‑patient Clinical Psychologist position.

Main duties of the job

The OPCMHT post holder will work within an enthusiastic multidisciplinary team to:

• Offer assessment, formulation and intervention for a wide range of presentations using both individual, family and group approaches
• Offer Case Formulation and training sessions for staff teams to extend psychological ways of working
• Offer enhanced neuropsychological assessment for more complex presentations
• Support the development of a Structured Clinical Management pathway for older people with personality disorder
• Support the development of Meeting Centres for post‑diagnostic support for people with dementia and their families across the county
• Jointly supervise the Assistant Psychologist (with the Principal Clinical Neuropsychologist) in the co‑located MAS for short‑term CBT‑based intervention & personal development
• Supervise the Assistant Psychologist for the OPCMHT
• Collaborate in using outcome information to inform and develop good practice
• Contribute to service user forums and audit projects to collect data that can inform Trust management, commissioners, users and other relevant stakeholders of the needs of this population

About us

NHFT is an integrated primary care and mental health Trust, providing physical, mental health and specialty services in both hospital settings and out in the community. Because we put the person at the centre of all we do, we focus on delivering care that is as easy to access as possible. This means many of our services can be provided at home, work or in schools. We also provide health services to various prisons and detention centres in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

NHFT promotes a culture of learning to improve the care and safety of our patients and staff, which focuses on people who enable our Trust to be 'outstanding' by supporting opportunity, innovation, development and growth.

Job responsibilities

For further information on the advertised role, please refer to the job description located under the Supporting Documents heading. The full person specification can be accessed under the About You Section of the document.

Joining this service can offer:

• Supervision from the Principal Clinical Neuropsychologist as well as Principal Clinical Psychologist
• Support to develop skills in supervision and teaching through joint supervision and lecturing for Clinical Psychology Trainees at both the University of Leicester and University of Oxford
• Opportunities for innovative joint work with 3rd sector organisations
• Training in Structured Clinical Management
• Potential for training in other therapeutic approaches, such as EMDR
• Links and participation in the BPS Faculty of Psychology for Older People (FPOP)
• The opportunity to work within a well integrated Psychology Service that meets for monthly CPD, case audits and organisational support

Person Specification

• Doctoral level training or professional psychology therapy training
• Experience of working with a wide variety of client groups, across the whole life course and with presenting problems that reflect the full range of clinical severity
• Knowledge of legislation in relation to the client group and mental health
• Post‑doctoral training in one or more additional specialised areas of psychological practice, e.g. neuropsychology
• Formal training in supervision of other psychologists

Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of the theory and practice of specialised psychological therapies in specific difficult to treat groups
• Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment intervention and management frequently requiring sustained and intense concentration
• Well developed skills in the ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing, complex, highly technical and/or clinically sensitive information to clients, their families, carers and other professional colleagues both within and outside the NHS
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to utilise them to communicate effectively within a multi‑disciplinary team based working environment as well as with service users and their families/carers
• Experience and ability to teach and train others, using a variety of complex multi‑media materials suitable for presentations within public, professional and academic settings
• Skills in providing consultation to other professional and non‑professional groups

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.

Northamptonshire Healthcare Foundation Trust